The series premiered after the end of the 2012 Olympic games (which the network was showing) and was produced by Universal Television and American Work.

[5] At the time of production, Crystal was known for her appearances in a number of motion pictures, most notably the Night at the Museum series.

"[10] NBC ran a sneak preview of the series on August 12, 2012, as a lead-out for the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics; controversially, the already tape-delayed and abridged broadcast was interrupted to air the pilot, causing the finale (which featured a performance by The Who) to be preempted after late local newscasts.

Drusilla Moorhouse, of entertainment news website Zap2It, wrote that "It's too cringe-worthy for overempathizing animal lovers, but general audiences might tune in for a lighthearted, escapist laugh.

"[19] While Moorhouse's review was more positive, Robert Bianco of USA Today gave a negative review, stating "The shame is that Practice has a fine human cast...but Kirk and his cohorts quickly get taken down by the barrage of stupidity the show sends their way."