Private Practice Spoilers

Show Summary

From Shonda Rhimes, the Golden Globe-winning creator of Grey’s Anatomy, comes a story about new beginnings and old friends. Addison Forbes Montgomery is a renowned neonatal surgeon, respected by her friends and colleagues at Seattle Grace Hospital. Deciding she can no longer healthily co-exist with her ex-husband, McDreamy and her ex-lover, McSteamy, Addison heads to Los Angeles for sunnier weather and happier possibilities. Reunited with her once-married, newly divorced medical school friends, Naomi and Sam, Addison joins their chic private practice. Stars: Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy), Tim Daly (The Nine), Taye Diggs (Day Break), Paul Adelstein (Prison Break), Merrin Dungey (The King of Queens), Chris Lowell (Veronica Mars), Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy). (Source: TvGuide.com)

Episode Spoilers

3.01 – A Death in the Family 10/1
Violet is rushed to the hospital unconscious and severely injured, after the violent attack from her patient Katie. Addison and Naomi fight to save her life. Meanwhile, the whereabouts and condition of Violet’s stolen baby are unknown (Source: TV.com)

3.02 – The Way We Were 10/8
Violet is physically recovering from her violent attack at home, but the emotional trauma she suffers from isn’t going away, despite her friends best efforts. Meanwhile, Addison and Naomi try to mend their tension-filled relationship, as Sam and Cooper treat a man who was stabbed by his wife.  (Source: TV.com)

3.03 – Right Here, Right Now 10/15
Miranda Bailey brings a kidney transplant patient to Los Angeles, and Addison and especially Sam is pleased to see her. Addison’s consequences of her emotional affair with Noah catch up with her. Sheldon and Pete finally discover who the father of Violet’s baby. (Source: TV.com)

3.04 –  Pushing the Limits 10/22
Addison, Sam and Cooper treat the sick child of a homeless teen mother they met while volunteering. Violet has trouble relating to her baby when her feelings of her attack resurface during a counseling session of a rape victim who is now pregnant. Cooper’s financial woes catch up with him when he’s asked to help buy out Naomi’s share of the practice. (Source: Tv.com)

3.05 – Strange Bedfellows 10/29
Addison deals Naomi’s former patients, Zoe and Amelia, whose embryos were accidentally switched, a complication that may end up jeopardizing both fetuses. Violet struggles with whether or not she can face Katie in court and testify against her. Charlotte is determined to convince Addison, Sam and Cooper to let her join Oceanside Wellness Group. (Source: Tv.com)

3.06 – Slip Slidin’ Away 11/5
The doctors at Pacific Wellcare venture with an unexpected new hire causing Naomi to struggle with the idea of genetically designing babies. Violet makes a sudden decision to try electric shock therapy on a patient. Addison somehow finds herself alone and with a cat.  (Source: Tv.com)

3.07 – The Hard Part 11/12
Addison and Sam go for a hike in Malibu, they come across an expecting couple trapped in their car after an accident, they then perform urgent field care. Charlotte, Cooper and Violet treat a newlywed who, on his wedding night has taken too much Viagra. Pete and Sheldon go out to a bar together and end up falling for the same girl. (Source: Tv.com)

3.08 – Sins of the Father 11/19
Addison is thrown by the arrival of her father to Los Angeles. Cooper is arrested when he refuses to cooperate in a case involving a patient. Pete fights to keep a terminally ill patient alive long enough for him to meet his daughter  (Source: Tv.com)

3.09 – The Parent Trap 12/3
Addison performs a complex utero surgery, proving not only her talents to her father but giving them some common ground. Sam and Naomi deal with have a family crisis when they discover Maya is growing up way too fast. Violet does the unthinkable. (Source: Tv.com)

3.09 – Blowups 12/3
An explosion at Dell’s house lands Betsey and Heather in the hospital. everyone is pushed to the limit in trying to save their lives. The tensions between Addison and The Captain rise even more when her mother, Bizzy, shows up and a shocking family secret is revealed. (Source: Tv.com)

3.11 – Another Second Chance 1/14
Addison and Mark head back to Ocean Wellness to help his pregnant daughter. Naomi and Dell can’t agree how to raise their children together and Violet and cooper can’t agree on patient care. (Source: Tv.com)

3.12 – Best Laid Plans 1/21
Maya shocks Sam and Naomi, while Pete and Fife disagree on patient care.  (Source: Tv.com)

3.13 – Shotgun 2/4
Addison and Cooper are counseling a couple who must pick a child to save with their newborn’s cord blood. Meanwhile Dink wants to marry Maya. (Source: Tv.com)

3.14 – Love Bites 2/11
When Naomi refuses to help plan Maya’s wedding, Sam convinces Violet to help her. Meanwhile the tension between Addison and Sam deepens when they treat a suicidal patient and Cooper and Pete treat a girl with a questionable bite mark. (Source: Tv.com)

3.15 – ‘Til Death Do Us Part 2/18
It’s Maya’s wedding day and while Violet helps Sam prepare, a furious Naomi still refuses to take part as she works with Addison and Pete to save a premature baby. Meanwhile, Cooper becomes suspicious of Charlotte’s new boyfriend and thinks that he may be abusing drugs. (Source: Tv.com)

3.16 – Fear of Flying 3/4
Addison, Pete and Sam must come together on a complicated case involving a dad-to-be with tuberculosis which threatens the future of his new family. Violet still gone on her Costa Rican escape, Sheldon takes over helping a patient named Natasha, to get over her fear of flying. Naomi finds herself in a bit of a love triangle of her own. (Source: Tv.com)

3.17 – Triangles  3/11
Addison clashes with Sam’s new girlfriend, Vanessa, over treatment for a patient whose life – and those of her unborn triplets – hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, Naomi’s love triangle intensifies as she finds herself torn between William and Dr Fife, and Cooper and Sheldon argue over Charlotte while working together on a case. (Source: Tv.com)

3.18 – Pulling the Plug 3/18
A husband’s decision to pull the plug on his pregnant wife is overruled by a judge, forcing the hospital to keep her on life support until the baby is born and can survive. Naomi feels betrayed after learning of Sam and Addison’s feelings for each other who turns to Dr. Fife for comfort.  (Source: Tv.com)

3.19 – Eyes Wide Open  4/1
A team of neurosurgeons trying to save Addison’s comatose patient, Kayla, includes Derek Shepherd’s younger sister, Amelia, whose take on the case sparks friction. Meanwhile, Cooper and Charlotte continue to be unable to work together. (Source: Tv.com)

3.20 – Second Choices 4/22
Violet returns home and to the practice. Pete and Addison have mixed feelings about Violet’s desire to reconnect with Lucas. Amelia butts into Sam’s personal life by pointing out that he can mend hearts in the operating room but can’t seem to do that for himself. Sheldon encourages Charlotte to reconcile with Cooper, while he tries to deal with a young patient who eats everything in sight. (Source: Tv.com)

3.21 – War 4/29
Violet files for joint custody of Lucas but Pete hires an attorney and fights back, dragging everyone at the practice into the trial. (Source: Tv.com)

3.22 – In the Name of Love 5/6
Naomi begs Fife to use his still experimental treatment to help William’s advanced ALS. Violet and Amelia treat a woman with a brain tumor, while Sheldon decides to vie for Charlotte’s affections. (Source: Tv.com)

3.23 – The End of a Beautiful Friendship  5/13
Maya and her unborn baby fight for their lives after a serious car crash. Addison, Amelia and Fife try everything humanly possible to save them. Sam operates on the other crash victim and makes a grim discovery; Cooper makes an ill-timed but valiant effort with Charlotte. The staff’s world gets rocked by an unexpected death.  (Source: Tv.com)

Season Spoilers

Believe it or not, we’re going to be seeing less of Dell this season. Sources confirm exclusively that Chris Lowell’s episode order has been reduced from 22 to a minimum of 13. Technically, he still remains a series regular though. Conventional wisdom says the move was budget-related, but a Private Practice insider says Lowell wanted more freedom to pursue other projects.  (Ausiello)

