It is entirely possible that the strength of this show may be the reason I find it hard to tune into week after week. Watch the promo and you will find this is a well acted, heart tearing show about teenagers dealing with life-altering illnesses and the hospital caregivers who somehow help them cope with these life changing events.
Starring Octavia Spencer (“The Help,” “Fruitvale Station”), Dave Annable (“Brothers & Sisters,” “666 Park Avenue”) with a selection of very talented young actors as the patients, the clips already available on the FOX website show scenes that tear at the heart-strings, and characters with strength, and grit.
What I hope to find when I tune in is a strong sense of humor and selection of lighter moments that balance the intense plot lines that the show will obviously feature.
The fact the show is narrated by a boy in a coma does offer some hope that the lighter side of life will be featured just as prominently, but the gallows sense of humor is not for everyone, and most of these clips from the first episode seem to lean towards the darker side.
All of that said, what keeps catching my eye, and drawing me back to wanting to watch this new show is the clearly character-centric feel of the promos and pitch. Some much of the most compelling drama comes not from the ticking clock in the operating room, but the trials and tribulations of the patient before they even make it to the operating table.
Twelve-year-old narrator CHARLIE (Griffin Gluck, “Back in the Game,” “Private Practice”) is in a coma and introduces us to this band of unlikely friends, including the “new kid,” JORDI PALACIOS (Nolan Sotillo, “Prom”), a 16-year-old who comes to California to seek out treatment at the renowned hospital. What Jordi soon discovers is that it’s not his illness that’s going to change his life, but his new friends. Also at Ocean Park is LEO ROTH (Charlie Rowe, “Neverland,” “Pirate Radio”), the 16-year-old, charming and independent “leader” of the group. Leo’s best friend is DASH HOSNEY (Astro, “The X Factor”), a 16-year-old “rebel” with a big personality, who is determined not to let his cystic fibrosis stop him from living his life. Also on the ward is 15-year-old “know-it-all” EMMA CHOTA (Ciara Bravo, “Big Time Rush”), Leo’s on-again-off-again girlfriend who is coping with an eating disorder. Rounding out this group of patients is KARA SOUDERS (Zoe Levin, “Arrested Development,” “The Way Way Back”), a “mean girl” cheerleader who shares a room with Charlie. Although her heart is failing, she is realizing for the first time that she actually has one and begins opening it up to her new friends.
The pediatric ward is run by NURSE JACKSON (Spencer), a caregiver with a take-no-prisoners approach to helping these teens get the most from their lives. Little do they know that she puts her own life second, and her stern manner hides her incredible heart that secretly makes their lives more ordinary. Overseeing much of their treatment is DR. JACK McANDREW (Annable), the country’s top pediatric surgeon. Also attending to the patients is the naïve and gullible Nurse BRITTANY DOBLER (newcomer Rebecca Rittenhouse), who allows the teens to get away with things they probably shouldn’t. These mentors’ lives are more complicated than they seem. They are the guiding force for these teens, but in their own personal lives, things might not be so easy.
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