- On June 10, a new Netflix series called Lenox Hill will debut, following the efforts of doctors and nurses at the Lenox Hill hospital in New York City.
- The 8-episode documentary series shows the highs and lows of daily life for the nation’s frontline healthcare workers.
- Lenox Hill was filmed between April 2018 and November 2019, so while it doesn’t encompass the coronavirus pandemic, the specter of the virus still very much casts a shadow across what looks to be an inspiring story about healthcare heroes.
The coronavirus pandemic is never mentioned once — or even alluded to, for that matter – in the just-released trailer for Lenox Hill, a new 8-episode docuseries from Netflix coming on June 10. But it doesn’t have to be, since the story here already packs a huge emotional punch without it. Such that, I’m going to go ahead and call it: I’m looking forward to this documentary series so much I think it stands a good chance of being one of my favorite binges of the year.
The story: According to Netflix’s official description, Lenox Hill offers “An intimate look at the lives of four doctors — two brain surgeons, an emergency room physician, and a Chief Resident OB/GYN — as they navigate the highs and lows of working at the renowned Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. With extraordinary access and an unflinching eye, the series shows each physician’s struggle to balance their personal and professional lives, and delves into each patient’s personal journey.”
The series was directed and produced by Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz, and in it, we follow several different patient cases that range from birth to brain surgery. Check out the trailer below:
I think the thing I found so compelling about the trailer is knowing that this series was filmed between April 2018 and November 2019. You can probably see where I’m going.
In the trailer above, chief resident OB/GYN Amanda Little-Richardson says at one point: “I think there’s such a thing as a calling. This is the space I’m supposed to be in.” Her voiceover is followed by scenes of a baby being delivered. But those moments of joy are mixed with sorrow. We see one elderly patient point-blank ask a doctor to tell her she doesn’t have cancer. Keeping a friendly tone that tries to reassure her, he replies: “Well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about …”
The whole thing is a blur of activity, the nurses and doctors in constant motion. “Everything we do here is for the patient,” one of the doctors can be heard saying at another point during the trailer. You feel, viscerally, the frustration, the stress, the joy, and the sorrow watching this. Watching this, you find yourself being amazed at the special kind of humanity it takes to do a job like this. You may even find yourself cheering on the doctors at Lenox Hill.
And then you remember that, as tough as this job looks, these are the normal days for them. The terrible, unrelenting specter of the coronavirus pandemic is still a few months away from the footage captured herein. It’s only going to get tougher for them, and all you can think to yourself is to be thankful there are heroes like these out there.
Lenox Hill debuts on Netflix on June 10.
