Description: David E. Kelley's Emmy Award-winning legal drama, The Practice, had eight amazing seasons, with promising, provocative, issue-related stories, coupled with the writer's trademark humor. Set in Boston, The Practice centers on a firm of passionate attorneys to whom every case is important and every client worth a fight to the end. Legal maneuvering is the firm's modus operandi, and they have it down to a science, making even the most questionable arguments convincing. And while they can't - and don't - win every trial, the pursuit of justice remains the priority until the final verdict is announced … and sometimes afterwards. Pursuing justice, however, often confronts them with serious ethical and moral issues of conscience. The end of last season saw Bobby Donnell quitting the firm and leaving Eugene Young (Steve Harris) in charge. In the final season, we find Eugene not only tackling his new role as head of the firm, but also the new dynamic with co-workers Ellenor Frutt (Camryn Manheim), a single mom known for her fervent commitment to clients and for refusing to take "no" for an answer; Jimmy Berluti (Michael Badalucco), a hard-working "good guy" with a winning record and unparalleled loyalty to the firm; and a budding relationship with Jamie Stringer (Jessica Capshaw), a young associate recently out of law school. In addition to returning cast members Manheim, Harris, Badalucco and Capshaw, in the final season, Kelley injected the series with intriguing new characters, including acclaimed film actor James Spader, who will play Alan Shore, a complicated and ethically challenged lawyer, and Rhona Mitra, who will play Tara Wilson, a confident paralegal in her third year of law school who is also the firm's new tough-as-nails assistant. The multiple Emmy Award-winning drama has also earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Drama Series, a Peabody Award, a Viewers for Quality Television Award, an American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award and, most recently, a coveted Humanitas Award. Spin-offs: Boston Legal Other related shows (within the same "universe"): Ally McBeal, Boston Public, Gideon's Crossing Awards and Nominations 1998 Emmy Awards • Nominated Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (David E. Kelley for Betrayal) • Won Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (John Larroquette for playing "Joey Heric" in Betrayal) • Won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Camryn Manheim) • Won Outstanding Drama Series1999 Golden Globe Awards • Won Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture (Camryn Manheim) (Tied with Faye Dunaway for "Gia") • Won Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Drama (Dylan McDermott) • Won Best TV-Series - Drama"The Practice" has received the award for Best Guest Actor in a Drama Series every full-length season. • John Larroquette as "Joey Heric" (Season 2) • Edward Herrmann as "Atty. Anderson Pearson" (Season 3) • James Whitmore as "Raymond Oz" (Season 4) • Michael Emerson as "William Hinks" (Season 5) • Charles Dutton as "Leonard Marshall" (Season 6) • Sharon Stone as "Sheila Carlisle" (Season 8) • William Shatner as "Denny Crane" (Season 8) Broadcast History ----------------- First telecast: March 4, 1997 Last telecast: May 16, 2004 Show type: Drama Number of episodes: 168 Newtork: ABC (Simulcast in HDTV for the 2000-2001 season through the 2003-2004 season) ------------------------------ Spinoff: Boston Legal