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This series primarily focuses on the careers of the residents at varying levels, as well as nurses and hospital administration. The majority of problems faced within the show are centered around medical malpractice and the expenses of maintaining the hospital. Within the season, the private struggles and relationships of the characters are also displayed to show that there are not just medical hardships that they must balance but personal ones that affect them as well. A topic that is shown on The Resident involves how different hospitals deal with health insurance as well as patients that cannot afford to be covered by insurance companies. Various liabilities are made aware when encountering this issue because over a period of time the care provided to those patients without insurance will cost the hospital a large sum of funds. Other issues introduced to the show include homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, immigration penalties/laws, hospital protocol, and ethical violations of physicians. Due to these intense situations, graphic images, and sexual connotations the show is rated TV-14, which means that there may be inappropriate content for viewers that are under 14 years old.[1]
Plot Summary
On the first day of his residency at the fictional Chastain Park Memorial Hospital, a Harvard Medical School graduate named Devon Pravesh is thrown off guard by the Senior Resident named Dr. Conrad. Dr. Conrad changes his entire perspective of the realities of the medical field all within the first day. Dr. Pravesh learns through trial and error what it takes to be the best physician possible given the tough nature of the situations encountered. He then meets his first ally named Nurse Nicolette and she reassures him that Dr. Conrad is the best resident he could be placed under in the program.
Dr. Randolph Bell is the well-known and highly respected Chief of Surgery that has developed a tremor in one of his hands. Considering this discovery about himself, he rejects the idea of resignation and does not publicly admit to anyone that he is incapable of performing a basic surgery without medical error. Due to his inaction of fixing the tremor, he is still assigned to perform surgeries on Dr. Conrad’s patients, causing conflict between the two characters. Essentially, his condition leads him into doing everything he can to stay in his powerful position at the hospital. With CEO Claire Thorpe adding cameras to the operating rooms, Dr. Bell’s ailment gets increasingly harder to hide.
Meanwhile a sub-plot develops as Dr. Lane Hunter’s course of treatment for her long-time patient, Lily Kendall, spurs suspicion amongst Dr. Conrad, Nurse Nic, and Dr. Pravesh.
Production and Filming
The production of The Resident was held inside of the High Museum of Art, where producers gave it the imaginary name of Chastain Park Memorial Hospital.[2] The reason behind the naming of the hospital remains unknown and is not discussed throughout the season. Filming of the show was located in Atlanta, Georgia but not in a medical center of any sort. If the film production staff were to record and air actual patients that did not give consent to be on film, they could violate HIPAA.[3] In short, this set of rules protects patient’s medical information and history as well as informs physicians about the importance of confidentiality inside and outside of a clinical setting.[4] Although HIPAA violations are not directly mentioned in the show, knowing what HIPAA entails, aids with the understanding of why a doctor’s actions are problematic in the series.[5] The reason behind the naming of the hospital remains unknown and is not discussed throughout the season. One of the writers of The Resident named Roshan Sethi, is a real-life practicing physician that took time off of medical school to aid in the process of making the show along with other writers such as, Amy Holder Jones and Haley Schore.[6] Executive producers of the show include, Antoine Fuqua, who owns the rights to Fuqua films, Amy Holder Jones, the creator behind a TV series called The Black Box, and Oliver Obst, the manager at 3 Arts Entertainment.[6] Haley Schore and Roshan Sethi are also co-executive producers for The Resident as well. The Resident’s first and second episode are directed by Phillip Noyce who happens to be an executive producer for the show.[7]
Casting
Minor changes occurred towards the beginning of the first season because there was a need to have a bold and prominent CEO on the show yet there was an absence of one. Initially, the role of CEO Renata Thorpe was played by Valarie Cruz in the first episode of the season however, the role was then given to Moran Atias, an actress known for her recent appearance on the FX show named Tyrant.[8] Further changes happened as producers made the decision to cast Merrin Dungey and switched the CEO’s name to Claire Thorpe instead of Renata Thorpe.[8] Moran Atias did not lose a spot on the show, she was simply put as a different character in the series named Renata Morali.[9] The exact dates of when the cast members received their roles are unknown.[10] The show broadcasted on FOX on January 21st, 2018 by three companies in collaboration with one another to get the show aired.[11] The companies consist of Fuqua Films, 3 Arts Entertainment, and 20th Century Fox Television.
