Netflix’s Pulse, the new generation’s Grey’s Anatomy, except set in Miami and with a much better understanding of the power dynamics at play between anyone who works in a hospital, has now premiered on Netflix. Whether you are intrigued by the messy main relationship, by the slow-burn flirtation between Camila (Daniela Nieves) and Sophie (Chelsea Muirhead), or just here for Justina Machado in charge as ER boss Natalie Cruz, if you like medical dramas, there’s something for everyone in Netflix’s Pulse.
Television has a strong tradition of medical dramas. From ER and Scrubs to New Amsterdam and The Resident, not to mention the new standout on Max, The Pitt, this genre has been explored consistently and in enough diverse ways that each show feels like it tells a different story. Pulse steps into this very crowded landscape with a very familiar idea but very different vibes and a new way of seeing a story we might perhaps remember seeing before.
At the center of Pulse is the power dynamic in the relationship between Danny Simms (Willa Fitzgerald) and Xander Phillips (Colin Woodell). He’s the Chief Resident who relentlessly pursues her. She says no, because it could affect her career, but they later start a relationship she always feels uncomfortable with, on some level. Again, it’s a story we’ve seen before, except in this case, Danny does go on to file a sexual harassment complaint against Xander—with the backlash that entails.
The characters surrounding this central drama include ER chief Natalie Cruz—portrayed with tremendous poise by Justina Machado, who previously played a nurse on One Day at a Time; how times have changed—who knows everything that’s happening and has a very clear opinion about each of her doctors. There’s also new intern Camila, dressed up, wearing makeup, and sporting a cute outfit, even in the midst of a hurricane. We mustn’t forget Arturo del Puerto as Luis Dominguez, the head nurse who is truly in charge of the ER, as nurses often are. Together, they inhabit a Miami hospital that embodies the essence of Miami.
From the food to the casual Spanish to the ways all the characters from our communities don’t feel like a monolith but like clearly defined people, Pulse takes the setting and uses it in its favor as you continue to think about the complications of these doctors’ relationships. Then there’s a hurricane, another inappropriate relationship—this time between a doctor and a patient, a lot of behind-the-scenes politics for Dr. Cruz, because even doctors aren’t immune to that, a lot of Spanish—we are in Miami, on top of a great deal of day-to-day emergencies, and the show is both like a ready-made binge or the kind of Netflix show you can actually take your time with.
And sure, like in any medical drama, it’s the medicine that keeps the wheels turning, but it’s the drama between the people that keeps viewers engaged. And Pulse, like any great medical show, has a lot to offer in that regard. It might just ask you to think about some things in a way you haven’t before, while it takes you around a city that many other shows have tried to show you before, this time, from the perspective of people who actually belong there.
Pulse is now streaming on Netflix.
