I was invited to a set visit for NBC’s newest series, St. Denis Medical. As I drive onto the Universal Lot I’m greeted by security, go through the protocols, and drive to the newest soundstages. There I’m met by my favorite NBC Universal Publicists, a few journalist colleagues, and shortly the cast of the upcoming new series.
The minds behind Superstore (another hit NBC comedy series) Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin created the new mockumentary series. Ironically, these interviews occur in the soundstages that replaced the Cloud 9 storefront of the show.
WHAT IS ST. DENIS MEDICAL?
“And honestly anyone that goes through the healthcare system, you have to laugh.” – David Alan Grier
St. Denis Medical is a mockumentary comedy that follows an underfunded, as well as understaffed hospital in Oregon. The team manages to find the laughs while treating their patients and dealing with daily struggles.
During my visit to the backlot, I had a chance to talk with the cast, take a tour of the sets, and watch them film. I’m excited to speak to the cast of St. Denis Medical. The series stars comedy giants David Alan Grier (In Living Color), Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs), and Allison Tolman (Why Women Kill). Starring alongside these icons are Superstore alum Kaliko Kauahi and Josh Lawson, as well as Mekki Leeper (Sex Lives of College Girls), and Kahyun Kim.
DAVID ALAN GRIER IS RON
While Grier is known for his comedy, I also love him in more serious roles like his time on Joe Pickett. While Grier is at a point where he can pick and choose his roles, joining the cast of St. Denis Medical was a no-brainer for him.
“When you get a script like this, at this point in your life, what you have done, what you haven’t done, what was the thing that really popped up the script for you that just felt like, this is worth saying yes to, well, I like to do the intelligence of the script. [The script] was well written, you know, anytime in the comedy especially I can look at a script and I don’t immediately go to how can I fix this?”
This is Grier’s first medical show. When building his character of Ron, he takes inspiration from his father who was a psychiatrist. Which means he grew up around doctors.
“So that very deadpan droll demeanor, you know, we lanced your cyst and you’ll be going home, you know, just trying to be even-keeled regardless of what’s happening. So, so that was familiar to me.”
WENDI MCLENDON-COVEY IS JOYCE
“I like playing the people that aren’t necessarily likable, but I understood her and I thought I think I could turn this into something if they’ll let me.”
Reno-911’s Wendi McLendon-Covey is joining St. Denis Medical as Joyce, the woman in charge and trying her best to keep the doors open. Talking with McLendon-Covey was hilarious. After spending so much time playing the overbearing, but hilarious mother on The Goldbergs she was excited for a change of pace. Joyce isn’t loveable. She doesn’t have any friends. She’s good at her job, but bad with people.
“She can’t sugarcoat things. She’s lost her patience and she’s irritated, you know, she used to be an oncologist, and then she got into admin or, you know, running this hospital probably thinking, ok, I’m gonna change things from the inside. Then, she screwed herself because now it’s just a constant grind of trying to get money and keep this, you know, she’s pushing this hospital uphill in front of her. And so she’s, she’s kinda had it. She’s like, just let me swallow some iced coffee and get this day going. Let’s just go already. So she’s gonna die alone. Probably. She’s not pleasant.”
ALLISON TOLLMAN IS ALEX
Fargo’s Allison Tollman joins St. Denis Medical as Alex. Alex is a nurse who is just trying to get through her day and help her patients. Tollman loves the mockumentary style. She feels it’s freeing in a way and tears down the glitz and the glamour that is in a lot of television shows.
Tollman was shocked to be cast on a sitcom. She’s mostly known for network dramas and dark comedies. However, when reading the script she couldn’t say no.
“The script was really, really good and my father had been really sick the year before. I went home to Texas for, like, six weeks while he was in the hospital and I just sort of like, lived my mother’s life during the day and did all the things she normally did so that she could be with my dad in the hospital. Then she would come home at night and, like, all that she could stomach was like a half-hour comedy. That’s it. And so we watched a lot of sitcoms together…She couldn’t do anything sad or scary or serious and she could only watch a half an hour and then she was like, I got to go to bed.”
The character of Alex is very much the heart of St. Denis Medical. Tollman finds herself really leaning on her theater training to keep her grounded while in this heightened world.
“I think Alex is the most grounded in a lot of these scenes, especially a lot of these characters are spinning out and being wack a do and she’s the one who looks at the camera and he is like, why is this happening? So I think that my most grounded training, my most grounded work that I’ve done is really helpful in that arena.”
WALKING THE SETS OF ST. DENIS MEDICAL
In between interviews, we were given a tour of the St. Denis Medical sets. So much hard work has gone into fully immersing the actors in the medical world. The use of real, unflattering overhead lighting, terrible tile floors (you know the ones I’m talking about), to all the medical machinery. Walking through those doors made me feel like I wasn’t on set but in an actual hospital.
St. Denis Medical premiers on NBC on November 12, 2024. You can also find the series streaming the next day on Peacock!
