St. Denis Medical is an American television mockumentary sitcom created by Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin. The series follows the overworked doctors and nurses working at an underfunded Oregon hospital. Wendi McLendon-Covey, Allison Tolman, Josh Lawson, Mekki Leeper, Kahyun Kim, Kaliko Kauahi, and David Alan Grier star. St. Denis Medical premiered on November 12, 2024, on NBC. In January 2025, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on November 3, 2025. In February 2026, the series was renewed for a third season which is set to premiere on November 2, 2026.
Contents
Synopsis
Per The Hollywood Reporter, "At St. Denis Regional Medical Center, the dedicated doctors and nurses are trying their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity."
Cast and characters
Main
Wendi McLendon-Covey as Joyce Henderson, the ambitious, kooky executive director of St. Denis Medical
Allison Tolman as Alex, an empathic, supervising nurse with workaholic tendencies
Josh Lawson as Bruce, a cocky trauma surgeon desperately seeking adulation
Kahyun Kim as Serena, a self-assured travel nurse with a wild streak.
Mekki Leeper as Matt, a newly-hired registered nurse from a religious community in Montana
David Alan Grier as Ron, a curmudgeonly emergency physician
Kaliko Kauahi as Val, a nurse administrator and surly, no-nonsense veteran of St. Denis
Recurring
Stephen Schneider as Chaplain Steve, the hospital chaplain
Kyle Bornheimer as Tim, Alex's husband
Steve Little as Sanderson, Joyce's ex-boyfriend
Ariana Madix as Dr. Brooke Emerson (season 2), Bruce's ex-girlfriend who is a cardiac surgeon
Dan Leahy as Brandon, a young nurse
Guest
Mindy Sterling as Laurie (season 1), a patient at St. Denis
Lynn Whitfield as Barb (season 1), a patient's grandmother interested in dating Ron
Nico Santos as Rene, an experienced RN who is a "mean girl"
Erinn Hayes as Dr. Stephanie Taylor (season 1), a surgeon
David Paymer as Bob (season 1), a patient at St. Denis
Rose Abdoo as Debbie (season 1), a nurse at St. Denis who Joyce tasks Alex with firing
Dee Dee Rescher as Ruth (season 1), an unhoused patient
Haneefah Wood as Megan (season 1), a friend of Joyce
Draymond Green as Lightning Patient (season 2)
Lauren Weedman as Pam (season 2), an abrasive charge nurse that Alex used to work for
Jessica Lowe as Violet (season 2), Matt's ex-wife
Wayne Knight as Dr. Felix Axler, an Interventional Cardiologist at St. Denis (season 2)
Kristen Schaal as Ashley Lawrence (season 2), Sanderson's new girlfriend who is hired as the hospital's midwife
Sam Richardson as Michael (season 2), Ron's son
Episodes
Production
Development
The pilot was commissioned by NBC in August 2022, with production taking place shortly before the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. The series was given an official series order in June 2023.
The series is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and is executive produced by series creators Eric Ledgin and Justin Spitzer, with Spitzer under his Universal TV-based production banner Spitzer Holding Company, and Simon Heuer, Head of TV Development at Spitzer Holding Company.
St. Denis Medical was moved to the 2024–25 season due to strike-related production delays. In May 2024, it was announced that the series would air in fall 2024. In June 2024, the show received a full season order of 18 episodes. On January 14, 2025, NBC renewed the series for a second season. On February 2, 2026, NBC renewed the series for a third season.
Casting
Upon the pilot commission, it was confirmed that Wendi McLendon-Covey would lead the series as Joyce. In March 2023, Allison Tolman was cast in the pilot as Alex. Later that month, David Alan Grier, Josh Lawson, Mekki Leeper and Kahyun Kim were confirmed as series regulars before production of the pilot commenced. Kaliko Kauahi was announced as a cast member in March 2024. Stephen Schneider was announced as a recurring cast member in June 2024. Nico Santos was announced as a guest star in September 2024. In August 2025, Ariana Madix joined the cast as a guest star for the second season.
Broadcast
St. Denis Medical premiered on NBC on November 12, 2024. The second season premiered on November 3, 2025. It also streams on Peacock in the United States. The third season is scheduled to premiere on November 2, 2026.
The series was acquired for broadcast in the United Kingdom by the BBC in March 2024. The first season launched on BBC iPlayer, the broadcaster's streaming service, early on June 6, 2025, before a linear premiere on BBC One in a late slot that evening. The second season premiered on May 1, 2026.
In Canada, the series airs on CTV and CTV Comedy Channel, and is available to stream on Crave.
Reception
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 81% approval rating, based on 27 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "The prognosis is promising for St. Denis Medical, a tart and well-cast addition to the tried-and-true mockumentary sitcom genre." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 66 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Ratings
The premiere episode's same-day rating was the top-rated scripted show of the night, and the highest-rated scripted launch of a series on broadcast television (without a lead-in from an NFL broadcast) in just under two years. Its total audience increased by 85% in cross-platform viewing in the week post-broadcast, to 7.4 million viewers; the demographic rating also increased, during that time, by 182% to 1.44.