The Office created the workplace mockumentary genre when it premiered on the BBC in 2001 and inspired a new way of looking at comic television. It spawned hit tributes to the style in the shape of Parks and Recreation, Modern Family, Abbott Elementary, and Arrested Development.
Coming to M-Net from Saturday 19 July at 18:00, St Denis Medical is a refreshing take on the genre, think "Scrubs meets The Office". No surprise, since it was co-created by Superstore writers Justin Spitzer (Scrubs, The Office US) and Eric Ledgin (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, American Auto).
Devoted nurse Alex (Allison Tolman) is the newly promoted Supervising Nurse in the emergency department at the underfunded St Denis Medical Centre in Oregon. She works alongside an eclectic team of dedicated doctors, nurses, and hospital staff, who are all just doing their best not to lose their patience in a hospital overrun with patients, while caring for everyone who comes in the door, including each other. Speaking to Script Magazine, co-creator Spitzer said of the characters: “Hopefully, people will see it in themselves or in someone they love. Especially now, I feel like we want to be able to still love people even when we see their flaws. I think that's in some ways, the role of a comedy, a sitcom, especially, is to just remind ourselves that people are flawed. Everybody has stuff. It doesn't mean that they're not the same reliable, hard, trying person that they are. Most of us are doing our best.”
Variety’s Alison Herman writes “St Denis Medical is clear-eyed about what its characters face, but also about how those obstacles provide ample fodder for comedy,” while Episodic Medium celebrates the show for its celebration of the role of nurses in “a rallying cry against a broken system and a celebration of the unsung heroes who don’t usually get positioned as the stars of their own stories”.
True to its roots in the genre with The Office and Spitzer’s time on Scrubs, the show explores both the light and dark sides of the challenges medical professionals face every day, with the ever-present humour either deliciously slapstick or cracklingly cynical. Showrunner Ledgin told Screen Rant: “This is a comedy, so if you're not laughing through at least some of it, we definitely messed up. But it's also the emergency room of a hospital, and we'd be crazy not to show some of the heartfelt or difficult moments that happen in these spaces. My hope is that some people – and particularly health care workers – feel seen by those moments. Also, from a purely strategic perspective, a serious moment is a great way to set up a joke.”
St Denis Medical stars Wendi McLendon-Covey, David Alan Grier, Allison Tolman, Josh Lawson, Kahyun Kim, Mekki Leeper, and Kaliko Kauahi.
St Denis Medical premieres on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) at 18:00 on Saturday 19 July and is also available on DStv Stream and DStv Catch Up.
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