2025 has already been a big year for medical shows. Grey's Anatomy just celebrated its 20th anniversary, and Max's The Pitt and Netflix's The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call have grown into word-of-mouth hits. Then, on April 3, 2025, Netflix debuted Pulse, a new juicy hospital-set drama about residents juggling their relationships while saving lives.
Created by Zoe Robyn and executive produced by Carlton Cuse, Pulse takes place at Maguire Medical Center in Miami, Florida, and follows the diverse staff of its acclaimed level one trauma center. As the series begins, storms are brewing inside and outside the ER, as the surgery and emergency medicine residents face the fallout of a workplace relationship and a hurricane is heading for Miami. After the hurricane stops, neither the interpersonal drama nor the heart-wrenching emergency cases let up.
This new batch of soon-to-be-beloved TV doctors includes several familiar faces from decades of hit shows. (Yes, including some Grey's and ER alums.) Below, read on to learn everything you need to know about the cast of Pulse.
Willa Fitzgerald as Dr. Danny Simms
Danny is a talented third-year resident in emergency medicine at Maguire, who is suddenly promoted to chief resident hours before a hurricane hits Miami. The reason? The suspension of the former chief resident... who is also her ex. As Danny's relationships with all her co-workers are affected by the change-up, she has to work through her tendency to self-sabotage.
Willa Fitzgerald, 34, is likely a familiar face to Netflix fans; she previously starred as the young version of Madeline Usher in Mike Flanagan's The Fall of the House of Usher. The Nashville native and Yale alum made her TV debut in 2013 and has since appeared in shows, including MTV's Scream, BBC's Little Women, USA's Dare Me, and Prime Video's Reacher. She also starred in the cult-hit 2024 horror movie Strange Darling.
Colin Woodell as Dr. Xander Phillips
Xander Phillips is the son of a wealthy Miami medical family, but he wants to be known for his hard work more than his nepo connections. Unfortunately, he has a lot of baggage, from the fallout of his and Danny's breakup to his mysterious past at the nearby Kennedy Hospital.
Colin Woodell, 33, is a stage and screen actor who has appeared in several TV shows, including Devious Maids, The Originals, Masters of Sex, Designated Survivor, The Purge, The Flight Attendant, and The Continental. He also played Buzz Aldrin in the 2024 comedy film Fly Me to the Moon.
Jessie T. Usher as Dr. Sam Elijah
Sam Elijah is Danny's best friend and fellow third-year emergency medicine resident. Though he's less outwardly ambitious than Danny, he also has his eyes on the chief resident spot next year. Both his goal of promotion and lingering feelings for Danny mean that the Danny/Xander revelation hits hard.
Jessie T. Usher, 33, is best known for his starring roles as Cam Calloway in the basketball dramedy Survivor's Remorse and as A-Train in Prime Video's superhero satire The Boys. The former child star's other credits include Hannah Montana, Almost Christmas, Shaft, Dangerous Lies, Tales of the Walking Dead, and Gen V.
Jessy Yates as Dr. Harper Simms
Harper Simms, Danny's younger sister, is a second-year resident in emergency medicine who's also a Harvard grad and a wheelchair user. She usually has her big sister's back, but there's still some lingering family drama regarding their father.
Jessy Yates is an actor, disability advocate, and Cleveland native who lives with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. After moving to N.Y.C. for undergrad and getting her start as a stage actor, performance artist, and burlesque dancer, Yates became the inaugural recipient of a scholarship that helped her become the first wheelchair-using student in the Yale School of Drama's history. Her credits before Pulse include ABC's Speechless, Apple TV+'s Me, and the PBS animated series Skillsville.
Justina Machado as Dr. Natalie Cruz
Natalie Cruz is the brilliant surgery and emergency medicine chair who supervises the hospital doctors with firm compassion. When her teen daughter, Vero (Sophia Torres), becomes a Maguire patient, the typically unflappable department head does everything she can to keep her child alive.
Justina Machado, 52, is a television veteran who has appeared on dozens of hit shows, including Six Feet Under, ER, Three Rivers, Private Practice, Jane the Virgin, Queen of the South, One Day at a Time, Superstore, and The Horror of Dolores Roach. She's currently starring in the Broadway musical adaptation of Real Women Have Curves.
Néstor Carbonell as Dr. Ruben Soriano
Dr. Ruben Soriano is one of the best surgeons in Miami. He supervises the surgery team and expects his residents to be as dedicated to their patients as he is to his.
He's played by Néstor Carbonell, 57. The actor has a wide-ranging career across TV (Suddenly Susan, Lost, Bates Motel, The Morning Show), film (The Laramie Project, the Dark Knight trilogy), and even animated shows (Kim Possible, Big Hero 6: The Series). Last year, he won an Emmy for his guest role as Vasco Rodrigues in Shōgun.
Jack Bannon as Dr. Tom Cole
British second-year surgery resident Tom Cole is a charming if arrogant doctor. He's known for two things: his social-climbing and getting romantically entangled with the nurses on his floor.
Jack Bannon, 34, grew up in Norwich, England, and rose to fame with roles in several British productions. His credits include the films The Imitation Game and Fury, as well as the TV shows Endeavor, Clique, The Loch, Medici, Pennyworth, and The Darkness. According to Tudum, Pulse showrunners Cuse and Robyn said of Bannon's audition, "We loved him so much that we adjusted the role to fit who he was as an actor."
Chelsea Muirhead as Dr. Sophie Chan
Sophie Chan is a surgery intern determined to learn everything she can. Unfortunately, she's under Cole, who isn't the most supportive mentor. One bright spot in Sophie's tough intern year is her building friendship with medical student Camila Perez.
Chelsea Muirhead is a Filipino-Scottish actor who grew up in Toronto. Since her TV debut in 2019, she has appeared in the shows Impulse, Slo Pitch, and Warriors, as well as the movies Adult Adoption and Sappy Holiday.
Daniela Nieves as Camila Perez
Camila Perez is a stylish and optimistic third-year medical student who wants to help as much as possible during her rotation (though it's tough when her first day is a hurricane). She's played by Daniela Nieves, a 27-year-old Venezuelan-American actress who got her start as a child actress on telenovelas. Her previous roles include Nickelodeon's Every Witch Way, WITS Academy, and Peacock's Vampire Academy.
Jessica Rothe as Cass Himmelstein
Cass Himmelstein is a senior ER nurse who knows exactly how to navigate the politics of Magiure, though she is juggling a tricky relationship with Cole. She's played by Jessica Rothe, 37, best known for starring as Tree Gelbman in the Happy Death Day movies and for playing Sarah in Virgin River's sixth season. Her other credits include the films La La Land, Valley Girl, All My Life, and Boy Kills World, as well as the MTV series Mary + Jane and Prime Video's Utopia.
Ash Santos as Nia Washington
Ash Santos, 31, plays Nia Washington, a witty Miami-Dade County EMT who gets sucked into a very complicated flirtation with Cole. The Bronx native made her Netflix debut as Daphne in the 2021 miniseries True Story. She also previously played Emily in American Horror Story: Apocalypse and Coco in the Paramount+ crime series Mayor of Kingstown.
