| Bgcolour: |
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| Num Episodes: | 23 |
| Network: | ABC |
| Prev Season: | Season 2 |
| Next Season: | Season 4 |
| Episode List: | List of Private Practice episodes |
The third season of Private Practice premiered on October 1, 2009 and concluded on May 13, 2010. The season consisted of 23 episodes.
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.
See also: List of Private Practice episodes.
| Episode | Air Date | Timeslot (EST) | Rating | Share | 18-49 (Rating/Share) | Viewers (m) | Weekly Rank (#) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Death in the Family" | October 1, 2009 | Thursday 10:00 P.M. | 7.6 | 13 | 4.6/13 | 11.58 | 20[1] |
| 2 | "The Way We Were" | October 8, 2009 | 6.2 | 11 | 3.6/10 | 9.50 | 25 | |
| 3 | "Right Here, Right Now" | October 15, 2009 | 6.8 | 12 | 3.8/11 | 10.36 | 21 | |
| 4 | "Pushing the Limits" | October 22, 2009 | 6.7 | 11 | 3.7/10 | 9.928 | 28 | |
| 5 | "Strange Bedfellows" | October 29, 2009 | 6.1 | 10 | 3.6/9 | 9.155 | 29 | |
| 6 | "Slip Slidin’ Away" | November 5, 2009 | 6.0 | 10 | 3.4/10 | 9.11 | 27 | |
| 7 | "The Hard Part" | November 12, 2009 | 6.7 | 11 | 3.9/11 | 10.249 | TBA | |
| 8 | "Sins of the Father" | November 19, 2009 | 6.0 | 10 | 3.1/9 | 8.926 | TBA | |
| 9 | "The Parent Trap" | December 3, 2009 | 6.3 | 10 | 3.2/8 | 9.211 | 24 | |
| 10 | "Blowups" | December 3, 2009 | 6.3 | 10 | 3.2/8 | 9.211 | 24 | |
| 11 | "Another Second Chance" | January 14, 2010 | 7.1 | 12 | 4.2/12 | 10.963 | TBA | |
| 12 | "Best Laid Plans" | January 21, 2010 | 6.6 | 11 | 3.6/10 | 9.637 | TBA | |
| 13 | "Shotgun" | February 4, 2010 | 6.2 | 11 | 3.3/10 | 9.254 | TBA | |
| 14 | "Love Bites" | February 11, 2010 | 6.1 | 10 | 3.1/9 | 9.036 | 26 | |
| 15 | "'Til Death Do Us Part" | February 18, 2010 | 5.1 | 8 | 2.8/7 | 7.593 | 32 | |
| 16 | "Fear of Flying" | March 4, 2010 | 5.2 | 9 | 2.7/8 | 7.572 | 36 | |
| 17 | "Triangles" | March 11, 2010 | 5.3 | 9 | 2.8/8 | 7.656 | TBA | |
| 18 | "Pulling the Plug" | March 25, 2010 | 5.8 | 10 | 2.9/8 | 8.705 | TBA | |
| 19 | "Eyes Wide Open" | April 1, 2010 | 5.3 | 9 | 2.6/8 | 7.822 | TBA | |
| 20 | "Second Choices" | April 22, 2010 | Thursday 9:00 P.M.[2] | 5.1 | 9 | 2.3/6 | 7.491[3] | TBA |
| 21 | "War" | April 29, 2010 | Thursday 10:00 P.M. | 5.4 | 9 | 2.9/9 | 7.775 | TBA |
| 22 | "In the Name of Love" | May 6, 2010 | 5.7 | 10 | 2.8/8 | 8.152 | TBA | |
| 23 | "The End of A Beautiful Friendship" | May 13, 2010 | 6.3 | 11 | 3.2/9 | 9.299 | TBA |
In the third season, Private Practice aired on Thursdays at 10pm on Living, 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.
| Title | Timeslot | Air date | LIVING | LIVING +1 | Total (000s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viewersa | Rankb | Viewersa | Rankb | |||||
| 3-01 (32) | A Death in the Family | Thursday 10.00 P.M. | June 17, 2010 | 276 |
| 276 | ||
| 3-02 (33) | The Way We Were | June 24, 2010 | 260 |
| 260 | |||
| 3-03 (34) | Right Here, Right Now | July 1, 2010 | 270 |
| 270 | |||
| 3-04 (35) | Pushing the Limits | July 8, 2010 | 218 |
| 93 |
| 309 | |
| 3-05 (36) | Strange Bedfellows | July 15, 2010 | 224 |
| 127 |
| 351 | |
| 3-06 (37) | Slip Slidin' Away | July 22, 2010 | 206 |
| 125 |
| 331 | |
| 3-07 (38) | The Hard Part | July 29, 2010 | 234 |
| 93 |
| 327 | |
| 3-08 (39) | Sins of the Father | August 5, 2010 | 260 |
| 88 |
| 348 | |
| 3-09 (40) | The Parent Trap | August 12, 2010 | 229 |
| 111 |
| 340 | |
| 3-10 (41) | Blowups | August 19, 2010 | 279 |
| 279 | |||
| 3-11 (42) | Another Second Chance | Thursday 8.00 P.M. | August 26, 2010 | 182 |
| 182 | ||
| 3-12 (43) | Best Laid Plans | September 2, 2010 | 235 |
| 235 | |||
| 3-13 (44) | Shotgun | September 9, 2010 | 166 |
| 90 |
| 256 | |
| 3-14 (45) | Love Bites | September 16, 2010 | 246 |
| 70 |
| 316 | |
| 3-15 (46) | 'Til Death Do Us Part | September 23, 2010 | 177 |
| 177 | |||
| 3-16 (47) | Fear of Flying | September 30, 2010 | 203 |
| 203 | |||
| 3-17 (48) | Triangles | Thursday 7.00 P.M. | October 7, 2010 | 129 |
| 129 | ||
| 3-18 (49) | Pulling the Plug | October 14, 2010 | 88 |
| 88 | |||
| 3-19 (50) | Eyes Wide Open | October 21, 2010 | 219 |
| 219 | |||
| 3-20 (51) | Second Choices | October 28, 2010 | 211 |
| 211 | |||
| 3-21 (52) | War | November 4, 2010 | 168 |
| 168 | |||
| 3-22 (53) | In the Name of Love | November 11, 2010 | 197 |
| 79 |
| 276 | |
| 3-23 (54) | The End of a Beautiful Friendship | November 18, 2010 | 218 |
| 218 | |||
a Viewers in thousands.b Ranks for specific channel only.
| Private Practice: The Complete Third Season | ||||||
| Set Details | Special Features | |||||
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| Release Dates | ||||||
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||||
| [4] | [5] | [6] | ||||