The Night Shift – “Second Chances” Spoiler-Free Advance Review. M.A.S.H. Meets Royal Pains

Air date: Tuesday, May 27, 2014, 10/9c on NBC

Season 1, Episode 1

Rating: ★★★★★

“The night shift is like an undisciplined zoo.” – Ragosa

Pictured: (l-r) Daniella Alonso, Ken Leung, Brendan Fehr, Jeananne Goossen, Jill Flint, Robert Bailey Jr., Freddy Rodriguez, JR Lemon, Eoin Macken, “The Night Shift” — (Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBC

Hospital administrator Michael Ragosa’s (Freddy Rodriguez) statement describes this ragtag team of ex-military doctors and nurses perfectly. Take a little M.A.S.H., add in some Nurse Jackie, Grey’s Anatomy, ER, and a little Royal Pains, as well, and you have NBC’s new medical drama The Night Shift (formerly known as After Hours, originally known as The Last Stand.) Given that all of these medical series have garnered an award or two of some type, I have high hopes for The Night Shift. Fans of Eoin Macken, who plays the very handsome Dr. TC Callahan, will recognize him from such TV series as Merlin, The Tudors, and Fair City. In The Night Shift, Macken’s character is a high energy, extremely knowledgeable, skillful, yet seemingly broken doctor from his years of service in Afghanistan. Despite being “top of his class at Johns Hopkins,” TC is a huge PITA (pain in the ass) to Ragosa, who cares more about the bottom line than the patients who come to San Antonio Memorial Hospital. After all, the hospital is the only trauma facility for miles and miles…and miles so where else would they go? TC and Ragosa go head to head on a number of issues and have no respect for each other; that is, until Ragosa helps TC in an unexpected way—much to my surprise, and TC’s, as well.

Topher and Jordan hold back TC and Ragosa during an argument.

What makes TC so special is his MacGyver-type skills, similar to Dr. Hank Lawson’s (Mark Feuerstein) on Royal Pains. He stops at nothing, and uses anything he can find, to treat his patients. In “Second Chances,” TC treats a man on the way to San Antonio Memorial. The man is in crisis and how TC helps him is nothing short of brilliant. Despite the series being set in San Antonio, Texas, though, outside of a few local landmarks, we won’t see any of this beautiful historic city; unfortunately, The Night Shift is being filmed largely in Albuquerque, New Mexico for tax reasons, or so I’m told.

TC isn’t the only doctor who colors outside the lines. Dr. Jordan Alexander (Jill Flint), recently of the day shift, makes a bid to take over the responsibility of managing the night shift crew of doctors and nurses. Flint is no stranger to medical shows, having portrayed Jill Casey, the attractive hospital administrator on Royal Pains. Jordan is also TC’s ex-girlfriend. I would venture to guess his heavy drinking, gambling, and bar fights are the reason behind their breakup. It would be nice to know more about their backstory because I’m sure it’s interesting and will come into play throughout this first season. Right now, all I can tell is Jordan wants to “fix” TC, although I don’t think he’s buying what she’s trying to sell. Despite Jordan having a boyfriend, who isn’t seen in “Second Chances,” I wonder whether the “ex” in “ex-girlfriend” will continue as such; something tells me these two aren’t done with each other…on a personal level, that is.

TC isn’t the only doctor to challenge Ragosa–Topher has problems too.

Ken Leung plays Topher, another ex-Army doctor and TC’s best friend. Now, here’s a doctor who knows how to game the system. He stops at nothing to get what he wants for his patients, even if it comes out of his own pocket. If I were in the hospital, I’d want Topher to be my go-to doctor! He’s totally cool.

I love intern Paul Cumming’s (Robert Bailey, Jr.) juggling act but not for his juggling skills, although quite good. As serious as a medical drama can be, The Night Shift gives us enough levity to counter-balance the drama beautifully, and Bailey’s acrobatic scene fits the bill nicely, actually making me laugh out loud. As a newbie, he’s the butt of many pranks, and for a doctor, he’s pretty squeamish. I got a real kick out of the hazing scene involving him and Krista (Jeananne Goossen), a skilled surgical resident who seems to have the hots for Drew (Brendan Fehr), an Army medic turned doctor whose favorite pastime is participating in mixed martial arts. Hell, even I jumped during that scene and I don’t scare easily!

Dr. de la Cruz waits with a patient while his brother undergoes risky surgery.

Other cast members include JR Lemon, who plays Kenny, a nurse who helps keep the doctors in line, but tries to emulate TC in all the wrong ways. I hear a romantic relationship is in the works for Kenny on The Night Shift. Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing some topless shots of Lemon, would you?! Last, but certainly not least, is Daniella Alonso, who plays Dr. Landry de la Cruz, the only psychiatrist on the midnight shift. We don’t see a lot of Landry in “Second Chances,” other than her consoling the brother of a critically injured patient who TC works miracles on. Oh, and there’s the reference to her being TC’s current main squeeze. Juicy stuff!

As far as character development goes, there isn’t a lot during “Second Chances.” That’s to be expected with an ensemble show like this. We do learn some things about TC’s Army stint, facts that may explain his unpredictable nature. “They cared more about politics than lives.” TC’s statement about the Army sounds eerily similar to his current situation where Ragosa is more worried about the everyday running of a hospital than patient care, especially when expensive medical tests are necessary. At first glance, Ragosa is an extremely unlikeable person; I can see him growing on me, though.

Memorable line:

Topher: “Oh come on, Jay [Jordan], I’ve seen you sucking on a bong like you were giving it CPR.”

There are two revelations towards the end of the episode, both of which make me excited to learn more about the characters who are hiding these shocking secrets. To say they are surprising is putting it mildly. Each one of them thinks their secret will ruin their career, and one of them could be right.

The serious side of The Night Shift

Overall

The Night Shift is full of witty dialogue, doctors and nurses who work hard and play hard (check out their rooftop lounge!), fun banter, social commentary on the state of the bureaucratic handling of hospitals, and edge-of-your-seat medical drama. It’s intense, gripping, and fun to watch. And Macken isn’t the only eye candy in this new series! I don’t know whether The Night Shift would make it during the fall/winter season but I’d bet anything it will be a winner for NBC this summer.

Tune in to the series premiere of The Night Shift, Tuesday, May 27 at 9/8c, only on NBC. Looking for The Night Shift on social media? Follow these links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NBCNightShift

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NBCNightShift, and use hashtag #NightShift

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/NBCNightShift

Google+: https://plus.google.com/+NBCNightShift/posts

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/NBCTheNightShift

Instagram: http://instagram.com/NBCNightShift

You can also follow these cast members on Twitter: Brendan Fehr (Drew) @unrealfehr, Jeananne Goossen (Krista) @JeananneGoossen, Robert Bailey, Jr (Paul) @IamRobertBailey, JR Lemon (Kenny) @jrlemon2, Freddy Rodriguez (Ragosa) @FreddyRdriguez, Jill Flint (Jordan) @JillMFlint, and Eoin Macken (TC) @eoincmacken. Fans of The Night Shift have their own Twitter page too @NightShiftFans, as do Jill Flint’s fans @JillMFlint_Fans, and Freddy Rodriguez’s fans @freddyfan.

Of course, don’t forget to stay current with The Night Shift on its official website: http://www.nbc.com/the-night-shift.

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!