# The Resident (TV series)

**The Resident** is an American medical drama that aired on Fox from 2018 to 2023, following the staff of a for-profit Atlanta hospital as they weigh patient care against the commercial pressures of modern medicine. It was created by Amy Holden Jones, Hayley Schore, and [Roshan Sethi](https://www.edgepedia.org/roshan-sethi) and ran for six seasons.<sup>[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/1199519/why-the-resident-was-canceled-season-7/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/rmc/v16n2/1885-5210-rmc-16-02-91.pdf)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | Fox, six seasons, 2018 to 2023; the series finale aired in January 2023<sup>[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/1199519/why-the-resident-was-canceled-season-7/)</sup> |
| Creators | Amy Holden Jones, Hayley Schore, and Roshan Sethi<sup>[2](https://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/rmc/v16n2/1885-5210-rmc-16-02-91.pdf)</sup> |
| Lead cast | Matt Czuchry as Dr. Conrad Hawkins, Emily VanCamp as nurse practitioner Nic Nevin, Manish Dayal as Devon Pravesh, and Bruce Greenwood as Dr. Randolph Bell<sup>[3](https://www.metacritic.com/news/shows-like-the-resident/)</sup> |
| Setting | Chastain Park Memorial Hospital, Atlanta<sup>[4](https://www.pluggedin.com/tv-reviews/resident/)</sup> |
| Season sizes | 14, 23, 20, 14, 23, and 13 episodes across seasons 1 through 6<sup>[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-resident)</sup> |
| Format | TV-14 rating, about 44 minutes per episode<sup>[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-resident)</sup> |
| Streaming | Netflix, Hulu, and Netflix Standard with Ads; purchase on Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, and Apple TV Store<sup>[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-resident)</sup> |

## Premise

The series follows an idealistic young doctor who begins his first day under the supervision of a tough, brilliant senior resident who pulls back the curtain on what really happens, both good and bad, in modern-day medicine.<sup>[6](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/the-resident)</sup> The senior resident is Conrad Hawkins ([Matt Czuchry](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-czuchry)), who guides Devon Pravesh ([Manish Dayal](https://www.edgepedia.org/manish-dayal)) through his first day at the fictional Chastain Park Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.<sup>[7](https://claytribune.com/the-resident-review-flawed-but-entertaining-medical-drama/)</sup> Among the other main characters are Randolph Bell ([Bruce Greenwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-greenwood)), a renowned surgeon whose health troubles create problems for him in the operating room, and Nic Nevin (Emily VanCamp), a nurse practitioner devoted to her patients who is romantically involved with Conrad.<sup>[3](https://www.metacritic.com/news/shows-like-the-resident/)</sup>

**The business of medicine.** On this show, treating patients and running a business are both the work, and the tension between them drives many plots.<sup>[8](https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/the-resident-hit-netflix-series-similar-shows-to-watch/)</sup> An academic analysis in the *Atlantic Journal of Communication* describes the series as exploring hospital management, patient care, and medical ethics in light of increasing commercial pressures within a US context.<sup>[9](https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/ajpc_00003_1)</sup> Each season also picks an overarching medical-care battle, such as a major company buying the hospital and cutting costs, or a doctor intentionally misdiagnosing patients for a payout.<sup>[10](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/shows-like-pulse-but-better)</sup>

## Sources and tone

Drawing on [Marty Makary](https://www.edgepedia.org/marty-makary)'s book, the series examines difficult realities of the American healthcare system as seen through the eyes of hospital workers who confront it directly in their daily work.<sup>[3](https://www.metacritic.com/news/shows-like-the-resident/)</sup> The premiere states its thesis through Nic Nevin, who says that "medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States after cancer and heart disease."<sup>[11](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-the-resident-review-20180120-story.html)</sup>

Early episodes made the same point through individual cases. In the second episode, Conrad fights senior doctors over a heart transplant diverted at the last second from his patient, a young high school teacher, to an ailing elderly politician, and the hospital continues billing the family of a girl with no hope of brain recovery who remains on life support.<sup>[12](https://www.criticsatlarge.ca/2018/02/a-familiar-formula-foxs-resident.html)</sup> Early criticism focused on characterization rather than theme: the Los Angeles Times found the series conventional but capable of raising a pulse, noting that Bell, the hospital's "gray-haired pop star and literal poster boy," was not beyond blackmail, bribery, or posting his own reviews online.<sup>[11](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-the-resident-review-20180120-story.html)</sup> Critics at Large argued the show weakened its institutional critique by turning antagonists like Bell into villainous caricatures while retaining the familiar patient-of-the-week format.<sup>[12](https://www.criticsatlarge.ca/2018/02/a-familiar-formula-foxs-resident.html)</sup>

## Seasons

| Season | Episodes | Premiere |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | January 21, 2018 |
| 2 | 23 | September 24, 2018 |
| 3 | 20 | September 24, 2019 |
| 4 | 14 | January 12, 2021 |
| 5 | 23 | September 21, 2021 |
| 6 | 13 | September 20, 2022 |

<sup>[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-resident)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[13](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/the-resident/zRAMfkYgpTAz8b0adlyEa7/seasons/)</sup>

**The pandemic episode.** In 2020 the show chose not to ignore COVID-19. The season 3 episode "So Long, Dawn Long" (3x18), a hospital superbug storyline, premiered on March 17, 2020 and opened with a title card stating that the writing had happened months before the pandemic and that any relationship to current events was coincidental.<sup>[14](https://cris.unibo.it/bitstream/11585/966108/1/2023_Antonioni%20Rocchi%20%28eds%29_Media%20Mutations%2014.pdf)</sup>

