Share

The Resident returns for season 2 with 9 extra episodes

Cape Town – The doctors at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital are back on call on South African television screens. 

The Resident season 2 kicks off on Wednesday at 20:45 on Fox (DStv 125). 

Fox has ordered nine additional episodes of the sophomore series raising the second season order to 22 episodes.

The show peels back the curtain and reveals the truth of what happens, both good and bad, behind the scenes at hospitals.

Manish Dayal who plays first year resident Dr Devon Pravesh sat down for a quick Q&A about the new season. 

Can you tell us about season two?

Season two is very exciting, electric. The gloves are coming off this season. I think each doctor is coming into their own. Devon in particular is no longer a newbie intern he is a new doctor coming into his own and he is discovering the kind of medicine that he wants to practice and becoming autonomous from the other more senior positions.

Also, a new character comes on this season. Jenna Dewan, she plays a medical device rep who in some ways uproots Devon’s life personally and professionally. When he first meets her and she introduces a new sort of tech to the world of medicine that’s new to Devon, he becomes very intrigued by her. 

In what ways do you think The Resident has resonated with its viewers so far?

I think The Resident resonated with the viewers because it’s unapologetic, it’s sort of unfiltered and it doesn’t shy away from talking about sensitive topics. I think we’re in a world right now where everyone is tasked with the responsibility of approaching difficult subjects. I think The Resident is doing that in its own way and it’s holding people accountable, holding power and people accountable in the show much like the responsibility we all have as citizens of the world today.

Would you like to be a doctor in real life?

You know I have to be honest with you, before I was an actor, when I was really young, studying medicine was definitely on the table for me. I think like many new immigrant families in the United States, medicine is a profession that is front and centre for many families and it was definitely for mine and I think it was a profession I considered. I realise though, that probably wasn’t where my skill set was, but I really do appreciate the profession. My sister is a doctor.

With so many medical shows on television, how does The Resident stand out? 

I think that The Resident stands out because it talks about the world of medicine in not its glory. It talks about the world of medicine as a business and how healthcare is a business and how hospitals are run as a business and how the bottom line and revenue streams are primary focus for many hospitals and that’s something that a lot of shows don’t talk about when they’re portraying a certain hospital.

I think Chastain is a hospital with a lot of problems and I don’t think we shy away from talking about those issues. So, I think that’s why it stands out, it definitely doesn’t paint the rosy prefect picture of what it means to be a doctor and the life of a physician inside of a system of hierarchy and revenue streams.

Devon is, in a way, the audience’s point of view in the show. Do you think that this comes with an added responsibility to you? 

That’s a good question, I think the interesting responsibility that I have to play Devon and that Devon has within the show is that he is most like the audience because as a med student he is coming into the hospital for the first time just like our audience.

I think what makes it unique is that his whole life he has been an academic, he studied very hard, he comes from a blue-collar background, so all of the things that prepared him for what he would have to practice as a physician, he was completely not anticipating because the life of a doctor inside of a hospital is something he never could have foreseen or prepared for really.

So, just like the audience I do think he has a unique responsibility to take in each experience with a fresh set of eyes and as a person who is experiencing these things for the first time and that is what makes him unique for me, at least, to play him because a lot of the cases we experience in the show and a lot of the diseases and the patients that come in are all new to him because he only knows them in theory, in textbook and academia, he doesn’t know them in practice. 

How did you prepare for this role? Did you do some kind of traineeship in a hospital or something? 

I read several books from doctors who had similar experiences in hospitals like Devon’s. So basically, new doctors, new positions, residents in their first year who were talking about the idea of what it means to have that position, to go from medical school to a hospital.

It’s a very discombobulating experience for many doctors. So, it was important for me to understand what that meant, but not from doctors who had been in hospitals for years because Devon is new. I wanted to gather resources from other doctors who were also new. So, I spoke to several doctors. I spoke to my sister who at the time, she was a second year when the show started. She was a big resource for me. Also, I have several other doctors who are friends and family members who were helpful and also one of the co-creators of the show is, who Devon’s character is loosely based on, Roshan Sethi. He was also a great resource and also, we have medical advisors on set to help when we have certain technical scenes or scenes with specific terminology.

YouTube was a big help for me, but also these onset consultants help us and help guide us through it so we understand what we’re saying because understanding what we’re saying is ultimately how we’re going to be able to portray it accurately and I think that’s always helped me the most. 

What has been the most challenging aspect?

I think maybe Devon’s innocence and empathy because I think that’s what makes Devon a unique doctor -  his sensibility, his heart, his ability to connect to patients so quickly and easily and his empathy. I think after seasons of a show where you’re seeing trauma after trauma much like many doctors, they become hardened and jaded after a certain period of time in this business and for Devon I think it’s going to be important to maintain that sense of innocence because he’s becoming less and less innocent especially in season two because he’s challenged in every way professionally and personally with this new character, Jenna.

So, all of the qualities that made him innocent and wide-eyed are things that are going away now, but I think the challenge is to still keep that essence of who he is as a person and that to me is something that I want to work on this season.

 

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:

Catch The Resident Wednesdays at 20:45 on Fox (DStv 125)!

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE