"The Old Man" is a television series that premiered on the streaming platform FX on Hulu in November 2021. The show is based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Perry and stars Jeff Bridges as a former CIA agent named Dan Chase who goes into hiding after a failed assassination attempt. After living off the grid for decades, he is forced to come out of hiding when his past catches up with him.

"Trauma" survived almost a whole season in NBC's primetime line-up, but it ultimately became a victim of the Jay Leno scheduling brouhaha and its own penchant for taking itself much too seriously. The promotional materials for "Trauma" declared, "Executive producer Peter Berg delivers"¦the first high-octane medical drama series to live exclusively in the field where the real action is." The promo went on to describe "Trauma" as "an adrenaline shot to the heart," but viewers tended to characterize it as a sedative shot to higher consciousness, complaining that characters were stereotypic and plots were contrived. For all of its melodrama, "Trauma" did set valuable precedents for other, better-written medical dramas: The plots promoted paramedics and nurses over physicians as the true wonderworkers of emergency medicine, and the paramedic team included an openly gay character whom the writers treated with considerable insight and sensitivity. Held against TLC's "Life in the ER," "Trauma" betrayed its promise of realism, but it occasionally showed the promise of medical dramas focused on real caregivers instead of over-educated biochemists.

Starring stand up comedian Denis Leary, Rescue Me deals with real life trauma and the life of a fire fighter in the great city of New York. In a fictional fire house we follow along with the daily activities of the FDNY finest and bravest. Often their private lives call for more bravery than the job. Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) has a dysfunctional family and after losing a close cousin on September 11, 2001 he has problems dealing with the fact that cousin keeps showing up in his dreams or visions. Tommy deals with his alcoholism, unsettling visions, and the stress that goes with being a fire fighter each week. We ride along on the fire trucks as he and his group of firemen go about the business of putting out fires, help injured civilians, and deal with some domestic issues. The recurring guest list is impressive including Gina Gershon, Susan Sarandon, Artie Lange, Maura Tierney, Jennifer Esposito, and Michael J. Fox. As you would expect, the firemen in New York City are kept quite busy and danger is a constant possibility. Denis Leary and Peter Tolan are co-creators of Rescue Me.

"9-1-1: Lone Star" is a television drama series that premiered on Fox in January 2020. The show is a spin-off of the popular series "9-1-1," and it follows a team of firefighters, paramedics, and police officers as they respond to emergency situations in Austin, Texas.

A TV sitcom that is shown on the Disney Channel, A.N.T. Farm begins with episode one's imaginative title, TransplANTed. Advanced Natural Talents (A.N.T.) are gifted program participants in middle school. The series centers on 11 year old Chyna Parks who is a musical prodigy who joins others her age with special natural gifts including Olive, who has perfect recall or an eidetic memory and Fletcher, who is an artistic genius with a serious crush on Chyna. There are those in school who are jealous of the gifted kids, especially Lexi who is the most "popular girl" and sees Chyna as competition for the most popular category (which Chyna could care less about). Chyna Parks is played by China Anne McClain from Tyler Perry's House of Payne. Sierra McCormick (Romantically Challenged, Medium) is Olive Doyle a girl who recalls everything she sees, hears, or reads. Jake Short (Dexter, Zeke & Luther) is Fletcher Pumpernickel Quimby, who is an artistic genius with a big time crush on Chyna. Lexi Reed is the selfish self-centered "it" girl in school who worries about competition from Chyna and is played by Stefanie Scott from The New Adventures of Old Christina and Sons of Tucson. Entertaining Disney style film with a good theme involved.

As a sequel to the popular Spartacus: Blood and Sand, we find Spartacus: Vengeance is more about how and why he became a gladiator. Determined to free the slaves owned by the Roman Republic, the Romans need to stop Spartacus before he does them more damage. And now Spartacus, himself a former Thracian slave, has a huge decision to make which is whether to help free the slaves or seek vengeance on those who condemned his own wife into slavery then death. Starring as Spartacus is Liam McIntyre from Neighbours and The Pacific, Peter Mensah (Avatar, Tears of the Sun) is trusted friend and former trainer of gladiators Oenomaus, Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess, Battlestar Galactica) is Lucretia Batiatus, widow of Quintus Batiatus who now hold a gift known as prophecy, and Dan Feuerriegel (Australian TV's McLeod's Daughters, Stupid Stupid Man) playing the part of Agron, German gladiator who was the first to join up with Spartacus and his revolt. Others in the cast include Manu Bennett as Crixus, Viva Bianca as Ilithyia, and as Gaius Claudius Glaber, Craig Parker. It's rousing and entertaining while not especially true to history.