## Cancellation

Fox canceled the series in 2023 after six seasons.<sup>[15](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/the-resident-ep-reveals-what-wouldve-happened-billie-conrad-season-7-ive-got-fomo)</sup> In a later interview, co-creator Amy Holden Jones and executive producer Andrew Chapman described what a hypothetical season 7 would have included, among other things weddings and possible major returns; they noted that the show premiered in 2018 and that what became the series finale aired in January 2023.<sup>[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/1199519/why-the-resident-was-canceled-season-7/)</sup> The final episode of season 6 was written to work as a series finale, leaving the characters in relatively solid places by the end.<sup>[15](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/the-resident-ep-reveals-what-wouldve-happened-billie-conrad-season-7-ive-got-fomo)</sup>

## Reception and place in the genre

The Resident premiered during a crowded stretch for medical dramas: the 2017–2018 season's new offerings included ABC's The Good Doctor, starring [Freddie Highmore](https://www.edgepedia.org/freddie-highmore), and Fox's The Resident, starring Matt Czuchry and [Emily VanCamp](https://www.edgepedia.org/emily-vancamp).<sup>[16](https://www.thewrap.com/the-good-doctor-resident-abc-fox-medical-dramas-infographic/)</sup> Commentators have identified the show's defining trait as its willingness to criticize the healthcare industry, in contrast to counterparts that follow the genre's basic conventions without that institutional focus.<sup>[17](https://www.tvline.com/2151587/best-medical-dramas-ranked/)</sup> A 2025 retrospective judged that the show ran six seasons and never fully became the medical drama its premise promised, while acknowledging its entertainment value.<sup>[7](https://claytribune.com/the-resident-review-flawed-but-entertaining-medical-drama/)</sup>

Scholars of the genre place The Resident, alongside The Good Doctor, in a recent wave in which serious institutional problems appear on screen, a change from earlier eras of television in which physicians were portrayed as competent, empathic, and successful figures.<sup>[2](https://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/rmc/v16n2/1885-5210-rmc-16-02-91.pdf)</sup> One of the co-creators brought clinical experience to the writers' room: Dr. Roshan Sethi, a third-year resident in the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program, had worked as a consultant and writer for The Resident, Black Box, and [Code Black](https://www.edgepedia.org/code-black-tv-series), and has said that writers draw the line at inaccuracies that could hurt a viewer.<sup>[18](https://time.com/5162534/is-greys-anatomy-accurate/)</sup>

## References

1. [The Resident Bosses Explain Why Series Was Canceled After 6 Seasons, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/1199519/why-the-resident-was-canceled-season-7/)
2. [From Marcus Welby, M.D. to The Resident: The Changing Portrayal of Physicians in TV Medical Dramas, Revista de Medicina y Cine (2020)](https://scielo.isciii.es/pdf/rmc/v16n2/1885-5210-rmc-16-02-91.pdf)
3. [10 Shows Like The Resident to Watch Next, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/news/shows-like-the-resident/)
4. [The Resident, Plugged In TV series review](https://www.pluggedin.com/tv-reviews/resident/)
5. [The Resident, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-resident)
6. [The Resident, TheTVDB.com](https://www.thetvdb.com/series/the-resident)
7. [The Resident ran six seasons on Fox and never became the show its premise promised, Clay Tribune](https://claytribune.com/the-resident-review-flawed-but-entertaining-medical-drama/)
8. [The Resident is a hit on Netflix now. Watch these 3 great shows that are just like it, Digital Trends](https://www.digitaltrends.com/movies/the-resident-hit-netflix-series-similar-shows-to-watch/)
9. [Mostly, do no harm: Representations of morality in the television medical drama The Resident, Atlantic Journal of Communication](https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/ajpc_00003_1)
10. [5 shows like Pulse but better, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/shows-like-pulse-but-better)
11. [Review: Fox's The Resident may not shake up the medical drama, but it can still raise a pulse, Los Angeles Times (2018)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-the-resident-review-20180120-story.html)
12. [A Familiar Formula: Fox's The Resident, Critics at Large (2018)](https://www.criticsatlarge.ca/2018/02/a-familiar-formula-foxs-resident.html)
13. [The Resident Seasons, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/tv-shows/the-resident/zRAMfkYgpTAz8b0adlyEa7/seasons/)
14. [Pandemics and Content Creation, Media Mutations 14 (University of Bologna)](https://cris.unibo.it/bitstream/11585/966108/1/2023_Antonioni%20Rocchi%20%28eds%29_Media%20Mutations%2014.pdf)
15. [The Resident EP Reveals What Would've Happened With Billie And Conrad In Season 7, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/the-resident-ep-reveals-what-wouldve-happened-billie-conrad-season-7-ive-got-fomo)
16. [The Good Doctor vs The Resident: The Tale of the (Surgical) Tape, TheWrap (2017)](https://www.thewrap.com/the-good-doctor-resident-abc-fox-medical-dramas-infographic/)
17. [10 Best Medical Dramas Of All Time, Ranked, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/2151587/best-medical-dramas-ranked/)
18. [Grey's Anatomy May Be Giving You the Wrong Ideas About Medicine, Study Says, Time](https://time.com/5162534/is-greys-anatomy-accurate/)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Genre and subject-scripted series › Medical drama series*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license