The documentary drama has seemingly taken a backseat in today’s age of TV fantasy, although one show is threatening to break that mould when it premieres in the UK later this month. Set in an LA county hospital, Code Black follows the lives of the emergency room staff battling to save lives in the face of adversity.
Starring Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden as the battle hardened Dr. Leanne Rorish, Code Black attempts to fill the medical void on our screens since the end of House MD and ER. From the outset, the show rarely stops to take a breath, with its fast pace keeping eyes firmly glued to the screen.
The title of the show refers to the perilous situation in which emergency rooms are flooded with an influx of patients so great, there simply aren’t enough resources to deal with them, and the fictional Angels Memorial Hospital in which the drama unfolds reaches code-black most nights, leaving staff under constant pressure and facing sheer exhaustion.
The core cast in the firing line for the drama include a group of four medical students taking their first steps in the world of emergency medicine. With the young Malaya; nervous and unsure Angus; forty-something Christa and the man with the dubious past Mario, Angels Memorial has four fresh faces attempting to perform daily miracles. Luis Guzmán and Homeland alumni Raza Jaffery also star in the heart-pounding drama.
As with any night in ER, the show straps you in for a roller-coaster of emotions, as the heartfelt highs are countered with crippling lows to test the tear ducts of even the most hardened viewers.
Watch, Thursday 29 October, 9pm