New NBC Drama Nurses Premieres December 7th At 10/9 c Is A Very Touching And Very Human Look Into Being A First Responder

Cast in order left to right: Sandy Sidu (Naz), Tiera Skovbye (Grace), Donald MacLean Jr (Wolf), Jordan Johnson-Hinds (Keon) and Natasha Calis (Ashley) Photo courtesy of NBC.com

It is a daunting task to write a medical drama that can stand apart from the rest of the genre but the writers at NBC just may have accomplished that with Nurses, a pre-covid drama revolving around five new nurses at Saint Mary’s Of Toronto ER. All have varying degrees of experience but all are there for one reason, caring for patients without prejudice no matter where it may take them.

Photo courtesy of NBC.com

The season opens with the new recruits quickly briefed and rushed into the ER to help handle an influx of patients coming in from a domestic terror incident while trying to maintain care for those already admitted with other ailments. One nurse, Grace, is particularly skilled at ER care and quickly shows herself to be a potential asset while the other four struggle a bit to get into the rhythm of things. As the evening progresses one of the nurses, Grace, comes in contact with the alleged terrorist and finds herself not only needing to provide him the same level of care as she did for his victims but to also stop angry hospital staffers from disclosing his identity to the public so the victim’s families would know who killed/injured their loved ones. No matter how hated a person is, their right to privacy legally must stay intact until released by authorities. While all this is going down, another nurse, Wolf,  has been tasked to find a terror victim somewhere in the ER who’s missing a few non-vital body parts and who would probably like them back but not only can he not find the owner of the appendages, he has to carry them around in a cooler so he can give them immediately to whatever Dr is nearby that can reattach them. That is a skill to add to your LinkedIn page.

Photo courtesy of NBC.com

With patients trickling in, the new nurses are pushed outside of their levels of nursing experience and tasked with things like early pregnancies, missed injuries, discussions of death and dying with families with some even accruing their first on-staff bully. Lots of stress, lots of anxiety, lots of moral dilemmas, and lots of what’s that on my shirt but the show also addresses how being under that kind of physical and emotional stress can affect your personal life and how it can shape your coping skills. Toxic relationships, working overtime to avoid dealing with life, and alcohol abuse are all very familiar crutches that no one is exempt including medical professionals. The nursing profession isn’t for the weak or timid but at the end of the day, they’re very human heroes.

Episodes 2-4 show a collective growth in not only the cast and their roles but in the shows writing as well. Sexual assault, racism, sexism, workplace harassment, patient’s last wishes versus patient rights, and the unfortunate roles hospitals can play in the long term (or no term) care for a loved one when families cannot agree on when to pull the plug are just a few of the issues hospitals and staff deal with every single day (episode 4 has an incredibly moving storyline involving a dying patient and his last wishes as dictated by his religion versus what nurse Wolf can legally do to help his patient pass with dignity) and Nurses handles most of them with the depth, warmth, and respect they deserve. I say most because there are a couple of plot holes throughout the series that you could fall through which messes with the flow of the storyline like buffering messes with your viewing experience but all in all this show is worth watching regardless of its few shortcomings and I look forward to seeing how the show grows throughout the rest of the season and maybe beyond.

For more information including a preview, you can visit the Nurses website right here at NBC.com