The third season of '' Private Practice'' premiered on October 1, 2009, and concluded on May 13, 2010. The season consisted of 23 episodes.

Plot

In the third season, Violet survives from the cliffhanger from season two thanks to Pete, Naomi and Addison. She gives Pete their baby, Lucas, while she recovers from the ordeal. Addison and Sam get even closer and develop feelings for each other, but decide not to become a couple because they don't want to hurt Naomi. Charlotte and Cooper break up, and Dell loses Heather in an explosion which nearly kills Betsey also. Sam and Naomi's daughter, Maya, gets pregnant and marries the father of her baby, Dink. Addison and Pete become a couple, which causes Addison to get close to Lucas until Violet wants him back, even going as far as taking Pete to court to get joint custody. Sheldon starts to fall for Charlotte after they start to sleep together. In the season finale, Addison and Sam finally get together while Charlotte and Cooper get engaged much to Sheldon's dismay. Pete and Violet work over their issues, while Dell and Maya get involved in a car accident and the severity of Dell's condition is overlooked. Dr. Amelia Shepherd, younger sister of Derek Shepherd (Addison's ex-husband) operated on him, having just arrived in town. She was unable to resuscitate him following heart failure. Maya survived her operation to save her spinal cord and prevent paralysis while at the same time she gives birth to a girl, who also survives the ordeal.

Cast and characters

Main cast

* Kate Walsh as

Addison Montgomery Addison Adrianne Forbes Montgomery, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, F.A.C.S., American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, F.A.C.O.G., previously known as Shepherd, is a fictional character who first ap ...

Tim Daly James Timothy Daly (born March 1, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom '' Wings'' and his recurring role as drug-addicted screenwriter J.T. Dolan on ''The Sopranos.'' He starred as Pete ...

Pete Wilder Dr. Pete Wilder is a character on the ''Grey's Anatomy'' spin-off '' Private Practice''. He is portrayed by actor Tim Daly. Character history Season 1 Pete works at the Oceanside Wellness Center in Los Angeles as a naturopathic doctor and lice ...

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American singer and actress. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four acti ...

Naomi Bennett Dr. Naomi Bennett is a fictional character on the ''Grey's Anatomy'' spin-off '' Private Practice''. She was initially portrayed by Merrin Dungey in the backdoor pilot ''Grey's Anatomy'' episode, "The Other Side of This Life", but was replaced by ...

Paul Adelstein Paul Adelstein (born April 29, 1969) is an American actor. He is known for the role of Agent Paul Kellerman in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox television series ''Prison Break'' and his role as pediatrician Cooper Freedman in the American Broad ...

as Cooper Freedman *

KaDee Strickland Katherine Dee Strickland (born December 14, 1975) is an American actress. From 2007 to 2013, she played Dr. Charlotte King on the ABC drama '' Private Practice''. Strickland began acting during high school. She studied acting in Philadelphia a ...

Charlotte King Dr. Charlotte King is a fictional character from the ABC medical drama '' Private Practice'', portrayed by KaDee Strickland. Initially, Charlotte is the Chief of Staff at the fictional St. Ambrose Hospital in Santa Monica. She tends to have an a ...

Chris Lowell Christopher Lowell (born October 17, 1984) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Stosh "Piz" Piznarski in the television series ''Veronica Mars'' (2006–2007), William "Dell" Parker in the television series '' Priva ...

Dell Parker William Parker, more commonly known as Dell Parker, is a character on the ''Grey's Anatomy'' spin-off, '' Private Practice''. He was portrayed by actor Chris Lowell and appeared from the first through third seasons. Dell was the receptionist at th ...

Taye Diggs Scott Leo "Taye" Diggs (né Berry; born January 2, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the Broadway musicals '' Rent'' and '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', the TV series '' Private Practice'' (2007–2013), '' Murder in ...

as Sam Bennett *

Amy Brenneman Amy Frederica Brenneman (born June 22, 1964) is an American actress and producer. She worked extensively in television, coming to prominence as Detective Janice Licalsi in the ABC police drama series ''NYPD Blue'' (1993–1994). Brenneman ...

Violet Turner Dr. Violet Marianne Turner is a fictional character on the American television drama '' Private Practice'', a spin-off from ''Grey's Anatomy''. She is portrayed by Amy Brenneman. Storylines Season One Violet is a psychiatrist at the Oceanside ...

