The Night Shift (TV series)

Synopsis

The series follows the overnight shift at San Antonio Memorial Hospital, where three of the surgeons have a connection to the U.S. military. Dr. TC Callahan is an ex-Army medic who initially exhibits PTSD-type symptoms, having watched his brother die right in front of him on the battlefield. He tends to go his own way at the hospital, frequently breaking rules and butting heads with his ex-girlfriend and newly-appointed head of the night shift, Dr. Jordan Alexander, and the hospital's administrator, Michael Ragosa. Dr. Topher Zia is a private-sector surgeon who previously spent a lot of time on the battlefield as an Army Ranger, while Dr. Drew Alister is a gay Army medic still active in the reserves who initially tries to hide his sexual orientation for fear of backlash. Dr. Krista Bell-Hart is a young surgical resident trying to work her way up the ranks, while fellow resident Dr. Paul Cummings works hard to emerge from the shadow of his father, a famous surgeon at Johns Hopkins. Jordan is initially in a relationship with Dr. Scott Clemmens, which complicates things when Scott becomes the Chief of Surgery at the hospital and sees that Jordan still has feelings for TC. After a cancer scare, Ragosa finds that he can no longer tolerate the stresses of his administrator job, and he quits that position in order to pursue his original dream of becoming a doctor.

Main

Recurring

Development

The series first appeared as part of NBC development slate in October 2011, however, decided to not go forward with a pilot order. In August 2012, NBC decided to revisit the pilot script for the series, then known as The Last Stand. On October 8, 2012, NBC placed a pilot order, with the new name After Hours. The pilot was directed by Pierre Morel and written by Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah.

On April 18, 2013, NBC ordered four additional scripts under a third and final title, The Night Shift. On May 10, 2013, NBC officially ordered The Night Shift to series.

Casting

Casting announcements began in October 2012, with Eoin Macken first cast in the role of TC Callahan, a doctor who has recently returned from the Army, who constantly disagrees with his superiors and does things his own way. Freddy Rodriguez was the next actor cast in the series, in the role of Michael Ragosa, the hospital's administrator who originally wanted to be a doctor. Ken Leung and Jeananne Goossen were then added to the cast, with Leung cast in the role of Topher, an emergency room doctor who previously helped soldiers that were injured in battle. Goossen signed onto the role of Krista, a beautiful resident at the hospital. In early November, Robert Bailey Jr. joined the series as Paul Cummings, a young, but squeamish resident at the hospital. Jill Flint later signed onto the role of Jordan Alexander, the newly promoted Chief of the Night Shift, who once dated T.C. Daniella Alonso was the last actor cast in the series. Alonso played the role of Dr. Landry de la Cruz, the lone psychiatrist working the night shift.

Filming

Production on season one of The Night Shift began in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in late August 2013, and ended filming in mid-November. Production on season two commenced on November 10, 2014. Production on season three took place from February to June 2016. Filming for season four began in April 2017.

Critical reception

Brian Lowry of Variety said "The Night Shift is still an awfully weak blip creatively speaking". David Hinckley of the New York Daily News gave the show three out of five stars.

On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the show holds an overall 20% approval rating based on 20 reviews, with a rating average of 4.3 out of 10. The site's consensus is: "Calculated and cliche-ridden, The Night Shift is DOA."

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 0–100 reviews from critics, the series has a rating score of 45 based on 16 reviews as of June 30, 2014, indicating mixed or average reviews.