Questions on bioethics are faced weekly on ABC’s Private Practice, the spin-off of the hugely successful series, Grey’s Anatomy.  Having recently begun its second season, Private Practice executives assure fans that things are going to get heavier this time around. 

There’s more drama afoot, and series creator Shonda Rhimes has revealed that the doctors will be dealing more with real issues that could cause controversies.  “We're telling stories that will provide a lot of moral debate among our doctors and maybe debate at home when you watch,” Rhimes explained. 

Kate Walsh, who plays Dr. Addison Montgomery, also spoke about the new matters that the Oceanside Wellness Group has to confront this season.  “They're all viable conflicts grounded in these medical stories,” she said.  

However, with everything fresh coming in as the show was renewed, audiences will still be treated to the familiar zest brought by the cast and crew.  “It's topical but not so procedural that it's not a Shonda Rhimes show.  You still have all the great dialogue and characters and stories and romance,” Walsh declared. 

Private Practice will once again have the classic mess of personal lives that the doctors got themselves into.  The only added bonus is the bioethical concerns they’re going to deal with, which are based on real medical cases.  Elizabeth Klaviter, the series researcher and writer, talked about the sort of themes the show will contend with. 

“We look at the things that have ourselves and our family members and friends buzzing — the issues that people are talking about in terms of right or wrong and the laws, ethics and social morays that are put on us in terms of how we conduct ourselves,” she said.  Of course, to oppose the problems, solutions will also be tackled.  The staff has looked into the details of how the cases can be treated through various means. 

Some of the things the doctors will be facing are the rights of prostitutes towards medical care, and whether or not a sex offender should be treated at their child-friendly practice.  Audiences are not the only ones surprised though, as actor Tim Daly who plays Dr. Pete Wilder also expressed his shock. 

Finding out about going into a debate on abortion, he explained how he never thought a Disney-owned company like ABC would delve into such issues.  But along with the other Private Practice cast members, Daly credited the show’s writers for their guts in inspiring viewers to consider such issues.

KaDee Strickland, who portrays Dr. Charlotte King, exclaimed that “If you can make anybody think in this day and age, and entertain them at the same time, that's a dream come true.”  Walsh added that what they've done deepens the characters and draws in the audience as well.

Shonda Rhimes definitely wants her viewers to ponder, and adding this new dimension to the show is surely a great idea.  “It's something more and more doctors are facing these days.  Just a very different way of looking at medicine that I don't think we normally think about — the ethics of what you're doing.” 


-Maria Gonzalez, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: The Associated Press
(Image Courtesy of ABC)