The premiere flashes back to Oceanside’s pre-Addison days to show how Pete, Violet and the gang first met. (BTW, the editing technique the show employs to transition between the past and present is utterly original and highly effective. It more than makes up for the laughable wig they slapped on Audra McDonald’s head.) The episode also features a funeral (no, not Violet’s), two harrowing surgeries, and an answer to this question: How will Chris Lowell’s aforementioned reduced workload be addressed on screen? (Ausiello)

Kate Walsh says she’s doing some superhero doctoring this season and backstory. She told us, “There will be more Addison family members coming to the show this year. I’m not sure who’s going to come over from the East Coast, but I’m sure they’re going to be good and WASP-y and awesome. When Grant Show came on last year as my brother, it was fun for me to see Addison in that lower-status position, as someone’s daughter or little sister. It’s really fun to play because she’s such a fierce and agro personality at work, and then to see her smacked down at home is fun.”  (KristinEonline)

Look for more extreme medical stuff, like the psycho C-sections, embryos implanted in the wrong women and the babies-switched-at-birth stories that made their mark so effectively the first two years. We’re hearing something about a little person episode in season three. According to Walsh, “There’s more extreme stuff, and there are some returning cases—characters that were on last season that come back. It’s fantastic. That’s what I loved when Shonda first conceived this show, the idea that you would see recurring characters, where these patients come back in.” (KristinEonline)

Chris Lowell confirmed that Dell won’t be appearing in all 22 episodes this season, but did say that it’s OK with him. When we asked about the circumstances of the change, Lowell said: “I think it’s a really good thing. I feel like you hear horror stories about contracts on some shows and horror stories about bad blood, and that’s not this. It could not have gone smoother. Shonda has always had a really warm level of communication with our cast. We just sat down at the end of last season and talked about how we could make things better for my character, and we thought that was the way to do it.” (KristinEonline)

We asked KaDee if Charlotte had any surprising changes coming this season, and she confirmed that indeed there would be a big reveal for her character: “She’s a tranny.” (KristinEonline)

Speaking of Charlotte’s sex life, what’s in store for her and Cooper? According to Paul Adelstein, “I think what happens when people suffer these huge upheavals [like the Violet crisis] is sometimes there’s some backsliding in behaviors. People grow up, but they have their little compulsions. I think ‘Cooper and Charlotte’ is the first adult relationship that he’s ever had, so when it gets tested, there are certain stress points.” Uh-oh. What’s the trouble? Said Edelstein, “I think Cooper really liked the situation of being a house husband with a girlfriend, but when that is no longer the situation, it’s a little harder for him.”  KaDee assured us, “You’ll see a lot of changes in Cooper and Charlotte’s relationship that will make the audience happy.”  (KristinEonline)

What happens with Violet and the baby? Violet makes it, the baby’s fate remains in limbo and both baby-d`1addies are still very much in play! In the meantime, we can tell you this: The premiere is an excellent hour of can’t-miss, tear-jerking TV. (KristinEonline)

Any chance of something happening between Pete and Addison – Yes, but it’s about a .0001 percent chance. I think the show is fully vested in Pete-Violet from here on out. But don’t feel too badly for Addie. She won’t be alone for much longer. (Ausiello)

I can tell you that I heard there might be a little swap-a-roonie in the works for Justin (Dave Annable) of Brothers & Sisters to cross over to Private Practice (since Justin is now in med school), but a rep at ABC says it’s not happening. (KristinEonline)

On Sam and Addison developing some romantic chemistry – If they were to go there, I have a feeling it would be during the final minutes of this week’s episode (Episode 3.08). (Ausiello)

A big family secret that gets revealed about Addison’s mother (JoBeth Williams). She recently hung a Sue Sylvester poster on her wall. (Ausiello)

Saddison will get back-burnered in the next batch of episodes as Addison deals with drama both family-related and ex-related. (Ausiello)

The series is putting together a two-hour fiesta of explosions, fight scenes and general hysteria. (KristinEonline)

There will be a fair amount of Sam/Addie action coming up, which will please Kate Walsh as much as you. “I love the dynamic between them,” she says. “I think it’s very natural that these two people who end up running a business together and living next door to each other and hanging out would want to explore a relationship.” But, she observes, “there’s a huge, massive obstacle in the fact he used to be married to her best friend.” (Ausiello)

