As with its parent series,
Grey's Anatomy,
Private Practice doesn't appear to be exempt from the repercussions and ripple effects of the ongoing strike being staged by the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Yesterday, we reported on our
Grey's Anatomy page that star
Patrick Dempsey himself has expressed concern for both the consequences for the show, as well as its personnel.
If the writers' walkout endures for an extended period of time,
Private Practice, like many other series, may be forced to go off the air or resort to reruns. Despite such a grim possibility, Shonda Rhimes, its creator and executive producer, has decided to give her complete support to the writers' cause.
According to an article from
The Mercury News, most new shows like
Pushing Daisies and
Private Practice, which had both been picked up for full seasons a few weeks ago, will be able to churn out no more than 10 to 11 episodes with the current writers' boycott. Despite the foreseen disruption to its maiden season,
Private Practice showrunner, Shonda Rhimes, has thrown her support behind the picketing script authors.
Rhimes, the woman behind both
Grey's Anatomy and
Private Practice, has sent an e-mail message to the members of the WGA stating she would “choose not to render my services as a producer” while they carry on with their walkout.
"I absolutely believed that I would edit our episodes," Rhimes wrote in her e-mail, which was widely circulated late Monday. "Until a thought hit me: how can I walk a picket line and then continue to essentially work? How am I supposed to look at myself in the mirror or look at my child years from now and know that I did not have the courage of my convictions to stand up and put myself more at risk than anyone else?"
In a separate statement, Rhimes was quoted to have been of the opinion that the disgruntled writers truly do want to return to their duties.
"I feel like the writers really want to go back to work,"
Private Practice's creator and executive producer reportedly said during an event in the Big Apple.
-Rosario Santiago, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Variety, The New York Times, The Mercury News, USA Today
(Image Courtesy of Viewimages)