Also starring

Brian Benben Brian Edward Benben (born June 18, 1956) is an American actor, best known for his role as Martin Tupper in the HBO comedy television series '' Dream On'' (1990–1996), and also known as Sheldon Wallace on ABC medical drama '' Private Practice'' ...

as Sheldon Wallace

Recurring cast

* Geffri Maya as Maya Bennett * Hailey Sole as Betsey Parker * James Morrison as William White, Ryan Leitsch *

Amanda Detmer Amanda Detmer (born 1971/1972) is an American actress. She made her big screen debut playing Miss Minneapolis in 1999 comedy film ''Drop Dead Gorgeous (film), Drop Dead Gorgeous'', and later had a supporting role in ''Final Destination (film), F ...

as Morgan Barnes *

Agnes Bruckner Agnes Bruckner (born August 16, 1985) is an American actress and former model (person), model. She began acting in television in the late 1990s and has since appeared in several films, including ''The Woods (2006 film), The Woods'', ''Blue Car'', ...

as Heather * Amanda Foreman as Katie Kent *

Michael Patrick Thornton Michael Patrick Thornton is an American actor and theater director. He played the character of Dr. Gabriel Fife in the ABC drama series '' Private Practice''. He is also known for his performances on Broadway including as Lennox in the Sam Gold r ...

as Gabriel Fife *

Christina Chang Christina Chang () is an American actress, who has appeared in '' 24'', '' CSI: Miami'', ''Nashville'', and '' The Good Doctor''. Early life Chang was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan, to a Taiwanese-Filipino father and an American mother. ...

as Vanessa Hoyt *

Stephen Lunsford Stephen Sean Ford (''né'' Lunsford; born November 25, 1989) is an American actor and internet content producer. He played the titular character in The CW's '' Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight''. Early life Ford was born in Sacramento, California. ...

as Filmore "Dink" Davis *

Stephen Collins Stephen Weaver Collins (born October 1, 1947) is an American former actor. He is known for playing Eric Camden on the WB/ CW television series '' 7th Heaven'' from 1996 to 2007. Afterwards, Collins played the roles of Dayton King on the ABC ...

as "The Captain" Montgomery *

Caterina Scorsone Caterina Scorsone is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as neurosurgeon Dr. Amelia Shepherd on the ABC medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2010–present) and its spin-offs '' Private Practice'' (2010–2013) and ''Station 19'' (2020– ...

Amelia Shepherd Amelia Frances Shepherd, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the ABC American television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy ''and the series '' Private Practice'', portrayed by Caterina Scorsone. Amelia was introduced in Season 3 of ''Privat ...

Sean Bridgers Sean MacKenzie Bridgers (born March 15, 1968) is an American actor, screenwriter, and producer, known for his role as Johnny Burns on the HBO series '' Deadwood'' and as Trey Willis on the SundanceTV original series '' Rectify''. In addition to ...

as Frank

Special guest stars

Chandra Wilson Chandra Danette Wilson (born August 27, 1969) is an American actress and director best known for her role as Dr. Miranda Bailey in ''Grey's Anatomy'' since 2005, for which she has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Su ...

Miranda Bailey Miranda Bailey, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the long-running medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', created by Shonda Rhimes and portrayed by Chandra Wilson since the series' debut in 2005. Bailey has appeared in 387 episodes across ...

Eric Dane Eric William Dane (born November 9, 1972) is an American actor. After multiple television roles in the 1990s and 2000s, which included his recurring role as Jason Dean in ''Charmed'', Dane was cast as Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy), Mark Sloan on ' ...

as Mark Sloan

Guest stars

JoBeth Williams Margaret JoBeth Williams (born December 6, 1948) is an American actress. She rose to prominence appearing in such films as '' Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979), '' Stir Crazy'' (1980), ''Poltergeist'' (1982), '' The Big Chill'' (1983), '' The Day After' ...

as Bizzy Montgomery *

Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film '' The Executioner's Song'' (1982) and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for th ...

as Corinne, Dink's mother

Episodes

Ratings

U.S.

United Kingdom

In the third season, ''Private Practice'' aired on Thursdays at 10pm on

Living Living or The Living may refer to: Common meanings *Life, a condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms ** Living species, one that is not extinct *Personal life, the course of an individual human's life * ...

, with the episode airing again (which aired that night) on Living+1 an hour later. The season averaged 251,000 viewers, 29% less than the second season. ^a Viewers in thousands. ^b Ranks for specific channel only.

DVD release

References

2009 American television seasons 2010 American television seasons Private Practice (TV series) seasons {{DEFAULTSORT:Private Practice Season 3