Review: St. Denis Medical, “Welcome to St. Denis” and “A Very Robust Personal Life” | Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2
NBC launches a charming new medical mockumentary from the creator of Superstore
Welcome to Episodic Medium’s weekly coverage of St. Denis Medical, the new hospital comedy mockumentary that debuted two episodes tonight on NBC (and will be available on Peacock tomorrow). As always, the first review is free for all, but subsequent reviews will only be available to paid subscribers.
“When I was in college my nan got sick, so we spent a lot of time in the hospital. And that’s when I realized that the nurses really provide the ‘care’ part of healthcare.”
If you’ve ever spent any extended time at a hospital, you know there’s no truer statement than that. Though the logical part of my brain has always known that Grey’s Anatomy is a fictional take on heroically dedicated doctors, I was still shocked when my dad spent five days at the hospital after a bike accident a few years ago and we saw his doctors for a collective total of maybe 20 minutes that entire time. Instead, it was the nurses who knew about his care and his treatment, and who got to know us and who shaped his experience. I can’t remember any of his doctor’s names, but I can still remember Katie and Angie.1
Before diving into St. Denis Medical, I thought its main hook was that it’s the first medical show to utilize the mockumentary format—Scrubs by way of The Office. But it turns out to have another angle too. This is one of the few medical shows that’s first and foremost anchored in a nurse’s point of view, in this case empathetic supervising nurse Alex (Allison Tolman) and her workaholic commitment to her job in the face of the current nursing shortage.2 That means that like Abbott Elementary, there’s a pointed social message at the heart of all the goofy mockumentary comedy: a rallying cry against a broken system and a celebration of the unsung heroes who don’t usually get positioned as the stars of their own stories.
That’s become something of a specialty for co-creator Justin Spitzer, who got his start writing for Scrubs and The Office before creating the workplace sitcoms Superstore and American Auto for NBC. Though I’ve yet to do a deep dive into either show, I know they’re interested in the institutions that shape America and—in Superstore’s case—the underpaid employees that make those institutions run. This time around, Spitzer and co-creator/showrunner Eric Ledgin are bringing that same energy to the world of medicine.
In the two episodes that premiered tonight, the duo make a strong case that they’ve found a winning formula. While I didn’t have super high expectations heading into this show (I’ve been mixed on the Instagram ads that have been served my direction), I was pretty immediately won over from the moment I realized the premiere was opening with a joke about OD-ing. It’s an edgier topic than most network sitcoms would launch with and an early sign that while St. Denis is rooted in feel-good comedy vibes, it’s not afraid to tackle the darker side of our strained healthcare system as well.
Of course, given how ubiquitous the workplace mockumentary has become over the past two decades, there’s always something a bit rote about watching a new one establish itself. But St. Denis has the confidence of two creators who know their way around the genre. (Though this is the first time Spitzer and Ledgin are working together as co-creators, the latter wrote for both Superstore and American Auto, as well as comedies like Rutherford Falls and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.) The characters all pop, at least in a broad archetypal way. And even after just the first episode, there were already relationships I’m excited to see more from.
The sweetest dynamic is between Alex and emergency physician Dr. Ron (the great David Alan Grier), a lovable curmudgeon who knows all too well that dedicating your life to your career can come with a cost. While St. Denis hilariously sends up heroic TV doctors via star trauma surgeon Dr. Bruce (Josh Lawson), Dr. Ron is a much more realistic take on an ER doctor—dedicated to his patients but believable in his emotional detachment too. There’s also a sweet potential romance between new floor nurse Matt (Mekki Leeper), who grew up in a religious community that doesn’t believe in medicine, and jaded RN Serena (Kahyun Kim), who exudes black cat energy to his golden retriever vibes. (“Wow, he dumb.”)
Had St. Denis premiered a decade ago, there’s every chance Matt would’ve been our likable white male lead and we would’ve been experiencing this small regional Oregon hospital from his wide-eyed Montana perspective. But I like the choice to jump in with people who know what they’re doing instead. We’ve all seen medical shows like Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Good Doctor that anchor us in the POV of a newbie’s first day. St. Denis is more interested in capturing how a well-honed system (just barely) works.3
If there’s a character who didn’t entirely click for me in the premiere, it’s Wendi McLendon-Covey’s executive director Joyce, whose broad Michael-Scott-esque antics felt a little too heightened compared to the quieter comedic key everyone else is operating in. Thankfully, the show seems to realize that and course corrects in its second episode, giving Joyce a heavier storyline to bring her more in line with the tone of the rest of the series.
