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St. Denis Medical Cast Wants Real Nurses to Love the NBC Comedy
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St. Denis Medical Cast Wants Real Nurses to Love the NBC Comedy

When St-Denis Medical star Wendi McLendon-Covey talks about his new role, it’s pretty intense. “She’s a former oncologist who said, ‘You know what? I bet I could change that from the inside. I’m going to become an administrator. And she gets the job and she’s screwed because it’s an uphill battle all the time. You’re always begging for money and trying to keep everyone happy, and it’s life or death. You really don’t want to have a bad day at this job.

To be clear, St-Denis Medicalwhich has just been broadcast on NBC, is a comedy. But it’s also a comedy that leans heavily on 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 broadcast comedy set in a hospital since the pandemic began — although that’s not the only quality that makes it feel fresh today.

“I think the world we are building here at Saint-Denis is so unique”, star Allison Tolman tell Consequence and other journalists during a recent visit to the set. “Because it’s a comedy, but it also doesn’t address the things that are really bad in our health care system. Things that really suck about being a nurse. But it doesn’t get too bogged down either.

Saint-Denis was created by Eric Ledgin and Justin Spitzer, who previously worked together on the NBC series. Hypermarketa show that garnered critical acclaim over its six seasons for the nuanced spotlight it placed on retail workers — a spirit that translates to this new workplace. Hypermarket Elder Kaliko Kauahi is also a member of the Saint-Denis casting, and although she considers that the series have obvious differences, she is really happy to be part of the new series.

“As much as I loved Hypermarket — I would have done this forever — it’s nice to be able to change gears and try something new, says Kauahi. “We all approach this show with a lot of respect for what (nurses) do, especially after a pandemic like ours. It’s for everyone, but in our minds, it’s for the benefit of healthcare workers. That’s why we want to watch this show and hopefully enjoy it, relate to it, and laugh after a really tough day.

One of the main anchors of the cast is David Alan Grierwho plays a doctor who “quietly quit” decades ago. He was there when this term was born. The tone Saint-Denis What he aspires to fits well with Grier’s own vision of comedy, he told reporters, because “the one thing I’m going to tell you, The Lion in The magician has “The men on…” For each character I play, I always approach it the same way: trying to find the humanity in that person or character. The whole person. So the technique doesn’t change, it’s just the genre.

And he adds: “The comedies that I like the most are the ones that they really play for real. Not for fun, for real – whatever that goal may be, in the scene or in the show. For me, that’s the funniest thing.

Mekki Leeper, who plays a brand new nurse on staff, observes that with the exception of a few shows, like Scrubs And Children’s HospitalMost medical shows “are really serious. So it’s fun to do one that’s light-hearted, because I think it reflects what it means to be a real healthcare worker. They’re very funny, because when you’re in an environment like that, you can’t help but have a really good sense of dark humor.

“Yeah, I feel like it’s more than mocking,” admits actor Kahyun Kim. “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 quite similar. All of my mother’s colleagues are pretty funny. They laugh a lot.