The Practice

The Practice is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Outstanding Drama Series, and spawned the spin-off series Boston Legal, which ran for five more seasons (from 2004 to 2008).

Conflict between legal ethics and personal morality was a recurring theme with light comedy being occasionally present. Kelley claimed that the show was intended to be something of a rebuttal to L.A. Law and its romanticized treatment of the American legal system and legal proceedings.

Overview
In season 1, Robert Donnell and Associates features Bobby Donnell as the sole senior partner in a firm that he started a decade prior with his receptionist Rebecca Washington. Ellenor Frutt, Eugene Young and Lindsay Dole are his associates. Jimmy Berluti is hired as an associate after losing his job in finance in an attempt to help Donnell and Associates with a loan.

In season 2, Eugene, Lindsay and Ellenor become partners after Lindsay insists on equity. Robert Donnell and Associates becomes Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt. Helen Gamble, an assistant district attorney, becomes regularly entangled in the cases and personal lives of the employees of the firm. She is a personal friend of Lindsay and viewers learn several episodes into the season that Bobby and Lindsay have had an on-again/off-again secret affair. Her romantic relationship with Bobby ends after a high-profile murder case pits them against one another.

In season 3, Rebecca Washington, who had been attending law school in secret, becomes an associate after passing the bar exam. Lucy Hatcher is then hired as the new receptionist.

In season 4, Assistant District Attorney Richard Bay, like Helen, becomes a frequent ally and opponent of Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt.

In season 5, Lucy becomes a rape crisis counselor in addition to her job as the firm's receptionist. Richard Bay is later assassinated after refusing to throw a murder trial.

In season 6, Assistant District Attorney Alan Lowe becomes an antagonist of the firm for a short period of time.

In season 7, Lindsay leaves Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt to start a new law firm with Claire Wyatt. To fill the void left by Lindsay, Jamie Stringer is hired as an associate. Bobby later leaves the firm.

In season 8, Donnell, Young, Dole and Frutt has been renamed to Young, Frutt and Berluti. Eugene has taken Bobby's place as a senior partner. Lucy has left the firm to become a full-time rape crisis counselor. Rebecca has also left the firm for unknown reasons. Helen is no longer present at the firm's cases. Tara Wilson is hired as a paralegal, and Alan Shore becomes an associate. After firing Alan and Tara – as well as being sued by the former – Young, Frutt and Berluti dissolve. Eugene then becomes a judge. Ellenor focuses her attention on motherhood. Jimmy and Jamie begin a new firm. Alan and Tara are hired by another firm, Crane, Poole and Schmidt and their story is continued in Boston Legal.

Main cast

 * Dylan McDermott as Bobby Donnell (seasons 1–7; guest season 8), the senior partner of the firm who struggles with his conscience and the idea of being a lawyer.
 * LisaGay Hamilton as Rebecca Washington (seasons 1–7), the firm's first receptionist and paralegal. She later passed the bar exam and became an associate.
 * Steve Harris as Eugene Young, the second highest-ranking partner at the firm and later senior partner who is more strongly devoted to the letter of the law and legal ethics than his colleagues. Later he even becomes a judge.
 * Camryn Manheim as Ellenor Frutt, an associate and later senior partner at the firm who brought in various nefarious clients. A recurring gag on the show was that the men she dated often turned out to be murderers.
 * Kelli Williams as Lindsay Dole (seasons 1–7), an associate at the firm and, later, wife of Bobby Donnell.
 * Michael Badalucco as Jimmy Berluti, an associate and later partner at the firm from a working-class background. Jimmy often struggles with his conscience, loneliness, feelings of inadequacy, and a gambling addiction.
 * Lara Flynn Boyle as Helen Gamble (seasons 2–7), an Assistant District Attorney and friend of the firm partners who was relentless in her attempts to prosecute those who do wrong.
 * Marla Sokoloff as Lucy Hatcher (seasons 3–7; recurring season 8), the firm's wise-cracking, nosy receptionist who was hired after Rebecca became an attorney. She later became a part-time counselor for rape victims in addition to her job as a receptionist.
 * Jason Kravits as Richard Bay (season 5; recurring season 4), a diminutive, hard-nosed Assistant District Attorney who believed in the guilt of all those he prosecuted.
 * Ron Livingston as Alan Lowe (season 6), an Assistant District Attorney who replaced Richard Bay.
 * Jessica Capshaw as Jamie Stringer (seasons 7–8), a high-strung, promiscuous Harvard Law School graduate and associate at the firm.
 * Chyler Leigh as Claire Wyatt (season 7), Lindsay's associate at her new practice.
 * Rhona Mitra as Tara Wilson (season 8), a paralegal and law student. She would later appear in Boston Legal as an attorney.
 * James Spader as Alan Shore (season 8), an amoral associate and an old friend of Ellenor. He would later appear in Boston Legal.

