The Practice (1997)

Crime · Drama · Mystery

A provocative legal drama focused on young associates at a bare-bones Boston firm and their scrappy boss, Bobby Donnell. The show's forte is its storylines about “people who walk a moral tightrope.”

IMDb rating: 7.7 (11,886 votes)
Episode average: 7.8 ↑ +0.1 vs IMDb
Seasons: 8
Streaming (US): Amazon Prime Video
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Rating trend: this show's seasons do not settle into one shape. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well.

Browse shows by rating shape → Open in Rising Shows app → View on IMDb

Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 8 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (1997)

7.98 avg 6 episodes 7.8 → 8.0 50 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Pilot	7.8	304
2	Part I	7.8	218
3	Trial and Error	7.9	211
4	Part IV	8.5	207
5	Part V	7.9	193
6	Part VI	8.0	193

Season 2 (1997)

7.80 avg 28 episodes 7.6 → 7.7 45 min avg

Mid-peak

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Reasonable Doubts	7.6	196
2	Betrayal	8.2	205
3	The Blessing	7.9	188
4	Dog Bite	8.0	175
5	First Degree	7.8	167
6	Sex, Lies and Monkeys	7.6	170
7	Search and Seizure	7.6	172
8	The Means	7.0	168
9	Save the Mule	7.5	156
10	Spirit of America	7.6	179
11	Hide and Seek	7.6	155
12	Race with the Devil	7.4	148
13	The Civil Right	7.5	156
14	The Pursuit of Dignity	7.6	140
15	Line of Duty	7.9	145
16	Truth and Consequences	8.1	143
17	Burden of Proof	8.5	155
18	Ties That Bind	7.5	134
19	The Trial	8.1	141
20	Cloudy with a Chance of Membranes	8.4	149
21	In Deep	7.7	131
22	Another Day	7.9	134
23	Checkmate	8.2	142
24	Trees in the Forest	7.5	127
25	Food Chains	7.9	123
26	Axe Murderer	8.0	153
27	Duty Bound	8.1	133
28	Rhyme and Reason	7.7	147

Season 3 (1998)

7.93 avg 23 episodes 7.7 → 8.7 48 min avg

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Passing Go	7.7	139
2	Reasons to Believe	7.9	137
3	Body Count	8.3	139
4	The Defenders	8.0	131
5	The Battlefield	7.9	132
6	One of Those Days	8.2	127
7	Trench Work	8.5	131
8	Swearing In	7.7	122
9	State of Mind	7.6	115
10	Love & Honor	8.2	120
11	Split Decisions	7.5	128
12	A Day in the Life	7.1	133
13	Judge and Jury	7.4	115
14	Of Human Bondage	7.4	122
15	Lawyers, Reporters and Cockroaches	7.7	133
16	End Games	8.6	131
17	Target Practice	7.8	132
18	Crossfire	7.7	122
19	Closet Justice	8.6	152
20	Home Invasions	8.0	128
21	Infected	8.1	130
22	Do Unto Others	7.7	123
23	Happily Ever After	8.7	136

Season 4 (1999)

7.89 avg 22 episodes 7.6 → 8.2 43 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Free Dental	7.6	138
2	Boston Confidential	8.1	114
3	Loser's Keepers	8.3	124
4	Legacy	7.6	116
5	Oz	7.7	112
6	Marooned	7.5	112
7	Victimless Crimes	7.7	109
8	Committed	7.9	114
9	Bay of Pigs	7.6	109
10	Day in Court	7.9	130
11	Blowing Smoke	7.6	106
12	New Evidence	8.3	125
13	Hammerhead Sharks	8.7	132
14	Checkmates	8.2	114
15	Race Ipsa Loquitor	7.3	105
16	Settling	7.3	113
17	Black Widows	7.8	106
18	Death Penalties	7.8	115
19	Till Death Do Us Part	8.0	116
20	Liberty Bells	8.8	130
21	Honorable Man	7.6	103
22	Life Sentence	8.2	142

Season 5 (2000)

