When Saint Denis Doctor Star Wendi McLendon-Covey talks about her new role, it's pretty intense. “She's a former oncologist who thought, 'You know what? I bet I could change this from within. I'm going to be an administrator.' And she gets the job and she's screwed because it's an uphill battle all the time. You're always asking for money and you're trying to keep everyone happy, and this is life or death. “You really don’t want to have a bad day at this job.”
To be clear, Saint Denis Doctorwhich just premiered on NBC, is a comedy. But it's also a comedy that leans into the current state of healthcare in America and the hard-working professionals who have to deal with it day in and day out. It's the first mainstream TV comedy set in a hospital since the start of the pandemic, though that's not the only quality that makes it feel fresh today.
“I believe that the world we are building here in Saint Denis It's so unique,” says star Allison Tolman. Consequence and other media outlets during a recent visit to the set. “Because it's a comedy, but it also doesn't pull any punches about the things that really suck about our healthcare system. The things that really suck about being a nurse. But he's not getting too caught up in that either.”
Saint Denis was created by Eric Ledgin and Justin Spitzer, who previously worked together at NBC Hypermarketa show that received critical acclaim over its six seasons for the nuanced attention it gave to retail workers, an ethos that translates into this new workplace. Hypermarket Student Kaliko Kauahi is also a member of the Saint Denis cast, and although he considers that the shows have some clear differences, he is very happy to be part of the new series.
“As much as I loved Hypermarket “I would have done that forever; it's nice to be able to shift gears and try something new,” Kauahi says. “We all approach this show with a lot of respect for what [nurses] do, especially after a pandemic like ours. It is for everyone, but at its core, it is at the service of health workers. “That's what we want to see on this show and hopefully enjoy it, relate to it and laugh after a really hard day.”
One of the cast's key hosts is David Alan Grier, who plays a doctor who “'quietly quit' decades ago. “He was there when that term originated.” the tone Saint Denis that he strives fits nicely with Grier's own vision of comedy, he tells reporters, because “the only thing I'll tell you, about the Lion in The magician to 'Men in…' Any of the characters I play, I always approach it the same way: trying to find the humanity in this person or character. The whole person. So the technique doesn't change, it's just the genre.”
And he adds: “The comedies I like the most are those that really continue to perform. Not for laughs, but forever, whatever the goal, on stage or in the show. For me, that's the most fun.”
Mekki Leeper, who plays a nurse new to the staff, notes that with the exception of a few shows, like Exfoliants and children's hospitalmost medical shows “are really serious. So it's fun to make one that's lightweight, because I think it reflects what it's like to be a real healthcare worker. “They are very funny, because when you are in an environment like that, you can't help but have a very good, dark sense of humor.”
“Yes, I feel like it's more than a tease,” cast member Kahyun Kim agrees. “I think it's funny because “It's so real.” Kim's mother works in a Korean hospital, she says, “so I grew up in a hospital and I feel like it's pretty similar. All of my mom's coworkers are pretty funny. “They laugh a lot.”
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