The Practice

The Practice

The Practice is an American legal drama created by David E. Kelley centering on the partners and associates at a Boston law firm. Running for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004, the show won the Emmy in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series, and spawned the successful and lighter spin-off series Boston...

is an American legal drama

Legal drama

A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...

 created by David E. Kelley

David E. Kelley

David Edward Kelley is an American television writer and producer, known as the creator of Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Boston Legal and Harry's Law, as well as several films. Kelley is one of the only screenwriters to have had a show created by him run on...

 centring on the partners and associates at a Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

 law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 firm. The series was broadcast for eight seasons from 1997 to 2004, initially as a mid-season replacement. The Practice won many Emmy Awards, including in 1998 and 1999 for Best Drama Series. As part of the fictional universe

Fictional universe

A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....

 in which many shows produced by David E. Kelley are set The Practice had crossover story arcs with Gideon's Crossing

Gideon's Crossing

Gideon's Crossing is a US medical drama starring Andre Braugher. The series was loosely based on the experience of real-life physician Jerome Groopman and his book The Measure of Our Days. It premiered on October 10, 2000, and ran for one season, with its last episode airing on April 9, 2001, with...

, Boston Public

Boston Public

Boston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place...

, and Ally McBeal

Ally McBeal

Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...

in addition to its own more jovial spin-off series Boston Legal

Boston Legal

Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...

, which was broadcast from 2004 to 2008.

The Practice focused on the law firm of Robert Donnell

Bobby Donnell

Bobby Donnell is a fictional character, a self-made lawyer and head of a law firm on the former ABC TV drama, The Practice , set in Boston, Massachusetts. Donnell was played by Dylan McDermott.-Early Life and Practice:...

 and Associates (later becoming Donnell, Young, Dole, & Frutt, and ultimately Young, Frutt, & Berluti). Plots typically featured the firm's involvement in various high-profile criminal and civil cases that often mirrored current events at the time of the episodes' initial broadcast. Conflict between legal ethics

Legal ethics

Legal ethics encompasses an ethical code governing the conduct of persons engaged in the practice of law and persons more generally in the legal sector.-In the United States:...

 and personal morality was a recurring theme.

Series overview

Season		Timeslot (Eastern & Pacific Time)	Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season	Viewers (in millions)	Viewer Rank
	1	Tuesday 10:00PM	4 March 1997	8 April 1997	1996–1997	9.2	#43
	2	Saturday 10:00PM (20 September 1997 to 3 January 1998) Monday 10:00PM (from 5 January 1998)	20 September 1997	11 May 1998	1997–1998 1997–98 United States network television schedule This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 1997. All times are Eastern and Pacific.New series highlighted in bold....	10.0	#82
	3	Sunday 10:00PM	27 September 1998	9 May 1999	1998–1999 1998–99 United States network television schedule This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 1998. All times are Eastern and Pacific.New series highlighted in bold....	12.7	#34
	4		26 September 1999	21 May 2000	1999–2000	17.92	#8
	5		8 October 2000	13 May 2001	2000–2001 2000–01 United States network television schedule This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 2000. All times are Eastern and Pacific.New fall series are highlighted in bold....	18.3	#9
	6		23 September 2001	19 May 2002	2001–2002 2001–02 United States network television schedule This was the United States broadcast television schedule on all six commercial television networks for the fall season beginning in September 2001. All times are Eastern and Pacific.New fall series are highlighted in bold....	12.9	#26
	7	Sunday 10:00PM (29 September 2002 to 15 December 2002) Monday 9:00PM (27 January 2003 to 5 May 2003)	29 September 2002	5 May 2003	2002–2003	9.8	#55
	8	Sunday 10:00PM	28 September 2003	16 May 2004	2003–2004	9.11	#63

Season 1: 1997

Series #	Season #	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code

Season 2: 1997–1998

Series #	Season #	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code

Season 3: 1998–1999

Series #	Season #	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code

Season 4: 1999–2000

Series #	Season #	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code

Season 5: 2000–2001

Series #	Season #	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code

Season 6: 2001–2002

Series #	Season #	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code

Season 7: 2002–2003

Series #	Season #	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code

Season 8: 2003–2004

Series #	Season #	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code