Sitcoms often require a little runway to truly take flight, but St. Denis Medical was an exception in its first season: it arrived in clockwork form, a classic workplace mockumentary with perfect ensemble chemistry and whip-smart timing. In season two it continues to soar, serving up an inventive, steady stream of situations to comedify.
Set in an under-resourced hospital in rural Oregon, St. Denis Medical follows the hijinks of its staff as they carry out their daily duties. If there’s an overarching throughline to season two, it’s the efforts of hospital director Joyce (Wendi McClendon-Covey) to put St. Denis on the map by launching a new birthing center. Masterfully enacted by McClendon-Covey, Joyce is a nutty authority figure in the vein of Dr. Henry Blake on M*A*S*H: kooky, awkward, a little self unaware, but generally well intentioned. Centering her chaotic leadership is a smart move that foments plenty of conflict and conundrums for the rest of the brilliant cast, which includes David Alan Grier, Josh Lawson, and Allison Tolman. The show does have perhaps one major subplot — a classic will-they, won’t-they attraction between nurses Serena (Kahyun Kim) and Matt (Mekki Leeper) — but it’s so beautifully executed, it doesn’t matter that the dynamic is so familiar. Meanwhile, the writers build on season one’s foundation by shuffling the cast into enjoyable new configurations, deepening the comedic bench with a broad roster of great recurring characters, and building out the “found-family” environment by teasing out the closeness and love that lurks beneath the staff’s combative banter. In this respect, St. Denis Medical isn’t especially innovative — an obvious descendant of the work pioneered on The Office and Parks and Recreation — but as an example of that type of show, it is exceptional.
