Fox’s newest drama, “The Resident,” opened with a surgery scene, which makes sense since this is one of many medical shows on the air.
According to tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com, the pilot had more than 8.65 million viewers. Comparing it to other popular medical shows, it is doing well. The episode of the long-running medical series “Grey’s Anatomy” that aired that week had about 8.62 million viewers.
Considering this, “The Resident” already has found itself a strong fan base.
What makes it different from the many other medical shows is that “The Resident” shows what goes on behind the scenes. The show portrays an immoral health care system. One character, Dr. Randolph Bell (Bruce Greenwood), blackmails his inferiors into covering up his inability to practice medicine.
It also dramatizes the financial insanity of unnecessary tests and procedures patients face. It insinuates a scenario in which hospital boards force doctors into running tests so that they can overbill insurance companies and even patients who have no insurance.
One of the most controversial episodes is about a young patient who waits on the heart transplant list for two years, but when a heart becomes available, the patient favored to get it is an older man with political power.
The last part of that storyline involves a doctor, Mina Okafor, who is Nigerian and in the country on a work visa. She is one of the most promising residents at the hospital, yet racism sets her several steps behind her competitors.
The show also has its run-of-the-mill romance between a doctor, Conrad Hawkins (Matt Czuchry); and a nurse, Nicolette Nevin (Emily VanCamp). Although cliche, romances like theirs always seem to draw in viewers who see a relationship as a vital part of any show.
Between the controversial topics it touches on and the classic parts that “The Resident” has, the series could run for quite a bit of time and stir up a revolution if it continues down its revealing path.
