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Mini-makeover for ‘Private Practice’

For “Private Practice,” second-season alteration is more an elective procedure than major surgery.

The three-month strike by writers gave creator Shonda Rhimes a chance to reflect on where the ABC drama was strongest and how to make it better. This season, which begins Oct. 1 at 9 p.m. EDT, her thinking comes to fruition.

The medical stories will be fraught with dilemmas and a little more surgical work to show off the skills and strength of the central character, neonatal surgeon Addison Forbes Montgomery (Kate Walsh).

A storyline will follow the potential financial failure of the Santa Monica medical practice overseen by Addison’s fertility specialist friend (Audra McDonald).

There will be greater exploration of romantic possibilities (and their effects on friendships), including Addison’s relationship with a police officer (David Sutcliffe) and pediatrician Cooper Freedman’s (Paul Adelstein) dalliance with Dr. Charlotte King (KaDee Strickland), chief of staff at a nearby hospital.

These elements will heighten conflicts at Oceanside Wellness Group, putting pressure on personal and professional relationships between doctors and friends.

“I look at this sort of like a family business. I wanted the stories to challenge the family and how they deal with one another,” Rhimes said.

“Practice” arrived last season amid high expectations as a spinoff from ABC’s top-rated drama, Rhimes’ “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Despite lackluster early reviews, it ranked among the most-watched freshmen with 10.8 million viewers.

Rhimes disputes critics’ notions that Addison in “Private Practice” was a weaker version of her fiery “Grey’s” surgeon, and says a year can make a big difference for a character adapting to a new environment.

“I always felt that Addison was a very strong woman, but she’d just left her marriage and transplanted herself from Seattle to L.A. She was on new ground with a bunch of people she really didn’t know. She’s finding herself on much surer footing this season.”