There's nothing better than leaving the office at the end of the workday. Sure, there are still minor nuisances: powering down your computer, gathering up your stuff ... Still, you're essentially free -- freed from drudgery. Unless something goes wrong.

[Warning: Spoiler alert.]

Charlotte King (KaDee Strickland) thinks she's free. But nothing could be further from the case. She tries to leave at the end of the day on 'Private Practice' (Thu., 10PM ET on ABC). Not only does not she make it out the door -- she might not make it out alive.

Ms. King is the Chief of Staff at St. Ambrose Hospital. She's just finished a night of work on Halloween Eve -- she had to stay late on the holiday, but soon that minor annoyance will be the least of her worries. Charlotte and her fiancée Cooper (Paul Adelstein) had a fight earlier in the day. But Coop made it up to her with a gift; a miniature layer cake in a tasteful box. She glances at her fiancée's photo, grabs the box ... And then she's walking out of her office.

And that's when it happens.

Let's be honest: Last season of 'Private Practice' was a real downer. But this season is starting off with a bang, a surprise and some life-changing orgasms, according to the cast.


I stopped by the set while they were shooting their farewells to Dell over his grave (we'll miss you, Chris Lowell!), and they were all incredibly eager to talk about the theme of Season 4: adult relationships.

Check out what Kate Walsh, Taye Diggs, Amy Brenneman, Tim Daly, Audra McDonald, Paul Adelstein, KaDee Strickland, Caterina Scorsone and Brian Benben teased about the sexy new season (premieres Thurs., Sept. 23, 10PM ET on ABC), wedding bells and more.

'Private Pracitce' has had some pretty great guest stars over the last three seasons. JoBeth Williams, Stephen Collins, Grant Show, Jay Harrington, Rosanna Arquette, D.B. Woodside and star Taye Diggs' wife Idina Menzel have all stopped by to play, not to mention certain members of the 'Grey's Anatomy' cast.


So it got me thinking: Are there any celebs the cast is dying to have on the show? I visited the set to find out and got answers ranging from an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress to an outpouring of love for Alec Baldwin.

And all that guest star talk prompted Tim Daly to get fired up and say this: "Oh, I can kick Kevin Bacon's ass!" Watch and see why.

'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Private Practice' boss lady Shonda Rhimes is one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter (hi @shondarhimes!). She answers fan questions in what can only be called entertaining bursts of rapid-fire tweeting, then often puts an abrupt end to things when she's sick of answering the same "when will AddiSam happen for real?" question over and over agian.

While we all know the 'Grey's' cast is pretty anti-Twitter, the gang over at 'Private Practice' is much more tech-savvy and loving the instant connection with the fans. I hit the 'Private Practice' set -- a full set visit video is coming closer to premiere -- and the amount of Twitter talk warranted its own post.


Kate Walsh (@k8_walsh) says she treats it like her diary, while Tim Daly (@TimmyDaly) says he can't stand people who do that. Amy Brenneman (@TheAmyBrenneman) gives us the real reason Taye Diggs won't tweet, while Taye just tries to come to terms with the word tweet. And Audra McDonald (@AudraEqualityMc) reminds us that sometimes there's more to the oft-maligned social media tool than meets the eye.

Also of note: Caterina Scorsone (@caterinatweets), a.k.a. Amelia Shepherd, is also on. And since my visit, KaDee Strickland (@KaDeeStrick) has joined the ranks as well. I'm not taking credit or anything, but ... well, you're welcome. Enjoy!

(S02E22) "You have my baby and I want it back." - Katie

Those of us who keep up with show spoilers were warned that this episode would be a little crazy. But what we've got instead was a whole lot of crazy and some poor writing. To me, the season finale of Private Practice felt like it was rushed way too much. I get that season finale must be action packed and end with cliffhangers, especially when the series has been renewed, but there is a limit, no?

(S01E09) "He's fighting for her." - Dell about Sam

What could be the last Private Practice episode in a long while (this was the last episode completed before the writers' strike) finally gave Dell a good amount of screen time. However, it felt like it was too little too late.

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(S01E08) "If they talk about us, we should talk about them." - Sam to Pete and Cooper

I'm not sure I like the port Cooper found in his storm and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone thinking this (let your voice be heard in our poll). It's clear they are trying to make Charlotte more meaningful but for me, it's too little too late. The character was almost as poorly introduced and as useful as Nikki and Paulo were on Lost. Let's hope that the Private Practice writers know where they are going with this because it could ruin the show's best character: Cooper.
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Even though focus groups reportedly did not like her Grey's Anatomy character much (mostly because she got in the way of Meredith and Derek?), TV Guide's Michael Ausiello reports that Chyler Leigh was promoted to series regular. This news comes less than a week after we've told you that the series was considering having her stay longer than the planned 13 episodes.

As for the Grey's spinoff Private Practice, KaDee Strickland has been cast as Oceanside Wellness Center's administrator. This is a series regular position. No more information has been given about the character. You may remember Strickland from FOX's fast-canceled The Wedding Bells or from movies such as Fever Pitch, The Grudge and The Stepford Wives.