PILOT REVIEW: Chicago Med

CHICAGO MED

Starring: Nick Gehlfuss, Yaya DaCosta, Torrey DeVitto, Rachel DiPillo, Colin Donnell, Brian Tee, with S. Epatha Merkerson, and Oliver Platt

Created by Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead
Written by Andrew Dettmann, Diane Frolov, and Andrew Schneider, Directed by Michael Waxman

THE SYNOPSIS
If you watch Chicago Fire or Chicago PD, you know exactly what to expect with this show. Set at Chicago Med, the show focuses on the doctors, nurses, med students, and other workers who occupy the busy hospital. Like the other Chicago shows, they focus on a workplace family and handle events of the week with on-going character stories. The characters include ER Chief Resident, Dr. Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss), Chief of Services, Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson), Chief of Psychiatry, Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt), pregnant pediatrician Dr. Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto), resident Dr. Ethan Choi (Brian Tee), nurse April Sexton (Yaya DeCosta), med student Sarah Reese (Rachel DiPillo), and ER physician Dr. Connor Rhodes (Colin Donnell).

THE REVIEW
I'll start this review by reflecting for a moment on the other two Chicago shows. Chicago Fire was a pleasant surprise for me and has evolved into one of my favorite dramas right now. I feel like it doesn't always get the credit it deserves for its captivating stories and enjoyable characters. On the other hand, I have given Chicago PD tons of chances and still can't get into it. I'll always watch it when there's a crossover, but I think I'm about done with giving it chances. For whatever reason, I don't find the stories or characters nearly as interesting as Fire.

All that is to say, I don't really know where I'll fall with Chicago Med. It's too early to tell if it's going to be more like Chicago Fire or more like Chicago PD for me. I don't think the medical setting makes too much of a difference one way or another because in theory, I would like a police show more than a firefighter show. The pilot for Chicago Med was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be: fairly safe with run of the mill medical stories, decent performances, and a lot of exposition mixed into the stories. It was difficult to determine which direction this show is going to head in with a play-it-safe pilot.

The performances were solid but nothing stood out, though I remembering feeling similar about Chicago Fire at the beginning. Early promising actors include S. Epatha Merkerson, Rachel DiPillo, an Nick Gehlfuss. As I said before, I'm not worried about the medical genre being a deterrent but I do wonder if the setting is just slightly too big to accomplish what PD and Fire try to. After all, an entire hospital, even if it only focuses on a few characters, is a bigger world than a firehouse or a precinct.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Yes. Considering how many times I have watched Chicago PD, this is certainly going to get its chance from me. At the very least, I'll watch it when it crosses over with Fire, which I'm sure will be often.