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Medical dramas are few and far between on our screens these days. The days of House M.D., Private Practice, and E.R. are over, and Grey's Anatomy's days are seemingly numbered. It's the nature of television, as genres come and go. Talent shows and crime procedurals are another brand that once were all the rage but they've reached their peak and are slipping down the other side of the parabola.
NBC's The Night Shift debuted on May 27, with the premiere of what was a quick-fire 8 episode freshman season that wrapped last night. I caught the series shortly after the second episode aired while browsing NBC's website - something I do along with most other network websites on occasion.
Medical dramas can be tough to watch at times, largely because the genre limits the series to procedural driven format that can run out of ideas eventually. The upside of this is fans know what they're in for each week and tune in consistently, with the downside being that things do become old and stale, and decisions made by the creative team to freshen up the series frequently leave a foul taste in fans' mouths. That's because it's often characters who meet the chopping block as they're the easiest method of freshening things up. House M.D. and Grey's Anatomy are prime examples of this.
You're right in thinking that comparing a series that's 2 months old with two veterans that have aired 397 episodes between them is a little unfair, but all three still share the same traits I mentioned early in the last paragraph. That's the only point I was trying to make, and that's where I'll end that part of this article.
The Night Shift caught my eye that night on NBC's website because it is a series that is heavily driven by its characters. The work/play at work balance is just right, with both the regular and recurring characters getting plenty of opportunities to bump into each other and have a quick yarn about the latest gossip, share a joke, or share emotions and feelings. This creates a genuine close-knit 3 dimensional bond between the characters that I feel, as an ordinary viewer, much more connected to. Despite the non-stop chaos surrounding them, they're still human enough to be friends and enjoy each other's company and camaraderie.
As a group, the characters are great to watch, but the more intimate details about the characters were also very nicely crafted. The home troubles Michael Ragosa experienced, the lady troubles Paul Cummings expressed, Drew Alister's coming out of the closet, Jordan Alexander's relationship issues, and of course TC Callahan's flashbacks and PTSD show the wide selection of intimate details that were developed. It doesn't have to be much, but even a little personal development makes an enormous difference to the enjoyment of a series from my perspective, especially if it's done the way The Night Shift's creative team went about it in just 8 episodes this season.
Often it's the one-liners and jokes that you remember most strongly at the end of an episode, and the circumstances for those can be generated in a myriad of ways. In The Night Shift's case, it comes through the disregard of Ragosa's authority, and the bumbling, set up, oftentimes unlucky Cummings. Shorwrunners often employ the easy option consisting of a couple of one-dimensional characters that get the crap ripped out of them each week, but thankfully The Night Shift's creative team have given Ragosa and Cummings some depth and dignity throughout the season.
Of course, great characters need a great cast to play them, and I'm really pleased with how well the cast have handled their roles in a short first season. IMDb reports 10 cast members have featured in all 8 episodes, and a further 3 have been present in 7 episodes. The gender balance is split down the middle too. Most have had the spotlight at some point too. The chemistry between the cast is there as well, and those who have had to display emotion have done a solid job.
Working a military angle into the series had me skeptical early on, but it's definitely proven to be an asset to the series. The flashbacks experienced by TC were of a very high standard, and the close-knit cast owe a lot of their bond to the military angle. The writing has been clever and well thought out nearly all the time, and though the quality of the directing was a little sketchy in the first half of the season, the second half was, on the whole, better.
To sum up, I've found The Night Shift well worth my time this summer season. It's provided 8 hours of interesting, humorous and entertaining television that doesn't require a lot of investment from the viewer to enjoy. It's got a great cast, and mixes the downright hilarious with gut-wrenching emotion on a regular basis. I'm pleased there wasn't a huge cliffhanger at the end of last night's finale, but I'm looking forward to seeing how Jordan comes out of her medical malpractice accusation, and how TC deals with the huge burden he has in the circumstances surrounding his brother's death.
Thanks for reading! Please do share your thoughts on The Night Shift's freshman season in the comments below!
Jimmy