Recurring cast

 * Ray Abruzzo as Detective Mike McGuire (45 episodes)
 * Holland Taylor as Judge Roberta Kittleson (29 episodes)
 * Linda Hunt as Judge Zoey Hiller (23 episodes)
 * Bill Smitrovich as A.D.A. Kenneth Walsh (22 episodes)
 * Richard McGonagle as Judge Patrick Wilcox (16 episodes)
 * James Pickens, Jr. as Detective Mike McKrew (15 episodes)
 * Frank Birney as Judge Warren West (14 episodes)
 * Herb Mitchell as Judge Rodney White (12 episodes)
 * Michael Monks as George Vogelman (11 episodes)
 * Edward Herrmann as Anderson Pearson (10 episodes)
 * Anna Gunn as A.D.A. Jean Ward (10 episodes)
 * Kate Burton as A.D.A. Susan Alexander (9 episodes)
 * Bruce Davison as Scott Wallace (9 episodes)
 * Paul Dooley as Judge Philip Swackheim (8 episodes)
 * Lynn Hamilton as Judge Fulton (7 episodes)
 * Billee Thomas as Kendall Young (7 episodes)
 * Susan Blommaert as Judge Rudy Fox (7 episodes)
 * Steven Gilborn as A.D.A. Gavin Bullock (6 episodes)
 * Vince Colosimo as Matthew Billings (6 episodes)

Notable guest stars
The series holds the Emmy Awards record for most wins in the Guest Actor and Actress categories for a single series, as well as most nominations in those categories. Emmys went to John Larroquette, Edward Herrmann, James Whitmore, Beah Richards, Michael Emerson, Charles S. Dutton, Alfre Woodard, Sharon Stone and William Shatner. In addition, Tony Danza, Paul Dooley, Henry Winkler, Marlee Matlin, René Auberjonois and Betty White were nominated but did not win. Larroquette, who won for his guest appearance during the second season, was nominated again for an episode from the sixth season, but did not win. The series won the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for five consecutive years (from 1998 to 2002).


 * Gabrielle Anwar as Katie Defoe
 * Ed Asner as Judge Matlin Pratt / Judge Marcus Winnaker
 * René Auberjonois as Judge Mantz
 * Dylan Baker as Keith Ellison
 * Kathy Baker as Evelyn Mayfield
 * Lake Bell as Sally Heep
 * Gil Bellows as Billy Thomas
 * Tempestt Bledsoe as Roberta Baylor
 * Andre Braugher as Ben Gideon
 * Christian Clemenson as Barry Wall
 * Jon Cryer as Terry Pender
 * Tony Danza as Tommy Silva
 * Viola Davis as Aisha Crenshaw
 * Bruce Davison as Scott Wallace
 * Rebecca De Mornay as Hannah Rose
 * Patrick Dempsey as Paul Stewart
 * Charles Durning as Stephen Donnell
 * Charles S. Dutton as Leonard Marshall
 * Aunjanue Ellis as Sharon Young
 * Michael Emerson as William Hinks
 * Giancarlo Esposito as Ray McMurphy
 * Calista Flockhart as Ally McBeal
 * Billy Gardell as Manny Quinn
 * Gina Gershon as Glenn Hall
 * Anthony Heald as Wallace Cooper/Scott Guber
 * Doug Hutchison as Jackie Cahill
 * John Larroquette as Joey Heric
 * Virginia Madsen as Marsha Ellison
 * Marlee Matlin as Sally Berg
 * Chi McBride as Steven Harper
 * Thomas McCarthy as Kevin Riley
 * Paul McCrane as Martin Parks
 * John C. McGinley as Leonard Good
 * Leslie Moonves as Himself
 * Chris O'Donnell as Brad Stanfield
 * Vincent Pastore as Lenny Pescatore
 * Teri Polo as Sarah Barker
 * CCH Pounder as Helene Washington
 * Kim Raver as Victoria Keenan
 * Christopher Reeve as Kevin Beally
 * Beah Richards as Gertrude Turner
 * Ernie Sabella as Harland Bassett
 * William Shatner as Denny Crane
 * Sharon Stone as Sheila Carlisle
 * Rider Strong as Gary Armbrust
 * Ralph Waite as Walter Josephson
 * Betty White as Catherine Piper
 * James Whitmore as Raymond Oz
 * Henry Winkler as Henry Olson
 * Alfre Woodard as Denise Freeman
 * D. B. Woodside as Aaron Wilton

