ABC made some pretty large and surprising announcements at the Television Critics’ Association this morning, where they revealed that the new Shonda Rhimes series Scandal would be debuting Thursday, April 5 after Grey’s Anatomy, effectively kicking Private Practice to the curb by moving it to Tuesday nights after the Dancing with the Stars results show. It was something I certainly never saw coming, and to think that Private Practice was getting moved so late into its season and its run had me scratching my head.

But then I started to really think about it, and I began to realize that this could be a very good thing for all of the shows involved. I’ve seen a lot of Private Practice fans up in arms over the move, bashing ABC, Shonda and even Scandal for the move. The fact of the matter is that the scheduling people at ABC are the ones who made the decision to move Private Practice to a new night, and it is a decision that was most likely not come to lightly. In fact, Private Practice fans should feel, in a sense, honored that ABC moved the series.

From the show’s outset, both ABC and Rhimes have said that they wanted Private Practice to stand on its own and not have to ride the curtails of its older sibling, Grey’s Anatomy. At first, it worked, and Private Practice helped ABC relaunch its Wednesday nights – and then the writer’s strike happened, which effectively crippled not only Private Practice, but the rest of television. ABC moved the two shows to the same night to help Private Practice out, and help it survive, and that’s exactly what its done. In a way, it’s actually surprising that ABC has let it stay in that particular timeslot for so long, seeing as Private Practice has been able to hold its own in the ratings when airing without a new Grey’s Anatomy alongside it.

So now, even though the timing may seem odd, ABC is giving Private Practice a vote of confidence, which is rare for a show these days, and even rarer for a show as old as Private Practice. They are tearing it away from its sister show for the first time since the second season to see if it can hold its own again on a different night. And ABC has done this with care in mind, giving Private Practice the cushy post-Dancing with the Stars timeslot, which should help drive the ratings (hopefully upwards).

As ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee himself said, everybody just want to try this out. So for four weeks, Private Practice will air on Tuesdays to finish out its fifth season. If those four episodes hold their own and do just as well as they’ve been doing on Thursdays (or better!), then there’s no telling where Private Practice could end up on the schedule for its sixth season. However, if the plan backfires and the episodes do worse ratings-wise on Tuesdays, more than likely ABC will end up simply move the show back to Thursdays after Grey’s Anatomy for its sixth season, and find a new home for Scandal, assuming that it survives past its initial seven episodes.

I see no need to worry here. Because that’s what it all, in the end, boils down to: People are worried that Private Practice is going to get canceled because Scandal “stole” its timeslot. But I don’t think there’s a need for that. ABC knows they are taking a risk with this move, and they’re hoping it pays off. And if it doesn’t, it doesn’t, but Private Practice will still more than likely be back for a sixth season. Of course, there is always a chance it won’t be. There’s no way of knowing with 100% assurance until the networks announce their pick-ups in May. But I also don’t think that there’s a huge chance the show won’t be back. It has been performing solidly in the ratings. Granted, the ratings haven’t been incredibly strong, but they have been solid, and in recent weeks, they’ve been growing, which bodes well for the series.

Which brings us to Scandal. This show has been waiting for such a long time to make it to the air, and on April 5, it finally will. Although in a perfect world I find Revenge and Scandal paired up on their own night, putting Scandal with Grey’s Anatomy was the best possible move for this new series. It is a fantastic show and I’m praying that people watch. There’s no need in “punishing” a show for simply existing. It’s a great show and if you don’t watch, you’ll be missing out. Scandal is just as much a “threat” to Private Practice as every other show on ABC (or any other network, for that matter!) is – it’s not as if there’s a war between the two. ABC has shown perhaps the largest vote of confidence it ever has for Private Practice by trying it out on Tuesday nights, and that’s something to be thankful for – especially since the move to a new night will almost certainly mean that ABC will have to advertise the show, which is something ABC is notorious for neglecting when it comes to Private Practice.

In the end, no matter what happens, I think that Private Practice‘s move to Tuesday nights is going to be a good thing. If it backfires, it backfires, and at least everybody can say that they tried. But I have a sneaking suspicion that it won’t backfire. Private Practice fans are quite loyal, and I think most of them will make the move. I don’t know how successful the move will be at bringing in new viewers considering it will be at the end of the season, but I do think the people already watching will follow it to Tuesdays. This could be a move that breathes new life into the show and enters it into a new era, one separate of its sister show.

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