UPDATE: ABC has announced that Private Practice will Return in Fall 2008
ABC’s Private Practice, Wednesday 9PM Eastern, has a Grey’s Anatomy spin-off pedigree and was thought to be a certain hit.
But nothing’s ever certain in television, and so we ask: Renew or Cancel?
Private Practice’s Ratings Rank among New ABC Shows, All New Shows
| Date | Viewer Rank among New ABC shows | Viewer Rank among all new shows |
|---|---|---|
| 9/26 | #1 of 3 | #1 of 20 |
| 10/3 | #2 of 6 | #2 of 23 |
| 10/10 | #1 of 7 | #1 of 24 |
| 10/17 | #2 of 8 | #2 of 24 |
| 10/24 | #2 of 8 | #2 of 24 |
| 10/31 | #2 of 6 | #2 of 22 |
| 11/7 | not aired | not aired |
| 11/14 | #2 of 7 | #2 of 22 |
| 11/21 | #2 of 6 | #2 of 22 |
ABC has, by far, had the best new line up, and Private Practice’s ratings have been first or second for both ABC new shows and among all new shows in general.
Private Practice ratings have traded the top spot with Samantha Who? this season and might be more impressive since Samantha Who? has the benefit of following the Dancing With the Stars juggernaut.
How is it doing against its competition on Wednesday?
Private Practice’s Ratings and Rankings @ 9PM Wednesday
| Date | Viewers (Rank) | Adults 18-49 (Rank) | Adults 18-34 (Rank) | Adults 25-54 (Rank) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/26 | 14.41m (1) | 6.85m (2) | 3.33m (1) | 7.25m (2) |
| 10/3 | 12.45m (2) | 5.95m (1) | 2.80m (1) | 6.44m (1) |
| 10/10 | 12.42m (2) | 6.38m (1) | 3.35m (1) | 6.43m (1) |
| 10/17 | 11.78m (2) | 5.61m (1) | 2.74m (1) | 6.06m (2) |
| 10/24* | 10.90m (3) | 5.28m (2) | 2.52m (2) | 5.53m (3) |
| 10/31 | 11.34m (2) | 5.00m (1) | 2.28m (1) | 5.69m (2) |
| 11/7 | not aired | - | - | - |
| 11/14 | 11.48m (2) | 5.51m (2) | 2.67m (1) | 5.93m (2) |
| 11/21 | 8.54m (3) | 3.47m (4) | 1.38m (2) | 4.22m (2) |
Particularly since the 9pm Wednesday timeslot is among the most competitive in primetime, Private Practice’s ratings are all the more impressive.
Private Practice ratings started strong and stayed strong. Regularly winning the 18-34 and 18-49 demos, occasionally 25-54, and typically #2 for total viewers behind Criminal Minds.
(*10/24 data is Live, all other data is Live+SD, useful for rankings but not viewership trends).
Conclusions
Positives
- Private Practice ratings have been at or near the top of all new shows since its debut.
- In a very competitive timeslot, Private Practice ratings have owned the youth age demos and been second in viewers and 25-54.
Negatives
- None.
Verdict: Renew.
Since it’s a spin-off, Private Practice ratings may be less likely than other new shows to suffer if its season ends early and it comes back next year.
Strike Status: As of today, there are 2 fresh episodes left. One is scheduled for 12/5, we have no information on when the other will air, but January is likely.
Wondering about other shows? Check our all our Renew or Cancel? posts.
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Nielsen TV Ratings Data: ©2007 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Of course it will be renewed, and by your standards should be. But its a mediocre soap opera and its popularity with quasiadults means nothing except that network TV is on its last legs. The competition on Wed night is actually weak, as the numbers show. One popular reality show anywhere, the ratings also show, will knock these hothouse shows on their ass. I give it a couple of years before it reaches ER level of boredom for anyone with an IQ above room temperature.; And after the 2008 recession, our money will be greener than theirs.
Private Practice will be renewed cause is the best show now on TV. and has the most gorgeous lead actress in the world of television!!!
Great acting, great writting and beautiful ppl!
Private Practice has great acting and writing!
I think it should and will be renewed. I think it is the most enjoyable show on TV. I also love the cast and I have heard that off camera they are extremely proffessional and kind. To me they all deserve to be on TV and work on a hit show which they do. If Private Practice is renewed, all will be well for me.
I think Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money are the only new Drama’s off this season worth renewing.
Keep it for sure! It’s not Grey’s — yet — but it’s still very good and lots of fun to watch — Addison is one of my favorite TV characters ever, and I’m no twenty-something slacker — I’m 57!
P.P. is just another cookie cutter drama designed to provide bland T.V. because in this era of multi-tasking, people prefer televison that requires less attention so they can also surf the internet, eat, and talk on the phone all while watching. My wife watches this show, but she’ll get up to use the bathroom without pausing the DVR, because she knows she won’t really miss anything.
Bear in mind that I say all of this as a FAN of Grey’s Anatomy.
DAMMIT!!
I want this crap show to be cancelled. WORST writing and acting of ANY television show. This show is just a recycled version of other shows..seriously BORING…Now GOSSIP GIRL has suprised me and I LOVE IT!!!
