The second season of Private Practice, a spin-off from the successful ABC series Grey’s Anatomy, starts off with Dr. Addison Montgomery, played by Kate Walsh, finding out about Oceanside Wellness Center’s financial crisis. Throughout the season, her practice treats patients with vast and diverse problems, including a HIV positive teen, an intermarried couple, a pedophile, and an Afghan woman with a very special request. Charlotte King, portrayed by KaDee Strickland, makes a risky career move by opening Pacific Wellcare in the same building where Oceanside Wellness is located. Additionally, Addison’s brother Archer causes as much headache to Addison as Charlotte does.
 
The show covers more than doctor-patient relationships. In fact, it is overloaded with on-and-off romances between regular and recurring characters such as Addison and Kevin, Violet and Sheldon, Violet and Pete, Violet and Cooper, Charlotte and Cooper, a few relationships/cheatings led by Archer, and that’s not even all. It was hard for me to keep up with who likes who and why. While some relationships add excitement and reveal the true colors of certain characters, frequently I felt like I was watching a soap opera, not a medical drama.
 
The romantic/intimate relationships and character’s personal issues can be addictive to some viewers.  Most of the medical issues that these doctors face are quite intriguing, and there are some heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. However, Private Practice is a bit too melodramatic and soap-opera-ish for me. Some subplots tend to drag, and by the end of the season I was somewhat fed up with every character’s unstable love life.