"private practice" is an american medical drama series created by shonda rhimes and produced and broadcast by abc. the series is a spin-off from rhimes' other series, "grey's anatomy". the two-part episode "the other side of this life" (which aired as the twenty-second and twenty-third episodes of "grey's anatomy" third season in the spring of 2007) served as the backdoor pilot for this series. the story follows dr. addison montgomery as she relocates from the fictional seattle grace hospital in seattle, washington to the oceanside wellness group in santa monica, california.