Main cast
· Senior Resident Dr. Conrad Hawkins, as played by Matt Czuchry, is a character who is dedicated to preventing the possibilities of medical malpractice.[12] Dr. Conrad is a very independent character that must take Dr. Pravesh under his supervision because that is one of his duties as a third-year resident. He strictly enforces the rules in which Dr. Pravesh must follow to make sure that fatal medical mistakes do not continue to occur within their residency program. His strict methods of teaching stem from his background in the United States Marine Corps. Dr. Conrad does not have respect for the Chief of Surgery, Dr. Randolph Bell, because of the medical complications he has knowingly caused. This motivates Dr. Conrad to be different and set apart from the corrupt nature of his superior and instills the values he knows to be right, into Dr. Pravesh. Dr. Conrad himself is not completely blameless as he himself has tampered with the allocation of a patient’s heart transplant by switching blood results, which is very illegal and could have costed him his medical license. In addition to this, he almost turned off the life-support of a patient without the consent of the patient’s family, which violates the ethical guidelines that doctors are obligated to follow.[4]
· Nicolette “Nic” Nevin, played by Emily VanCamp, is a nurse practitioner at Chastain Memorial Hospital that has a complicated relationship with her colleague Dr. Conrad. Nurse Nic is usually seen taking care of patients that are going into cardiopulmonary arrest alongside Dr. Pravesh and Dr. Conrad. Her character is also driven towards making sure that no medical errors occur under her watch because according to her backstory, her mother passed away from medical negligence.[12] Nurse Nicolette supports Dr. Conrad through his endeavors and becomes a comfort to Dr. Pravesh when Dr. Conrad becomes overbearingly strict. Nurse Nic later becomes skeptical of Dr. Lane Hunter because her private oncology practice prohibits storing her patient’s medical records at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital.
· Dr. Devon Pravesh, played by Manish Dayal, is a first-year resident who has just graduated medical school from Harvard University.[12] Dr. Pravesh is assigned to be under the supervision of the third-year resident, Dr. Conrad. Throughout the season there is a prominent shift in Dr. Pravesh’s character. His initial hesitation and unfamiliarity progressively turns into determination because he is made aware of what occurs in the hospital if he, and other physicians, cannot perform tasks correctly. Later in the season Dr. Pravesh notifies his girlfriend about the suspicious activities of Dr. Lane Hunter and encourages her to pursue more information on a developing story that could be reported to the media.
· CEO Claire Thorpe, played by Merrin Dungey, is a character who is adamant about maintaining the financial status of Chastain Park Memorial Hospital. The CEO frequently has meetings with the Chief of Surgery Randolph Bell, to reassure that funds and potential setbacks are being reviewed by the surgery department in the proper manner. Throughout the season, CEO Thorpe shows great concern for the financial well-being of the hospital over the lives of the patients because she is held responsible for the financial security of Chastain Park Memorial Hospital. Her character does not change in this aspect and she does not show any emotional connection to the patients, only the costs they produce for the hospital.
· Dr. Randolph Bell, played by Bruce Greenwood, is the Chief of Surgery who has developed a slight tremor in one of his hands. His character and past surgical record is greatly praised by those who do not know about his recent inability to perform surgeries correctly. Further into the season, he starts to take benzodiazepines that effectively get rid of his tremor but in turn, cause him reduced cognitive functionality. Dr. Bell, similarly to CEO Claire Thorpe, is also very focused on how to gain profits from patients to help get rid of the costly expenses the hospital deals with.
· Dr. Mina Okafor, played by Shaunette Renee, is a second-year surgical resident on a travel visa from Nigeria that has skills well beyond her other surgical colleagues. Although her capabilities as a surgeon are advanced for her status, she is incapable of comforting the families of patients because she has a blunt way of speaking and does not get emotionally attached with patients.[13] Due to the way she addresses patients and her colleagues, it gives off the impression that she is impersonal and cold. However, towards the end of the season a different side of her character is shown when it is revealed that she medically treats people in her community for free, although by illegal means because she steals the supplies to help the community from the hospital.
