Netflix is treating Grey’s Anatomy fans to a gripping new medical drama set in Florida this week.
The streaming giant’s latest show Pulse promises to bring steamy romance and complicated relationships to the ER – along with a hefty dose of lifesaving operations, critically ill patients and natural disasters, of course.
The 10-part series, which is the brainchild of Emmy-winner Carlton Cuse and writer Zoe Robyn, is set in a busy Level 1 Trauma Center at Maguire Medical Center, where staff struggle to balance their demanding work with pretty much everything else. The high pressures of work in an emergency room look like they’ll be raised even higher when a hurricane threatens to send the hospital into lockdown.
Here’s what we know about the new show.
What’s the plot?
Actor Willa Fitzgerald plays the lead role of third year resident Dr. Danielle ‘Danny’ Simms, who unexpectedly receives a promotion after her secret lover and supervisor, Dr. Xander Phillips (Colin Woodell), is suspended.
Danny and Phillips’ hidden relationship is starting to cause problems in the ER though as the threat of the storm blows ever closer.
“We always endeavoured to make Danny and Phillips’ relationship a real, authentic look at a workplace romance,” Pulse’s creator and co-showrunner Zoe Robyn told Netflix Tudum. “Pulse shows the edges and pitfalls of their relationship – but also all the joyous moments of working a high-pressure job like this.”
When the hurricane arrives, and the hospital is locked down to deal with a flood of trauma patients, the real fallout of Danny’s illicit tryst with Phillips starts.
“Nowadays, your work family can really be, apart from your literal family, the most important community you have,” added co-showrunner Cuse, who was also a showrunner on Lost. “The complications that arise – between what’s going on off the clock and on the clock – can get messy. It can get confusing. That’s what we wanted to explore with Pulse.”
Kate Dennis, director of The Handmaid’s Tale and New Amsterdam, co-produced Pulse and directed the first two episodes - which were filmed, unsurprisingly, in Miami.
“There’s just this uniqueness about Miami that’s so special,” writer Carlton Cuse told Netflix’s Tudum. “We really wanted to embrace the multicultural quality in the show.”
Who’s in it?
Pulse’s lead, Danny, is played by Willa Fitzgerald, who may be best known for her starring role as Emma Duval in MTV’s slasher series Scream.
Colin Woodell plays Danny’s love interest Phillips, who is from one of Miami’s most influential medical families – Woodell previously played Winston Scott in Peacock’s neo-noir drama The Continental: From the World of John Wick.
English actor Jack Bannon plays the charming, British second-year surgical resident Tom Cole, who has come to Miami to work at the well-respected hospital and enjoy the lifestyle (hello, love triangle). Bannon’s accolades include his role as Sam Thursday in the ITV detective drama series Endeavour and best friend of Alan Turing, Christopher Morcom, in The Imitation Game.
He’s joined by Jessie T. Usher, who plays third-year emergency medicine resident Sam Elijah, and Jessica Rothe, who plays senior ER nurse Cass Himmelstein (aka the one who accidentally walks in on Danny and Phillips sharing a kiss in the trailer).
Is there a trailer?
Yes: we’ve popped it at the top of the page. Don’t watch if you’re queasy – there are plenty of shots of people being intubated, operated on and wheeled into the ER after various traumatic incidents.
“You’ve just saved somebody’s life,” somebody tells Danny after an operation. “How does it feel?”
“Amazing,” she replies. Just as well, she’ll be doing a lot of it.
Streaming on Netflix from April 3
