Shonda Rhimes Announces the End for Private Practice

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When Kate Walsh announced Season 6 would the last season of Private Practice she would be a part of as Addison Montgomery, many a fan wondered if this would spell the end of the series. It didn’t help that the season was only given a 13-episode order, seemingly hinting toward a fast approaching series finale. But executive producer Shonda Rhimes remained optimistic the show could recover from the loss of its star actress and move forward past this small bump in the road. After all, many series have survived the loss of their main characters; why shouldn’t Private Practice be able to do the same?

Despite having reached the milestone of 100 episodes, Shonda Rhimes took to her own website, Shondaland, and told her fans straight to their faces that Private Practice would be ending at the conclusion of its sixth season. I would suggest reading the short post she wrote to get a full understanding of why, in her own words, the show was given the axe. It sounds like it wasn’t an easy decision to come to and was only reached after countless hours of thought and discussion between Rhimes, the studio and the network. So it’s not like the rug was pulled out from under Rhimes and the rest of the writers; they had their say in the decision, so they could end things on their terms.

As sad as it no doubt is for fans of the show, there is a silver lining. Knowing this could have been the last season, the writers were inspired to write their most adventurous – and risky – stories, taking everything they’ve ever been afraid to do and saying “What the hell?” and doing it while they still have the chance. It will most certainly be a season to remember, so be happy knowing Private Practice will go out delivering the very best it has to offer creatively.