US TV

In the US: Tuesdays, 9/8c, The CW. Starts October 19
In the UK: Not yet acquired
In Canada: Acquired by CTV2 for simulcast
In Australia: Acquired by Network Ten

The medical procedural (MP) is something of a blank slate. Any network can stamp its DNA into the MP and make it its own. Fox can take the MP and add a little bit of crime drama to produce The Mob Doctor. NBC can take the MP and turn it into a low-quality bombastic explosion fest that runs out of budget by episode two (Trauma). ABC can make the MP a soap opera within three seconds (Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice).

So how about The CW, a network best characterised by Gossip Girl, America’s Next Top Model and Privileged? What would it do with an MP? Think about… What’s your answer?

If you guessed “young female doctor has to face up to mean, probably black girls, while finding career success and true love, probably with someone from Smallville in it”, you’d be right. Emily Owens MD is indeed a show about a young female doctor – Emily Owens (Marnie Gummer from The Good Wife) – who has just qualified from medical school and wants to become the best doctor ever. She moves to Denver to train with her heroine, Gina Bandari (Necar Zadegan from The Event), which is coincidentally where her best friend and secret crush Will Collins (Justin Hartley from, you guessed it, Smallville) is also going.

But whom should she discover has joined the hospital she’s going to be an intern at? Why the girl who used to bully her at high school, Cassandra Kopelson (Aja Naomi King), of course. And not only has she got to survive the girl who secretly messed up her cards just before the debate and knows her nickname is ‘pits’, she’s got to deal with all the other cliques in the hospital. Because it turns out a hospital is a lot like a high school.

Here’s a trailer.

Continue reading “Preview: Emily Owens MD (The CW) 1×1”