· Dr. Lane Hunter, played by Melina Kanakaredes, is the top oncologist in the state of Georgia and works at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital. She also owns her own private practice where she gives chemotherapy treatments and stores the medical records of her patients only at that facility. When Nurse Nic discovers this fact, it raises suspicions about the character of Dr. Hunter. However, Dr. Hunter takes pride in her work and deems Nurse Nicolette as an inferior that demonstrates insubordination when Nurse Nic questions her methods. The doctor is very vague with the details she chooses to share about her clinic and is threatened by the ongoing conflict Nurse Nic stirs up. She is initially adored by Dr. Pravesh and Dr. Conrad because of her success rates and charming character. But through the course of the season her character gradually develops from a friendly person to a villain of sorts that will go to the lengths of murdering her own patient to get her point across and her authority reinforced. Essentially, after each interference from Nurse Nic about her oncology methods, the dark nature of Dr. Hunter’s character slowly reveals itself.
RecurringCast
· Dr. Cara Ramirez, played by Elizabeth Ludlow, is a first-year resident along with Dr. Pravesh, whose character is shown only in the first episode of the season.[12] Her character does not have many lines to establish precisely what her intentions are and whether she will aid the main characters of the show or harm them.
· Renata Morali played by Moran Atias, is rarely seen on the show and her character, similar to Dr. Cara Ramirez, has yet to create an impact in the show’s plot or the way the main characters interact with one another. There has been no character development of Renata due to the lack of screen-time given and a significant absence of her amount of lines, which are both important in understanding where her character stands in the series.
Matt Czuchry at 2015 PaleyFest· Dr. Jude Silva, played by Warren Christie, is an attending that has a history with Dr. Conrad because they were both in the United States Marine Corps together. With the arrival of Dr. Silva, Dr. Conrad feels that he has an extra friend to support his efforts to combat the issues of the corruption amongst the staff. It is not until Dr. Silva starts to develop a romantic relationship with Nurse Nic, that causes conflict to arise with his friendship with Dr. Conrad. Dr. Conrad and Dr. Silva continue to disagree through the course of the season and the loss of one of Dr. Silva’s patients causes Dr. Conrad to cease the arguments with him and show empathy because Dr. Silva was already disappointed in his own performance.
· Lily Kendall, played by Violett Beane, is a long-time cancer patient of Dr. Lane Hunter that was placed from Dr. Hunter’s practice to Chastain Park Memorial Hospital because her cancer condition started to worsen. Lily is loyal to Dr. Lane Hunter because Dr. Hunter was the first to discover that she had cancer when other oncologists that gave her a consultation did not catch the disease. With the discovery of Lily’s missing medical records from Chastain, it causes Nurse Nic to address Dr.Hunter, causing Dr. Hunter to establish her authority over Nurse Nic. Lily’s character serves as a catalyst of the conflict occurring between Dr.Hunter and Nurse Nic because she brings to attention the suspicious activities going on in Dr. Hunter’s practice. Lily Kendall later dies in the season due to the intentional actions of Dr. Hunter causing Dr. Conrad and the rest of the main characters confusion and grief as to the reasons over how the death occurred.
· Dr. Irving Feldman, played by Tasso Feldman, is a resident at Chastain Memorial Hospital that has a witty character to add humor to the show. His year of residency is unspecified however the lack of attention that he receives from the main characters indicates that he is not at a higher level than the rest. He pulls some practical jokes on Dr. Pravesh and tries to add humor to different situations. Dr. Feldman often makes kind remarks about surgical resident, Dr. Okafor, suggesting that he may be developing romantic feelings about her. Overall, Dr. Feldman’s character serves as a buffer of sorts to lighten the mood of situations that often times have a bit of gravity to them within the show. There is no development of his character throughout the show because his role is not meant for depth.
