Code Black (TV series)


Code Black is an American medical drama television series created by Michael Seitzman that premiered on CBS on September 30, 2015. It takes place in an overcrowded and understaffed emergency room in Los Angeles, California, and is based on a documentary by Ryan McGarry. On May 16, 2016, the show was renewed for a 13-episode second season, which premiered on September 28, 2016. On November 14, 2016, CBS added three more episodes, to bring the season two total to 16.
On May 14, 2017, the series was renewed for a third season, which premiered on April 25, 2018. On May 24, 2018, CBS cancelled the series after three seasons. The series finale aired on July 18, 2018.

Plot

The show centers on the fictional Angels Memorial Hospital, where four first-year residents and their colleagues must tend to patients in an understaffed, busy emergency room that lacks sufficient resources.

Episodes

Cast and characters

Main

On January 27, 2015, the show's pilot episode was greenlighted by CBS. On June 4, Brett Mahoney was appointed as executive producer for Code Black.
On October 23, 2015, CBS ordered six new scripts for Code Black. The following month, CBS ordered five additional episodes. CBS renewed the show for a second season in May 2016.

Casting

On February 17, 2015, Marcia Gay Harden was cast as Christa, a soccer mom who lost her son to cancer. On February 23, Melanie Chandra was cast as Malaya, a doctor beginning her residency. Maggie Grace was cast as Dr. Leanne Rorish, the lead of the show, the following day. On March 3, Luis Guzman was set to star as Jose Santiago, a senior nurse. The character's name was later changed to Jesse Salander. The following day, Raza Jaffrey was cast as Neal, and Ben Hollingsworth was set to star as Mario, a new resident. When Grace left the show before filming began, the role of Leanne was then given to Harden, and Bonnie Somerville was cast in Harden's role as Christa.
At the end of season 1, Somerville and Jaffrey departed the main cast, and recurring actors Jillian Murray and Boris Kodjoe joined the main cast, reprising their roles of Dr. Heather Pickney and Dr. Will Campbell respectively. Rob Lowe also joined the main cast as Colonel Ethan Willis, a Combat Casualty Care doctor assigned to Angels as part of a U.S. Army training program. In 2017, Moon Bloodgood was cast in the recurring role of paramedic Rox Valenzuela for the series' third season, and was subsequently promoted to series regular as of the third season's fourth episode. Bloodgood's casting followed the departures of both Chandra and Murray. Former recurring actors Emily Alyn Lind, Noah Gray-Cabey and Emily Tyra were also promoted to the main cast for the third season.

International broadcast

In the UK the show is shown on W! with Season 3 premiering in late May 2018.

Reception

Code Black has received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the series has a rating of 54%, based on 39 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "While not reinventing the stethoscope, Code Black is an above-average medical drama, with appropriately theatrical storylines that make up for sometimes cheesy dialogue." On Metacritic, the series has a score of 53 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
At the 2016 Monte-Carlo Television Festival, Harden won the Best Actress in a TV Series Golden Nymph Award, while Code Black was nominated for Best TV Series Drama.

Ratings

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