Budget reduction and major revamp
By the end of the seventh season, faced with sagging ratings, ABC conditioned the show's renewal on a drastic budget reduction. As a result, Dylan McDermott, Kelli Williams, Lara Flynn Boyle, Chyler Leigh, Marla Sokoloff, and LisaGay Hamilton were fired as regulars. McDermott and Sokoloff reappeared as special guest stars and a recurring character respectively in the eighth season. The addition of James Spader and Rhona Mitra to the cast somewhat revived the ratings as Spader went on to win an Emmy for his appearance. However, ABC announced that The Practice would not return for a ninth season on March 11, 2004. Instead, Kelley would create a new spin-off series called Boston Legal which starred Spader, Mitra, Lake Bell and William Shatner.

Episodes
The Practice had 8 seasons and a total of 168 episodes.

Crossovers

 * "Axe Murderer" (S02E26) – The lawyers of Robert Donnell and Associates work with the lawyers of Cage & Fish on a case in which a woman is accused of killing a wealthy client who may have been Lizzie Borden in a past life. The case had begun on Ally McBeal: "The Inmates" (S01E20).
 * "The Day After" (S05E14) – Ellenor Frutt and Jimmy Berlutti are hired to represent Coach Riley, who's been fired from Winslow High for withholding information about Milton Buttle's affair. The hearing happens on Boston Public: "Chapter Thirteen" (S01E13).
 * "Gideon's Crossover" (S05E16) – When Ellenor Frutt has trouble with her pregnancy, Dr. Ben Gideon helps out in Gideon's Crossing: "Flashpoint" (S01E17).

Additionally, Bobby Donnell (Dylan McDermott) appears in the Ally McBeal season 1 finale "These Are the Days", while Lara Flynn Boyle and Michael Badalucco each make cameos in "Making Spirits Bright" and "I Know Him by Heart".

Lara Flynn Boyle had an uncredited guest appearance as a rebuttal witness, opposite of guest star Heather Locklear's character in the season 5 episode "Tom Dooley".

Home media
The Practice, Volume 1, was released as a four-disc DVD set in North America on June 12, 2007. The set includes all six episodes of season 1 and the first seven episodes of season 2. It also includes a featurette, "Setting Up The Practice". The set was also released in Region 4 on June 6, 2007 and in Region 2 on June 29, 2008.

On January 3, 2014, it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired the rights to the series in Region 1 and would release the final season on DVD on April 15, 2014.

In 2012, Medium Rare Entertainment acquired the rights to the series in Region 2 and released the first and second seasons on DVD in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2012.

In 2014, StudioCanal released the first and second seasons over three volumes in Germany with German and English audio. The third, fourth, and eighth seasons have also been released in 2016 with plans to release the fifth and sixth at a later date.

Volume 1 was released in Italy and Greece on July 1, 2007.

In March 2019, all seasons and episodes of The Practice were released on the streaming service Amazon Prime Video. By 2021, seasons 1–8 became available on the streaming service Hulu.

U.S. television viewership
Viewer numbers per season of The Practice on ABC.

Note: Each US network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. The first two seasons include the household rating. Seasons 4 and 5 reached the top 10 rankings.

The exposure from its January 30, 2000, post-Super Bowl episode (attracting 23.8 million viewers) plus their weekly lead-in from early 2000 to mid-2001, the then mega-hit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, helped the series reach its ratings peak.


 * Series High: 15.4 rating/23.8 million viewers
 * lead in: Super Bowl: Post Game — 25.6 rating
 * Series Low: 4.9 rating/7.3 million
 * Series Debut: 11.3 rating/16.1 million viewers
 * Series Finale: 7.5 rating/10.9 million viewers