The 2010s will be remembered as a genuinely fantastic decade for television. It gave us great dramas like Game of Thrones, The Leftovers, and The Americans just to name a few. There were also plenty of amazing comedies, like Review, Bojack Horseman, The Good Place, and Nathan For You. But there’s one show from the last ten years that is continually forgotten in TV critics’ retrospectives, even though it was consistently superb— Childrens Hospital. Rob Corddry’s satirical take on hospital dramas was silly, surreal, meta, and always hilarious. The only downside was its surprise ending after seven seasons. It never had a real series finale. But now fans are getting something even better: a spin-off. Only this time it won’t just parody doctor shows, it will also take on cop procedurals. Meet the Medical Police, whose first trailer is just as ridiculous as Childrens Hospital was.
In true Childrens Hospital fashion, Netflix describes Medical Police as “totally-not-a-spinoff.” It just happens to be set in the exact same place (the commitment to both shows taking place “in Brazil” is still one of the best jokes ever) with the exact same characters. However, this time Doctors Owen Maestro and Lola Spratt will be leave behind their colleagues at the hospital. The two will “join a secret arm of the CDC to investigate and destroy a deadly global virus.”
The official synopsis for the show also indicates that unlike its predecessor, which primarily did single, stand-alone stories, Medical Police will tell one long story over the course of its first season.
“From the inimitable team behind Childrens Hospital, Medical Police follows two American physicians (Erinn Hayes and Rob Huebel) stationed at a pediatric hospital in São Paulo, Brazil who unwittingly discover a civilization-threatening virus. They’re soon recruited as secret government agents and find themselves in a race against time to find a cure, all the while uncovering a dark conspiracy at the center of the outbreak. Building on the legacy of its predecessor Childrens Hospital, Medical Police triples as an action-packed thriller, a mystery-wrapped love story and, ultimately, a globetrotting comedy series.”
Childrens Hospital alums Ken Marino (Dr. Glenn Richie) and Brian Chet (paramedic Chet) also show up in this trailer. But we expect to see other familiar faces appear during the season as well. That includes Rob Corddry’s Dr. Blake Downs and Malin Akerman’s Dr. Valerie Flame, both seen in this official promo shot for the series.
Netflix
Medical Police will have a ten-episode first season. As a devoted fan of the original show, I hope it gets just as long a run. Childrens Hospital ran for seven seasons. It actually started last decade on December 8, 2008, as a WB web series, with five minute episodes. Adult Swim picked up the rights in 2009, and it began airing on the network in 2010 with 12-minute episodes. The series finale premiered on April 15, 2016, though no one, not even the cast, knew that was the end at the time.
But forget endings. We’re here for a new beginning. A new beginning with doctors who are also cops. Or maybe they’re cops who are also doctors. We’re sure they’ll figure that out eventually. Or probably not. We don’t care, we just hope its good enough to include on a best TV shows of the 2020s list.
The first season of Medical Police comes to Netflix early next year, on January 10.
Featured Image: Netflix