Happy Town

One of two intense medical dramas NBC introduced in the fall of 2009, "Mercy" had all the advantages its one-named rival "Trauma" did not. First, it had talent behind the scenes. Liz Heldens from "Friday Night Lights" created the show and led the writers, proving once again that the best way to dramatize the real world is to show it realistically"”ugliness and all. Second, it had attitude and guts to stay true to its revolutionary premise, the well-informed notion "that nurses remain [not only] more generous caregivers, but that they are more intuitively apt, smarter, more committed and as technically able as their [physician] superiors, with none of the accompanying arrogance." In a winner-take-all ER smackdown, you always would go all-in with the Mercy Hospital nurses. The main character, nurse Veronica Flanagan Callahan, has just returned from a tour in Iraq, where she clearly learned more in each day than the pompous, presumptuous doctors learned in all five years of medical school. Of course, Veronica gets neither the respect nor the reward she deserves, but "Mercy" dangles the possibility of true love as just recompense for Veronica's skill and compassion. Taylor Schilling plays Veronica with exactly the right balance of toughness and vulnerability, skillfully juxtaposing her consummate skill as a nurse with her intrepid ingenuousness in matters of the heart. If only "Mercy" had survived into a second season, all the tangled threads in the story might have come to their proper denouement. If only.

"Wu-Tang: An American Saga" is a television drama series that premiered on Hulu in 2019. The show is based on the true story of the formation of the Wu-Tang Clan, a group of rappers who rose to fame in the 1990s. It explores the lives of the nine members of the group and how they came together to create a new sound in hip-hop.

Off the Map is a character based medical show set in South America. The newest medical drama show from producers of Grey's Anatomy is proving to be a hit series. The latest offering from ABC television, "Off the Map" TV show premiered January 12 of 2011 with some endearing characters going on the "adventure of a lifetime". The show is set in the tropics of South America where three intrepid doctors do their best to save people who are in serious need of medical help. While life is not exactly primitive down in this tropical area of the world, it most definitely is not up to date as far as medical supplies go. Dr. Ben Keeton (Martin Henderson) lost his child and his wife due to an accident and he's having problems coping with the single doctor lifestyle even though he has friends who encourage him. Dr. Otis Cole (Jason Winston George) is one of those docs that most say has a bite every bit as bad as his bite. While super strict at work he also has a somewhat zany side. A former addict he lives for candy as his fix of choice now days. Dr. Lily Brenner (Caroline Dhavernas) has been heartbroken when her fiancee was killed in an accident. Off the Map TV show is a soap opera-ish show and a fun divergence from the normal seriousness involved with medicine. Fans of Grey's Anatomy might like this one.

Needing to get a job recently divorced Danielle Santino decided to become a therapist and work with a pro football team in Long Island. In reality it was Dr. Donna Dannenfelser and she worked initially with the New York Jets, starting a new trend in therapy involving her "tough love" approach to caring for those asking for her help. Soon she found that besides athletes, politicians, musicians, and other celebrity types began requesting her style of therapy for its effectiveness and benefits. It also gave the doctor problems when she needed to balance her job as parent with the new career of therapist. Originally titled Dr. Donna, Necessary Roughness became reality and is proving to be valuable for the many who have tried it. Callie Thorne (Rescue Me, Homicide: Life on the Streets) is Dr. Dani Santino, Marc Blucas (Knight & Day, Inglorious Bastards) is Matthew Donnally romantic interest of Dr. Santino and athletic trainer, Scott Cohen (Jacob's Ladder, The 10th Kingdom) is Nico Careles, former Navy SEAL who works closely with Dr. Santino as her "fixer". Crisp writing and quality casting make this an endearing program to watch.

Netflix's first English-language medical drama follows Miami trauma-center residents as a hurricane looms and a harassment complaint upends the ER. Streaming on Netflix.

Tell Me Lies is a television series based on a novel of the same name by author Carola Lovering. The story revolves around two college students, Lucy Albright and Stephen DeMarco, who fall in love despite their differences in background and personalities. However, their relationship takes a dark turn as they both struggle with addiction and mental health issues, leading to a toxic and manipulative dynamic.