Mercy returns with all new episodes to NBC this Wednesday, December 9th at 8/7c and until then, I will continue to bring you different lists all Mercy related to talk about one of my favorite new shows this TV season! Today, the list is…
7 Reasons Why I Love Mercy
1. This show has an incredible balance of drama and comedy thanks to show runner, Liz Heldens who has producing and writing credits in Friday Night Lights and Boston Public and the producers on the show, who have writing credits from my favorite shows, Ugly Betty, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Pushing Daisies, Lipstick Jungle, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Roswell. Fans of any of the above shows will enjoy Mercy as these producers and writers know the right elements of a great story.
2. There is a well balanced cast full of fresh faces and familiar faces…fresh including Jaime Lee Kirchner (whom I am a fan of from Rent on Broadway), Taylor Schilling and Charles Semine… as well as familiar including Michelle Trachtenberg (Gossip Girl), James Tupper (Samantha Who?), Diego Klattenhoff (Supernatural), Guillermo Diaz (Weeds), and James Le Gros (Ally McBeal). Each of the cast members bring something unique to their roles and the chemistry among the cast reads off so well. Keep it up!
The guest stars in the first half of the season have been phenomenal, including Erika Christensen, Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller and even Jersey’s own Real Housewives from Bravo. Mercy fans should definitely be looking forward to the guest stars slated to appear in the rest of Season 1 as the lineup so far has been great and NBC tells me that there will be some surprises!
3. This show is a character driven drama about the lives of three nurses (not doctors like most medical dramas on TV) both in and out of work. Being that this is character driven, there are so many layers to these characters that the show is able to unfold and has begun to unfold – some layers even relatable and the writing is done so well. I also love the relationships that Chloe, Sonia, and Veronica have with the certain men in their lives. Also, Veronica’s family dynamic is enjoyable to watch. Chloe Payne’s blog is also quite a hoot to read. One of the Story Editors, Colleen McGuinness, oversees Chloe’s blog so thanks McGuinness for the entertaining blog!
4. The show is not only set in my home state of New Jersey but also shoots in Jersey, mainly in and around where the show is based, Jersey City. Thanks for the Jersey love!
5. The resources page on the official website leads the Mercy audience to external pages that offers information about important issues raised in each episode, along with resources from the Annenberg School at USC, and Q&As with real nurses.
There is also a physician on the writing staff, a nurse consultant and a physician consultant who work regularly with the writers, and several on-set nurse consultants. NBC has also brought in specialists for consultations on specific story lines and have met with a lot of additional nurses for round-table talks in the writers’ room.
I love that Mercy is a show for entertainment but NBC goes the extra mile doing their homework and providing the resources online for those that confuse scripted entertainment with a documentary, reality show, or a learning channel (i.e. TLC or Discovery). This a scripted dramedy and yet it shares the facts online about what is dramatized on television. Thanks NBC!
6. NBC has free full episodes of Season 1 online so I can watch the show as many times as I want and get more and more out of it each time!
7. Mercy is on NBC which has lots of extra video footage of all of their shows online including character profiles, cast and crew interviews, and behind-the-scenes clips exclusively for the web! Check it out! Coming up, there will be new content features such as the “Interactive Nurses Station” so stay tuned for more!
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