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TV This Week

For ‘Practice,’ what could have been

'Grey's' spinoff was hamstringed by the writers' strike

By Louisa Ada Seltzer

January 22, 2013

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private practice wedding “Private Practice” never lived up to its promise, but it wasn’t entirely the show’s fault.

When “Grey’s Anatomy,” then the hottest drama on television, spun off Addison Montgomery to her own series in 2007, it seemed like a can’t-miss idea. “Practice” debuted to strong ratings.

But the sixth-year drama, which airs its season finale tonight at 10 p.m., was hurt deeply by the writers’ strike.

The strike hit just two months after “Practice” debuted. No new scripted content was produced for months, and audiences began to forget about the fall’s new shows, among them “Practice.”

When the strike finally ended in early 2008 and other series returned after three- and four-month layoffs, ABC opted, in a dubious move, to keep its first-year dramas off the air until the following fall. “Practice” had a truncated first season and by the time it returned for its second, its season-one buzz had completely disappeared.

Though “Practice” drew adequate ratings airing behind “Grey’s” for three years, it never became a big hit. It went from a 3.5 adults 18-49 Nielsen rating in season one to a 2.9 in season two and dropped from there.

Once it moved to Tuesday nights last spring and star Kate Walsh announced her intention to leave the show, “Practice’s” fate had become pretty clear. This year the show has dipped to series lows, and last week’s penultimate episode managed only a 1.2.

On tonight’s finale, Naomi (Audra McDonald, who left the show in 2011) returns for Addison’s wedding to Jake (Benjamin Bratt).

A look at this week’s top TV draws
TUESDAY, JANUARY 22
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	ABC	“The Taste” (R)	Series premiere. A new reality cooking competition featuring 29 contestants.
8 p.m.	FX	“The Ultimate Fighter” (R)	Season premiere. Jon “Bones” Jones and Chael Sonnen lead this season’s teams.
9 p.m.	Fox	“New Girl” (C)	Nick thinks one of Jess’ students has something to hide.
9 p.m.	E!	“The Real 50 Shades of Grey” (A)	Looking at the world of dominants and submissives.
10 p.m.	NBC	“Parenthood” (D)	Season finale. Kristina prepares for another round of treatment, while Drew hears back about his college applications.
10 p.m.	ABC	“Private Practice” (D)	Series finale. Naomi arrives for Addison’s wedding and Cooper adapts to life at home.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23
Time	Network	Program	Description
7:30 p.m.	NBC Sports Network	“NHL Hockey” (S)	The Burins take on the Rangers in New York.
8 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	The third night of preliminary auditions.
8 p.m.	Style	“Big Rich Atlanta” (R)	Series premiere. A woman wonders if she made a mistake by investing in her daughter’s business.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Modern Family” (C)	Gloria’s mother and sister visit, and drama follows.
10 p.m.	FX	“American Horror Story” (D)	Season finale. Johnny attempts to finish up his dad’s work.
10 p.m.	USA	“Necessary Roughness” (D)	In the winter premiere T.K comes back only to find out that he’s been replaced.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 24
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	ABC	“Last Resort” (D)	Series finale. The team tries to stop the Colorado from being overtaken.
8:30 p.m.	NBC	“Parks and Recreation” (C)	Leslie tries to get more government jobs for women, while Ron attempts to babysit Diane’s kids.
9 p.m.	Fox	“Glee” (C)	The New Directions group throws a Sadie Hawkins dance.
9 p.m.	Lifetime	“Project Runway” (R)	Season premiere. Sixteen designers arrive in New York and find out they’ll be working in teams all season.
9 p.m.	ESPN	“Winter X Games” (S)	The 17th annual event kicks off in Aspen.
10 p.m.	TBS	“King of the Nerds” (R)	The nerds compete in a challenge based on a fantasy role-playing game.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 25
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	CW	“Nikita” (D)	Nikita and Owen track a rogue agent.
8 p.m.	ESPN	“NBA Basketball” (S)	An all-Texas matchup between San Antonio and Dallas.
9 p.m.	Starz	“Spartacus” (D)	Season premiere. Spartacus and his growing army begin to put a dent in Rome.
9 p.m.	PBS	“Shakespeare Uncovered” (N)	Series premiere. Actors share their experiences with Shakespeare. First up–Ethan Hawke and “Macbeth.”
10 p.m.	Cinemax	“Banshee” (D)	A high-profile MMA match could bring big money to the casino.
11:30 p.m.	ABC	“Jimmy Kimmel Live” (T)	“American Idol” host Nicki Minaj performs.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 26
Time	Network	Program	Description
1 p.m.	CBS	“College Basketball” (S)	No. 1 Duke hosts ACC rival Maryland.
8 p.m.	Fox	“UFC Fighting” (S)	Fights include a light-heavyweight bout between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Glover Teixeira.
8 p.m.	NBC	“Figure Skating” (S)	Coverage of the women’s final from the U.S. Championships in Omaha.
9 p.m.	Syfy	“The Abominable Snowman” (M)	A group of hikers stuck in a blizzard see signs that they may not be alone.
10 p.m.	CMT	“Swamp Pawn” (R)	Series premiere. Yet another pawn show, this one taking place in Bayou Pigeon, La.
11:30 p.m.	NBC	“Saturday Night Live” (C)	Adam Levine hosts and Kendrick Lamar performs.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 27
Time	Network	Program	Description
1 p.m.	CBS	“College Basketball” (S)	Good Big Ten matchup between No. 13 Michigan State and No. 7 Indiana.
7 p.m.	NBC	“NFL Football” (S)	The AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, live from Honolulu.
8 p.m.	Fox	“The Simpsons” (C)	Marge and Homer consider potential guardians for the kids in case of emergency.
8 p.m.	TNT, TBS	“Screen Actors Guild Awards” (A)	The 19th annual event includes a lifetime achievement award for Dick Van Dyke.
9 p.m.	ABC	“The Makeover” (M)	A woman attempts to turn a beer-seller into a political candidate.
9 p.m.	ESPN	“Winter X Games” (S)	Events on the final night include the men’s snowboarding superpipe final.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.