Hospital horror, love in ‘Resident’
“The Resident” opens with a devastating operating room mistake fit for a horror movie.
The medical drama builds on that shocking first impression by taking viewers into an Atlanta hospital where greed, incompetence, bullying and office politics overshadow patient care.
The Fox series enjoys a huge advantage because it debuts Sunday after the NFC championship game before moving to its 9 p.m. Monday time period.
This isn’t a show for the squeamish or anyone awaiting surgery. Everyone else probably should approach it as macabre fare for its relentless cynicism and graphic depiction of illness.
The central figure is third-year resident Dr. Conrad Hawkins (Matt Czuchry of “The Good Wife”), who is gifted but mean, overbearing and ethically challenged.
In the first two episodes, he
terrorizes idealistic intern Dr. Devon Pravesh (Manish Dayal, who suffers persuasively). The routine, a human-resources nightmare, is harrowing for Devon and the viewer, although the series hints the agony will end.
Yet Chief of Surgery Dr. Randolph Bell (Bruce Greenwood) is hiding a secret, blackmailing colleagues and sucking up to the powerful. He also has a nasty habit of killing patients.
Dr. Lane Hunter (Melina Kanakaredes) has a welcoming style that cloaks chilly machinations.
In this hothouse of medical egos, nurse Nicolette “Nic” Nevin (Emily VanCamp of “Revenge”) stands out as kindly, competent and reassuring. Dr. Mina Okafor (Shaunette Renée Wilson) offers skill, dignity and a quiet steadiness. A show built around her would be more original.
But “The Resident” is concerned with whether unorthodox Conrad will do the right thing. His bad-boy style could please fans of “ER,” “House” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” but can he keep up with the more soothing “Good Doctor,” a major hit this season?
The unusually bleak “Resident” dangles the prospect of romance for Conrad and Nic. The chemistry of Czuchry and VanCamp is potent.
Perhaps “The Resident” will click with folks disenchanted with medical care. This show’s mix of good acting, melodramatic writing and hospital horror could serve that huge audience.