While the premiere, “Welcome to St. Denis,” is a likable if somewhat predictable intro to the world of St. Denis, “A Very Robust Personal Life” really impressed me with how it’s structured. Seemingly disparate stories about Joyce’s work/life boundaries, Matt’s fear of being an organ donor, and Bruce’s obsession with doing good in the world via his patients all wind up intersecting in subtle but meaningful ways. (The only truly standalone story here is Ron’s decision to expand his dating age range by an extra four years.) We also get the start of an Alex/Joyce friendship (er, colleague-ship) that could easily become a cornerstone of the series, and an unexpected moment of genuine humanity from Bruce. It’s nice work all around from writers Sierra Teller Ornelas and Owen Ellickson.
The best thing I can say about these episodes is that both had moments that made me laugh out loud and both had endings that made me unexpectedly tear up. For a fledgling sitcom, that’s a great starting point. Whether St. Denis Medical will be able to truly elevate itself above the mockumentary pack remains to be seen. But its stats look great and it’s charting in the right direction.
Stray observations
Welcome to coverage of St. Denis Medical! In my decade as a TV critic, I’ve actually never reviewed a half-hour sitcom weekly before, so I’m excited to have a new creative challenge ahead of me. And I’m very curious to hear if this show is clicking as well for all of you as it is for me!
Unless I missed it, I don’t think there’s any attempt to explain why a documentary crew is following this particular “safety net” hospital—although that’s perhaps just par for the course with the mockumentary format these days. Joyce and Bruce clearly love the attention though.4
Initially, I assumed Matt’s religious background would just be a source for easy jokes, but I actually thought his philosophical/emotional exploration of whether he wanted to be an organ donor was genuinely fascinating! I feel like you usually see that kind of storyline explored through a patient, and it was cool to see a medical professional grapple with his own relationship to medicine.
I’d already seen it in the show’s trailers, but Matt stabbing himself with the EpiPen was a really funny bit of physical comedy.
Joyce briefly mentions that she was an oncologist for 20 years before she moved into hospital administration, and I hope we see more of her medical perspective come into play moving forward.
It's played as a joke, but “Best breast test in the West!” is actually a great slogan.
Was anyone else devastated that Alex didn’t make it in time to see her daughter star in Mamma Mia! as Donna? They needed to make it a big sports game or something because my theater kid heart couldn’t handle it.
On the positive side: I love the floral dress they put Alex in for the big medical crisis at the end of the first episode! Tolman looks great in that pale pink color.
“iPhone? Oh, now there’s Max Pro? Okay!” McLendon-Covey’s tossed off delivery really made me laugh.
“It was like one of those Saw movies I’ve accidentally seen the posters for.”
Myles here - I spent a total of 5-ish days in the hospital three years ago, and want to give a shoutout to the nurse who listened to my pleading to inquire about speeding up the removal of the tube they inserted through my nose into my stomach. She was a real one.
Myles back again - can’t say for certain if Caroline is forgetting Getting On, or missed it during its short run, but either way it’s a good opportunity to remind everyone to go watch it.
Myles once more - at press tour this summer, I chatted with Spitzer about the choice to still include a “first day” character, and had honestly forgotten that Ryan served this function on The Office. As in that case, though, it’s less a point-of-view and more an excuse for Slightly More Justification for Exposition.
Okay, Myles one last time: I politely badgered Spitzer for more insight on this and he said he could talk about it for an hour but nobody wants that. I informed him that I obviously want that, but shockingly the NBC publicist never got back to me. Weird!
Yeah, these were pretty strong for a sitcom's first two episodes. I do really like the depth and nuance we've seen from Grier's character in particular so far, and I have faith the others will follow soon. As you said, some of the seeds for those relationships and that depth have already been planted.
"Though I’ve yet to do a deep dive into either show"
Superstore is really good and really consistent. American Auto was OK in its first season, but I thought it was the funniest show on network TV in its second season. (NBC had some sitcoms ranging from solid to good in the last 4-5 years-- American Auto, Mr. Mayor, Grand Crew, Kenan-- that they did seemingly nothing to promote, which at least they've definitely remedied with St. Denis.) The one thing those two shows have that this one doesn't is Jon Barinholtz, who was pretty much always the funniest thing going on when he was on the screen. (Both shows also start with a "first day" character-- Superstore obviously with Jonah, but American Auto has Jack getting promoted from the floor to the C-suite in the first episode.)
Also, I realized afterward that at some point we're certainly going to get some sort of "St. Penis Medical" vandalism at some point, aren't we?
I was hooked pretty immediately with the pilot. I'm a huge fan of Superstore (seriously, it's sooooo good, please watch) and I'm sure seeing some of the same faces helped with that.