The sixth and final season of ''

Private Practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

'' premiered on September 25, 2012, with a limited run of thirteen episodes. ''Private Practice'' was renewed for a sixth season on May 11, 2012. In a recent interview, Shonda Rhimes stated that this season will feature: "a death, some babies, a likely return of a favorite and there could possibly be a wedding" with the rumored possibility of a musical episode and return of ex-cast member

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. 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 act ...

. On October 19, 2012, after months of speculation, series creator

Shonda Rhimes Shonda Lynn Rhimes (born January 13, 1970) is an American television screenwriter, producer, and author. She is best known as the showrunner—creator, head writer, and executive producer—of the television medical drama '' Grey's Anatomy'', ...

announced that the sixth season would be the final season of the show. It was confirmed that production wrapped on December 7, 2012, and that the final episode had been taped.

Development

''Private Practice'' was renewed by

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

for a sixth season, that was to have a limited number of thirteen episodes, on May 11, 2012. In July 2012, it was announced that ''Private Practice'' would premiere on September 25, 2012. On October 19, 2012, after months of speculation, series creator

announced that the sixth season would be the final season of the show. In late December 2012, it was announced that the series finale of ''Private Practice'' would air on January 22, 2013, and would feature Addison's wedding to Jake Reilly. After the finale, Shonda Rhimes spoke out stating, "The entire SEASON was a finale. Each episode (dedicated to each character) worked to wrap up their series-long arcs," and "Also, I had a very strong desire to NOT end the show. Not in the traditional where characters die or move away or shut down the practice," in response to fans stating that they didn't believe it was a true finale.

Cast

Main cast

* Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery *

Benjamin Bratt Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor and producer who has worked in film and on television. He had supporting roles in the 1990s in such box office hits as ''Demolition Man'' (1993), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), ...

as Dr. Jake Reilly *

Paul Adelstein Paul Adelstein (born April 29, 1969) is an American actor and writer, known for the role of Agent Paul Kellerman in the Fox television series ''Prison Break'' and his role as pediatrician Cooper Freedman in the ABC medical drama '' Private Prac ...

as Dr.

Cooper Freedman Dr. Cooper Freedman is a fictional character on the ''Grey's Anatomy'' spin-off, '' Private Practice''. He is portrayed by actor Paul Adelstein.''Private Practice'' aThe Futon Critic/ref> Character history Cooper Freedman (Coop) was the only chi ...

KaDee Strickland Katherine Dee Strickland (born December 14, 1975) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Charlotte King on the ABC drama '' Private Practice'' (2007–2013). Strickland began acting during high school. She studied acting in ...

as Dr.

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 ...

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 Dr. Sheldon Wallace * Caterina Scorsone as Dr.

Amelia Shepherd Amelia Frances Shepherd, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, F.A.C.S. is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC American television ''Grey's Anatomy (TV series), Grey's Anatomy ''medical d ...

Griffin Gluck Griffin Gluck (born August 24, 2000) is an American actor. In television, he is known for his roles as Charlie in '' Red Band Society'', Mason Warner in '' Private Practice'', and Danny Gannon in '' Back in the Game''. He also starred as a main ...

as Mason Warner *

Taye Diggs Scott Leo "Taye" Diggs (born January 2, 1971) is an American stage and film 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 th ...

as Dr. Sam Bennett * Amy Brenneman as Dr.

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. Story-lines Season One Violet is a psychiatrist at the Oceansid ...

Recurring cast

Matt Long Matthew Clayton Long (born May 18, 1980) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Ezekiel Landon in the NBC/Netflix sci fi drama ''Manifest'' (2019–Present), and his roles in the television series ''Jack & Bobby'' (2004–2005), and ...

as Dr. James Peterson *

Justina Machado Justina Milagros Machado (born September 6, 1972) is an American actress, known for her roles as Penelope Alvarez on the Netflix and Pop TV sitcom '' One Day at a Time'', Darci Factor in The CW dramedy ''Jane the Virgin'', Vanessa Diaz on the H ...

as Stephanie Kemp * Carter MacIntyre as Nick Calhoun *

Charlie Hofheimer Charlie Hofheimer (born April 17, 1981) is an American film, television, and theater actor. He landed his first film role as Jim Garland in the 1994 version of '' Lassie''. He is known for his role as Abe Drexler on ''Mad Men''. He has also mad ...

as Ron Nelson * Chryssie Whitehead as Dana Nelson *

Diane Farr Diane Farr (born September 7, 1969) is an American actress, producer, and writer. She is known for her roles as the FBI agent Megan Reeves in the CBS television series '' Numb3rs'' and the firefighter Laura Miles in '' Rescue Me''. Life and ca ...

