When a new medical drama promises "to rip back the curtain to reveal the truth of what really happens, both good and bad, in hospitals across the country" – as The Resident does for Fox network – both patients and viewers alike better be prepared to roll up their sleeves for a healthy dose of melodrama and hospital horrors.
As the folk behind hits such as Dynasty or Dallas could also attest, a little bit of soap and schmaltz can go a long way to keep a drama percolating. That's not necessarily a bad thing here, thanks to a crackerjack roster of acting talent who wrestle like angels and demons to put the medicine ahead of corporate profit in this high-minded series, which debuts tomorrow on OSN.
“We’re trying to show the general audience what they don’t know goes on in hospitals so you can protect yourself,” says co-creator and showrunner Amy Holden Jones, whose directorial vision runs darker than other “pretty rosy” medical dramas.
There’s also good justification for her outlook, when one considers the facts. A recent Johns Hopkins University study claims that more than 250,000 people in the United States die every year because of medical errors.
Other reports put the number as high as 440,000. This means such errors are the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer, but patient advocates are lobbying for better legislation to ensure patient safety.
The Resident is not all glum, despite its Hippocratic grit. It's actually pleasantly hopeful as good hearts prevail and ill patients tend to get the cure that's eluded them elsewhere.
In the opener, on his first day as an intern, Harvard grad Dr Devon Pravesh gets a rude awakening to the cruel realities of modern medicine when third-year hotshot resident Dr Conrad Hawkins takes Devon under his wing to teach him rule-busting ways to treat patients.
Meanwhile, Conrad locks horns with the despotic chief of surgery Dr Solomon Bell, a legend in the operating room with a new tremor in his right hand, who wields his power to intimidate others and cover up his lethal mistakes.
Devon is played with sincerity and intelligence by Manish Dayal, 34, perhaps best remembered from The CW's 90210 as Raj Kher, a college student recovering from cancer. Solomon is given an evil charisma by journeyman Canadian actor Bruce Greenwood, 61, a familiar face as Captain Christopher Pike in JJ Abrams' reboot of the Star Trek movie franchise (2009, 2013) and earlier as US President John F Kennedy during the Cuban missile crisis in Thirteen Days (2000).
The real firebrand and easily the most watchable character here is Conrad, who takes the medical profession's "first do no harm" ethos to a fiery intensity, as realised by American actor Matt Czuchry. The 40-year-old first won fame as the flirty, reckless Logan Huntzberger on Gilmore Girls (2005-07) and later as the ambitious and likeable lawyer Cary Agos on The Good Wife (2009-16).
“We’re showing the complexities of what it means to be a part of the healthcare system,” says Czuchry, who was attracted to the show’s very blunt perspective.
“Whether that be the business of healthcare, losing patients or the difficult decisions doctors make. We’re taking the genre and peeking into it in a different way.”
Meanwhile, Revenge fans will be thrilled that Emily VanCamp – who dished out sweet payback with serious élan as the scheming Emily Thorn on the series from 2011 to 2015 – is back on the telly after a three-year hiatus.
In The Resident the 31-year-old plays nurse practitioner Nicolette "Nic" Nevin, a whistle-blower at heart who runs the hospital floor, enjoys an on-and-off romance with Conrad and fights injustice at every turn.
“I get to be a champion for all nurses who are so undervalued, underpaid, and who do most of the work.”
VanCamp says she’s also proud of how her character handles harassment when a professional athlete, admitted to her ward, texts her a wildly inappropriate photo – and Conrad makes things worse by jumping into the middle as her would-be hero.
"I think women, more than ever, want to be empowered in these situations and have our own voice," she says. "We want to handle these situations on our own."
Whether you choose to suspend your disbelief long enough to accept that this is how the United States medical system truly operates, there's definitely an entertaining Robin Hood theme coursing through the arteries of The Resident.
Its merry band of moralistic young interns routinely employ trickery to beg, borrow or steal medical resources from the money-grubbing powers that be to secure treatment for the poor underinsured souls whose lives hang in the balance at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital.
All work and no jokes, however, make for dull drama. These frontline doctors and nurses amid panicky defibrillations and impromptu surgery, blow off steam with wit.
“When we were researching, we found the humour was very dark in a hospital for doctors. It kinda keeps them going,” says Czuchry. “Some ‘gallows humour’, is what they would call it. Just because you’re dealing with life-or-death situations all the time – so the humour is actually elevated because of that.”
'The Resident' airs at 9pm tomorrow on OSN Series First HD. See programme guide for more viewing times.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Day 3, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage, the Sri Lanka pace bowler, has had to play a lot of cricket to earn a shot at the top level. The 29-year-old debutant first played a first-class game 11 years ago. His first Test wicket was one to savour, bowling Pakistan opener Shan Masood through the gate. It set the rot in motion for Pakistan’s batting.
Stat of the day – 73 Haris Sohail took 73 balls to hit a boundary. Which is a peculiar quirk, given the aggressive intent he showed from the off. Pakistan’s batsmen were implored to attack Rangana Herath after their implosion against his left-arm spin in Abu Dhabi. Haris did his best to oblige, smacking the second ball he faced for a huge straight six.
The verdict One year ago, when Pakistan played their first day-night Test at this ground, they held a 222-run lead over West Indies on first innings. The away side still pushed their hosts relatively close on the final night. With the opposite almost exactly the case this time around, Pakistan still have to hope they can salvage a win from somewhere.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
How it works
A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank
Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night
The charge is stored inside a battery
The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode
A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes
This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode
When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again
The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge
No limit on how many times you can charge
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
