Private Practice season 3

The third season of Private Practice premiered on October 1, 2009 and concluded on May 13, 2010. The season consisted of 23 episodes.

Plot
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.

Main cast

 * Kate Walsh as Addison Montgomery
 * Tim Daly as Pete Wilder
 * Audra McDonald as Naomi Bennett
 * Paul Adelstein as Cooper Freedman
 * KaDee Strickland as Charlotte King
 * Chris Lowell as Dell Parker
 * Taye Diggs as Sam Bennett
 * Amy Brenneman as Violet Turner

Also starring

 * Brian Benben as Sheldon Wallace

Recurring cast

 * Geffri Maya as Maya Bennett
 * Hailey Sole as Betsey Parker
 * James Morrison as William White, Ryan Leitsch
 * Amanda Detmer as Morgan Barnes
 * Agnes Bruckner as Heather
 * Amanda Foreman as Katie Kent
 * Michael Patrick Thornton as Gabriel Fife
 * Christina Chang as Vanessa Hoyt
 * Stephen Lunsford as Filmore "Dink" Davis
 * Stephen Collins as "The Captain" Montgomery
 * Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd
 * Sean Bridgers as Frank

Special guest stars

 * Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey
 * Eric Dane as Mark Sloan

Guest stars

 * JoBeth Williams as Bizzy Montgomery
 * Rosanna Arquette as Corinne, Dink's mother

United Kingdom
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.

a Viewers in thousands. b Ranks for specific channel only.