Things will heat up between those two crazy kids, Sam and Addison, in February, but their guilty consciences will prove a major obstacle. There will also be an added complication involving (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT) another doctor who has long been waiting in the wings. (Ausiello)

Private Practice continues to up the show’s action factor, and this time it’ll be Dell (Chris Lowell) who gets the action. When one of Addison’s preggo patients has a possibly fatal complication during a house call, our favorite midwife has to save the day out in the field without any help. (KristinEonline)

Sources confirm to me exclusively that Caterina Scorsone is joining Private Practice in the recurring role of Dr. Amelia Shepherd, one of Derek’s never-before-seen sisters.I’m told the character — nicknamed “Little Shep,” natch — lands a job at Oceanside Wellness. (Ausiello)

More than a few eagle-eyed Private Practice viewers have written in wondering why Amy Brenneman (Violet) hasn’t appeared in the last two original episodes. Brenneman’s rep, Stephen Huvane, tells me that his client “took a few weeks off to have a planned surgery to fix a chronic health issue. She is already back at work.” I’m told Brenneman ended up missing a total of three episodes, the last of which is scheduled to air on March 25. An ABC rep confirms that Violet will reappear at the tail end of the April 1 episode. (Ausiello)

Yes, Dell is still part of the cast, but a smaller part. As I warned you at the beginning of the season, Chris Lowell’s episode order was cut from 22 to 13. The good news: Dell reappears in this week’s episode. (Ausiello)

There’s a kinda sorta Grey’s Anatomy-Private Practice crossover in the mix when Derek Shepherd’s (Patrick Dempsey) little sis shows up at Oceanside Wellness to assist in saving the life of Kayla, the patient struggling to survive her surrogate pregnancy. (KristinEonline)

Who dies on Private Practice? “You’ve watched her get really beat up all season,” says the boss lady, so “I wanted to sort of see her have a chance at really being happy…to finally sort of get the guy and find some peace.” (No word if the guy she gets is named Pete or Sam.) (Ausiello)

Violet and Pete’s super ugly custody battle is about to get a lot worse. The two embattled parents hire high-powered attorneys and bring the rest of the gang into the fight, and things do not bode well for either. (KristinEonline)

“The End of a Beautiful Friendship” – Maya and her unborn baby are fighting for their lives on the operating table, and Addison, Amelia and Fife try everything humanly possible to save them. Meanwhile, Sam operates on an incoming crash victim and later makes a grim discovery; Cooper makes an ill-timed but valiant effort with Charlotte, and the staff’s world gets rocked by an unexpected death, on the Season Finale of Private Practice. (Ausiello)

Cooper and Charlotte are poised for a reunion. “We’ve been watching Cooper and Charlotte sort of deal with their own crap, and [now] they’re coming around to a reconciliation,” confirms E.P. Shonda Rhimes. “[But] I think it will be surprising to the audience the way it happens.” (Ausiello)

Cooper and Charlotte got engaged. Not that it’s going to be easy, but they’re going to be together. (Ausiello)

Addison chose Sam over Pete. Series creator Shonda Rhimes says “I want her to have a shot at long-term happiness. The big step for her was to finally choose what she wants, not because it’s the wrong decision or because it’s dangerous and sexy, but because it feels  right.” (Ausiello)

There’s just one problem with that prediction: There’s no mention of the words “Maya” or “baby” on my list of casualty contenders. (Ausiello)

New: Sources confirm to me exclusively that Brian Benben — a.k.a. head doc Sheldon Wallace — has been promoted to a full-fledged series regular. Benben joined the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off on a recurring basis in season 2 as the resident shrink at Oceanside’s rival practice, Pacific Wellcare. (Ausiello)

Dexter’s dad is paying a visit! James Remar has been cast in the potentially recurring role of Gibby, a physician with Doctors Without Borders and an old friend of Pete’s. He’ll first turn up in this season’s third episode. (Ausiello)

I’m hearing something about a twist in the season premiere involving one of the show’s main couples. (Ausiello)

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