I wish PRIVATE PRACTICE would be CANCELLED so LOST could take its place!!!!!
Lost has lost over half of its audience. Frankly, I never got how it got so many to start watching to begin with, but audiences are catching up to the fact Lost is yet another empty J.J. Abrams production.
Gossip Girl is one of the biggest bombs of the season. CW went all-in behind it and it failed almost as badly as Bionic Woman.
Private Practice is the highest rated new show (discounting the lead-in effect for Samantha Who? which is actually underperforming badly) and will be renewed automatically by ABC.
I think the show has lost it touch, and I really miss Kate Walsh on Greys. I hope that she will return to Greys if this show doesn’t make it.
Just can’t work up enough interest to linger on the show.
Interesting that the pro-PP comments sounded as if they were prompted to say they liked it, ie, I love it I love it its the greatest show ever, while those who didn’t like it seemed turned off by something which frankly surprised me, which is the show’s blandness. The lead redhead, who graced the cover of the TV Guide Best of 2007 issue, is certainly one of the most attractive women on television, and Amy Brenneman is not far behind. The male leads likewise. Yet the show is almost devoid of eroticism. No beefcake in towels, no triumphant female adulterers, no boy toys dragged around like furniture, as on Greys or Desperate Housewives. At least those shows have cheesy softcore sleazy sex appeal. On PP, we’re treeated to moralism about hiring a female stripper – I guess I can wait until they serve snowcones in hell before a woman hiring a male stripper on an ABC show is a sexist female chauvinist pig. Rock on, double standard – you fool nobody. But why not let the boring drivel stay on the air? Why hate on a harmless paper tiger, which is all the ABC lineup is proving to be. They don’t have the guts to be in-your-face dominatrixes like Sex in the City, or the brains to do a medical show, like House, with actually interesting medical cases. The true test will be Kashmere and Lipstick Jungle, against all-reality competition. If all they can pull is sixes and nines, I will be further justified. If one of them is the next Desperate Housewives, I’ll join the chorus that crowns Sherry Lansing at ABC and Laybourne way out in Oxygen land the Bochcos and Spellings of our time. But first, you have to prove you can deliver what more than a handful of lonely couch potatoettes and easily-bribed critics will watch.
I think the show should be cancelled, I do not hate it but I also do not love it. Like Jaime I love Kate Walsh and I would love to see her back On Grey’s. I also wouldn’t mind if Dr. Pete would come to Settle Grace as well; I could actually see him dating Dr. Haugn from Grey’s, its weird I know.
The show is not linear and obvious like some pretend. I’t layered, and can be read supperfically, and then it’s just like any other TV show out there, and it has a second layer of small details that are not for the attention challenged. The first 3 episodes taken together are some of the best writing out there this season. The other ones are still very good, but not great.
Still it’s better than the excruciating 4th season of Grey’s Anatomy,which as been dumbed down to the cater to lowest common denominator of the viewership, and with much better acting.
I think private practice should be renewed. It has a few kinks but I think they can be ironed out.
I absolutely love Private Practice. I miss it and hope that it will NOT be cancelled. I am not home at that time but I make sure that my vcr is recording…..thanks for a great spin-off.
I really wanted to like this show, but it was just so boring. I have a couple episodes I need to catch up on, but really the characters, I’m just not emotionally invested in them. I think Kate Walsh should have stayed in Seattle.
I love the show and I am concened why it has no date to air new episodes. I hope it has nto gotten canceled and new episodes commence as soon as possible. Its a wonderful show with complex characters. Very genuine approach to a medical show where everything happes in the hospital. Please don’t cancel it. I love the show and haven;t missed one episode.
Yamile, Private Practice will return in the Fall of 2008.
i really hope this show is renewed, i absolutely love it, i love sitting down to watch it and being shocked by the medical mysteries that occur every episode. and i know it sounds bad, but the twisted love stories actually makes me feel better about my love life! abc gives me something to look forward to when my week isn’t going to well, so i hope it gets renewed.
As a GA fan, I've been utterly disappointed with PP. The first thing that I hated about the spinoff was the casting change: Merrin Dungey was great as Naomi in the Back Door Pilot(that was shown on GA)but Audra McDonald is just terrible as Naomi on PP. Another thing that stood out was the personality changes of each character from the first pilot to PP – Dell(Chris Lowell)was a stud in the pilot then became a nervous nerd on PP, Sam(Taye Diggs)was confident & new what he wanted but on PP he was a chicken and not sure about what he wanted, and finally Addison was a sexy and smart doctor who then morphed on PP into a whiny, flirtatious redhead who secretly wants to be a blonde. The PP pilot was just plain bad and the changes hurt the show more than anything else. I honestly don't agree with ABC's decision to renew it – if they were smart they would cancel this show and send Addison's ass back to Seattle Grace.
I agree completely. PP ruins Addison…maybe they could make an episode, like a reverse back-door, where there's an emergency case at SGH and they need her back, so something magical happens and PP gets cancelled forever. I haven't seen many positive reviews at all, when will ABC take the hint?
There we're so many other new shows this year that deserved a renewal from their networks that didn't get one.. PP deserved to be cancelled after the first 4 episodes of its debut season – it was that bad.