Resident rebirth
Manish Dayal reveals why Dr Devon is on a quest for healthcare justice in season 4 of medical drama The Resident on FOX.
Season 4 of action-packed medical drama The Resident (2018-now), Tuesdays on FOX (*125) at 20:45, started at the beginning of February in tragedy. Junior resident Dr Devon Pravesh (Manish Dayal, Raj in teen drama 90210, 2008-2013) is coming to terms with the loss of his beloved father Tejan (Brian George, Dr VM Koothrapali in comedy series The Big Bang Theory, 2006-2019), who put him through med school by driving a taxi. Tejan was at high risk of infection during the COVID pandemic and Devon was forced to say goodbye to his father remotely – like in the real world, he was not allowed to be at his father’s bedside in person.
A SICK SYSTEM
“It was heart-breaking. When I read that first episode, I couldn’t believe the sadness,” says Manish. “The tragedy of the Coronavirus really hits home. But I felt like the story will ultimately unite us, because we are all experiencing this pandemic together, no matter where you are on the globe. Talking about it and spotlighting those who are on the frontline helps us to heal together and it unites us.” Season 4 will show how Devon’s father’s death will fundamentally change the course of his career as a doctor when Devon tells Chastain’s Hospital Chief Resident and his mentor Dr Conrad Hawkins (Matt Czuchry, Cary Agos in law drama The Good Wife, 2009-2016) that his father died alone because the understaffed public hospital that he was sent to in his predominantly black and brown neighbourhood simply did not have resources to care for him.
“What that storyline ultimately does is to illustrate so many different subjects, ranging from the black and brown disparity of healthcare versus private care, to what Chastain is really about, its dilemmas versus those of a public hospital. We talk about it a lot,” says Manish.
DISEASED AT ITS CORE
“What happens in this season is probably the biggest metamorphosis that Devon has ever undergone. He loses somebody close to him, directly related to the work he does day in and day out,” explains Manish. “It reshapes his entire life as a doctor. You’ll see his perspective on medicine change, and he will see the variation in healthcare between a public and a private hospital.” The hospital where his father died was a public hospital “and you’ll see him drawing on that comparison. That ultimately pushes him to practice a level of care that is equal for all people. That is important to him, to treat people the same, regardless of where you’re from or economic background. Everyone deserves the same level of healthcare. That’s something that will become a real practice for him going forward,” says Manish.
Viewers will see a metamorphosis for everybody, even the hospital itself. The whole world of Chastain and its doctors embark on a new journey together, says the actor. The realities that Devon faces now come as a bit of a slap in the face. Deaths like his father have nothing to do with carelessness. In fact, they’re almost guaranteed under public hospital constraints. “What he’ll realise is that public hospitals operate very differently. You don’t spend as much time with patients as you otherwise would. You have more patients. You have less time. And with more patients and less time, your level of care drastically drops,” Manish warns. “For Devon, he’s fighting that balance. He doesn’t want to take away time from patients who ultimately need it and give it to those who don’t. That’s not something that he is interested in. So he is going to have to really figure out how to manage that. How to be the same doctor he is, in an environment that challenges that.”
Season 4 has been an eye-opener for Manish as a performer. “I learnt that the level of care between a public hospital and a private hospital can be a matter of life and death. I never saw it as clear as I do now,” he insists. “A wrong decision, not enough time, being rushed can literally mean someone’s life. That’s an important and serious consequences – based on a hospital’s politics and rules.”