as Miranda *

Aloma Wright Aloma Wright (born March 10, 1950) is an American actress, widely known for her roles as Laverne Roberts on the NBC/ ABC comedy series '' Scrubs'' (2001–2009), Maxine Landis on the NBC daytime drama series '' Days of Our Lives'' (2008&ndas ...

as Mildred Clemons * Missy Yager as Megan Stewart *

Emily Rios Emily Clara Rios (born April 27, 1989) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Andrea Cantillo on the AMC series ''Breaking Bad''. In 2013 she began portraying newspaper reporter Adriana Mendez on the FX series ''The ...

as Angela Reilly *

Marianne Jean-Baptiste Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste (born 26 April 1967) is an English actress. She is known for her role in the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Secrets & Lies'', for which she received acclaim and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Sup ...

as Gabi Rivera *

Blue Deckert Blue Deckert is an American actor known for his roles in film and television. A native of Daisetta, Texas, Deckert has had supporting roles in ''Dallas'', ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', ''Friday Night Lights'', ''The Event ''The Event'' (styliz ...

as Joe Price *

Kylie Rogers Kylie Rogers is an American actress, best known for playing the role of Minx Lawrence in '' The Whispers''. She also stars as Anna Beam in ''Miracles from Heaven''. Since 2018, Rogers has a recurring role as the younger version of the main charac ...

as Sarah Nelson * Jack Bobo and Joey Bobo as Lucas Wilder * Emily Moss Wilson as Judi

Guest stars

as Dr.

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 ...

* Alex Rocco as Ed Diamanti *

Robert Pine Robert Pine (born Granville Whitelaw Pine, July 10, 1941) is an American actor who is best known as Sgt. Joseph Getraer on the television series ''CHiPs'' (1977–1983). Including ''CHiPs'', Pine has appeared in over 400 episodes of television. ...

as Jim Wallace * Richard Roundtree as Raymond McCray * L. Scott Caldwell as Jillian McCray * Alfre Woodard as Dee Bennett * Deanna Dunagan as Dr. Vivian Carlsmith * Marisol Nichols as Lily Reilly * Lee Garlington as Stella Peterson * Faran Tahir as Charles Kate Walsh 2011 crop

Following the renewal of ''Private Practice'', it was announced that Tim Daly would not be returning to the show because of budgetary reasons, and his character would be killed off in the season premiere. In June 2012, Kate Walsh announced that she would be leaving ''Private Practice'' after this season, but suggested that the show could still go on without her. Cast mates

, Caterina Scorsone,

, and Amy Brenneman all returned as their characters for the sixth season. In September 2012, it was announced that actor

had been cast in a recurring role as James Peterson, the new ER attending, and a potential love interest for Amelia. In September 2012, it was announced that Alfre Woodard was cast as Sam's mother, Dee Bennett. After months of speculation it was announced that

was to return during the season finale, and reprise her role as

. In November 2012, it was announced that

was cast in a recurring role, for the last three episodes of the series, as Miranda, a love interest for Sheldon.

Plots

In the sixth-season premiere, Violet finds out that Pete hasn't shown up for court and assumes that he ran off, only to find out later that he had a heart attack jogging and died. Charlotte finds outs that she's pregnant but is happy because her IUD will most likely destroy the pregnancy, only to find out she's pregnant with triplets. As Charlotte and Cooper deal with having triplets, Violet has to cope with Pete's death and trying to raise her son by herself. Sheldon deals with the fact that he has prostate cancer, and falls in love with a fellow cancer patient who is terminal. Addison tries to make her relationship with Jake work while running into snags trying to adopt Henry, and she eventually proposes to Jake. Amelia, still dealing with the trauma of delivering a child without a brain, finally decides to give love another try when she meets a handsome ER doctor. Naomi's return complicates things for herself and Sam.

Reception

''Private Practice's'' sixth season opened up to 6.45 million viewers with a 1.9/5 Nielsen ratings#Ratings/share and total viewers, Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. As of December 2012 "Aftershock" has served as the season's most viewed episode. "The Next Episode" so far is the seasons' and series' least watched episode, with 3.72 million viewers. In December 2012, TVGuide rated the final season of ''Private Practice'' with a B− grade, stating that

gave the series exactly what it needed when the series was beginning to feel 'stale'.

Episode list

Webisodes

Ratings

Live ratings

Live +7 Day (DVR) ratings

DVD release

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Private Practice (Season 6) 2012 American television seasons 2013 American television seasons Private Practice (TV series) seasons