Five Days at Memorial (miniseries)

Five Days at Memorial is an American disaster medical drama miniseries based on the 2013 book of the same name by Sheri Fink. It was developed, written and directed by John Ridley and Carlton Cuse.

The miniseries premiered on August 12, 2022, on Apple TV+.

Premise
Depicts the difficulties a New Orleans hospital endures after Hurricane Katrina makes landfall on the city.

Main

 * Vera Farmiga as Dr. Anna Pou
 * Cherry Jones as Susan Mulderick
 * Cornelius Smith Jr. as Dr. Bryant King
 * Robert Pine as Dr. Horace Baltz
 * Adepero Oduye as Karen Wynn
 * Julie Ann Emery as Diane Robichaux
 * Michael Gaston as Arthur "Butch" Schafer
 * Molly Hager as Virginia Rider

Recurring

 * W. Earl Brown as Ewing Cook
 * Stephen Bogaert as René Goux
 * Darrin Baker as Dr. Martin Bisley
 * Ted Atherton as Richard Deichmann
 * Tammy Isbell as Gina Isbell
 * Katie Boland as Kristy Johnson
 * Deborah Hay as Therese Mendez
 * Sarah Allen as Lori Budo
 * Sharron Matthews as Cheri Landry
 * Jessica Greco as Sandra Cordray
 * Joel Keller as Eric Yancovich


 * Jonathan Cake as Vince Pou
 * Jeffrey Nordling as Richard T. Simmons, Jr.
 * Damon Standifer as Emmett Everett
 * Lanette Ware as Carrie Everett
 * J. D. Evermore as Mark LeBlanc
 * Monica Wyche as Sandra LeBlanc
 * Dawn Greenhalgh as Elvira 'Vera' LeBlanc
 * Joy Tanner as Jill
 * Raven Dauda as Angela McManus
 * Diane Johnstone as Wilda McManus
 * Beth Malone as Linda Schafer


 * Joe Carroll as Michael Arvin
 * Paulino Nunes as Steven Jones
 * Alexandra Castillo as Marcia Tellez
 * Jeremiah Oh as Ken Nakamaru
 * Ryan Allen as Drew Charles
 * Tre Smith as Troye
 * Jessica B. Hill as Kathleen Fournier
 * Ma-Anne Dionisio as Jane DiMaapi
 * Malube Uhindu-Gingala as Tarika Hill
 * Nola Augustson as Minnie Cook
 * Lorna Wilson as Mrs. Mulderick

Guest

 * John Diehl as Frank Minyard
 * Tom Irwin as Walker Shaw
 * Ervin Ross as Rodney Scott
 * Natasha Mumba as Tiana Colburn
 * Philip Craig as Attorney General Charles Foti, Jr.
 * Ean Castellanos as Michael Morales

Development
In 2013, shortly after its release, Scott Rudin acquired the rights to adapt Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital as a film to be produced with Eli Bush under Scott Rudin Productions.

By 2017, the film rights had reportedly lapsed, prompting Ryan Murphy to approach Scott Rudin about adapting Five Days at Memorial for television as the third season of the FX true crime anthology series American Crime Story, with Sarah Paulson set to star as Dr. Anna Pou. The adaptation, however, never came to fruition, and in 2019, Rudin started shopping the project elsewhere.

As part of his overall deal with ABC Signature, Carlton Cuse acquired the television rights, and then contacted John Ridley to collaborate. In September 2020, Apple ordered Five Days at Memorial as a limited series to be produced for Apple TV+. Both Cuse and Ridley serve as writers, directors, executive producers, and co-showrunners of the series.

Casting
Vera Farmiga was cast in March 2021, with Adepero Oduye, Cornelius Smith Jr. and Julie Ann Emery joining in April 2021, Cherry Jones and Molly Hager joining in May 2021, Michael Gaston joining in June 2021, and Joe Carroll joining in August 2021.

Filming
Production took place from May 25 to November 10, 2021, in Toronto and New Orleans.

Release
The series premiered on Apple TV+ on August 12, 2022, with its first three episodes. Each following episode was released weekly on Fridays.

Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an 90% approval rating with an average rating of 7.8/10, based on 29 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Five Days at Memorial is unflinching to the point of punishing, thoroughly recounting an absolute calamity while giving due to those who tried their best to stanch the tragic fallout." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 74 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades
The episode "Day Two" won an Emmy award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Single Episode at the 2024 Emmys. The show won for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode at the 21st Visual Effects Society Awards.