7.92 avg 22 episodes 7.6 → 8.4 44 min avg

Season 5 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Summary Judgments	7.6	116
2	Germ Warfare	7.7	103
3	Officers of the Court	7.9	102
4	Appeal and Denial	7.7	108
5	We Hold These Truths...	7.8	101
6	Show and Tell	7.6	108
7	Brothers' Keepers	7.3	107
8	Mr. Hinks Goes to Town	9.0	182
9	The Deal	8.5	127
10	Friends and Ex-Lovers	8.0	113
11	An Early Frost	7.8	117
12	Payback	8.0	110
13	The Thin Line	8.0	113
14	The Day After	7.4	114
15	Awakenings	7.4	101
16	Gideon's Crossover	7.6	100
17	What Child Is This?	7.6	104
18	The Confession	7.8	106
19	Home of the Brave	7.4	104
20	The Case of Harland Bassett	9.0	155
21	Poor Richard's Almanac	8.7	124
22	Public Servants	8.4	123

Season 6 (2001)

7.65 avg 22 episodes 8.4 → 7.8 46 min avg

Season 6 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Candidate	8.4	122
2	Killing Time	7.6	102
3	Liar's Poker	8.0	100
4	Vanished: Part 1	7.6	97
5	Vanished: Part 2	7.9	100
6	Honor Code	8.2	109
7	Suffer the Little Children	8.3	113
8	Dangerous Liaisons	6.8	107
9	Inter Arma Silent Leges	7.1	93
10	Eyewitness	7.5	101
11	The Test	7.6	101
12	Pro Se	8.0	93
13	Judge Knot	7.8	99
14	Man and Superman	7.2	93
15	M. Premie Unplugged	7.3	90
16	Manifest Necessity	7.5	92
17	Fire Proof	7.3	92
18	The Return of Joey Heric	7.7	112
19	Eat and Run	7.3	94
20	Evil/Doers	7.6	101
21	This Pud's for You	7.9	91
22	The Verdict	7.8	108

Season 7 (2002)

7.41 avg 22 episodes 7.7 → 7.5 44 min avg

Season 7 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Privilege	7.7	111
2	Convictions	7.8	99
3	Of Thee I Sing	7.9	107
4	The Cradle Will Rock	7.1	99
5	Neighboring Species	7.4	106
6	The Telltale Nation	7.3	96
7	Small Sacrifices	7.4	103
8	Bad to Worse	7.1	94
9	The Good Fight	7.4	98
10	Silent Partners	7.7	95
11	Down the Hatch	7.6	99
12	Final Judgment	8.0	116
13	Character Evidence	7.2	91
14	The Making of a Trial Attorney	7.7	97
15	Choirboys	7.6	90
16	Special Deliveries	7.3	100
17	Burnout	7.1	99
18	Capitol Crimes	6.9	90
19	Les Is More	6.6	107
20	Heroes and Villains	7.1	88
21	Baby Love	7.7	90
22	Goodbye	7.5	99

Season 8 (2003)

7.69 avg 22 episodes 7.5 → 7.5 42 min avg

Mid-peak

Season 8 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	We the People	7.5	176
2	The Chosen	7.6	153
3	Cause of Action	7.6	141
4	Blessed Are They	7.2	137
5	The Heat of Passion	7.4	122
6	The Lonely People	7.4	119
7	Rape Shield	7.5	124
8	Concealing Evidence	8.1	120
9	Victims' Rights	7.7	171
10	Equal Justice	7.7	119
11	Police State	8.5	169
12	Avenging Angels	7.7	122
13	Going Home	8.0	142
14	Pre-Trial Blues	8.0	130
15	Mr. Shore Goes to Town	8.2	156
16	In Good Conscience	7.6	129
17	War of the Roses	7.8	137
18	The Case Against Alan Shore	8.3	142
19	The Firm	7.1	130
20	Comings and Goings	7.4	138
21	New Hoods on the Block	7.4	141
22	Adjourned (a.k.a. Cheers)	7.5	137