With all the medical dramas on television right now, new shows have to make quite an impression on audiences to stay afloat. Luckily, the new action-filled show “Trauma” breaks through the pack. The show will chronicle the daily lives of first-response paramedics in San Francisco as they travel by air, land and sea to reach victims before it is too late.
With an incredible cast including Cliff Curtis, Derek Luke, Aimee Garcia and Cameron Boone, the action is expected to be non-stop. In an interview with The Eagle, actors Curtis and Garcia and series creator Dario Scardapane shared the intense characteristics that make “Trauma” so unique.
“You look at these shows and they’re all indoors and there is a kind of tradition there that I wanted to mess with — the idea about what happens before you hit the double doors of the E.R.” Scardapane said. “This show is more immediate. It is more about the accident than the medical mystery.”
While “Trauma” attempts to steer away from the formula of other currently running medical dramas, its twisted and interconnected storylines are inspired by the most successful programs like “House” and “ER.”
“We have what we call an MCI — a multiple casualty incident,” Curtis said. “Through the episode we’re following three different threads and it pulls together in the end. It’s usually a huge incident that calls on everybody and they’ve all got to be involved.”
In a cast filled with actors accustomed to making feature films, a different dynamic emerges in the acting and determination of each episode. They compare each installment of the show to a mini-movie rather than just an episode of a TV show because of the time spent and the heart and soul put into each one.
“You’re getting a great movie and you don’t even have to leave the house,” Garcia said. “There will be explosions and helicopters and people hanging off buildings. We also have great actors. Cliff, who has worked with the greatest, like [Martin] Scorcese and held his own with [George] Clooney. It’s rare to find actors who have never done television before. It is very rare to find such great talent.”
The show’s pilot episode is already available for viewing, and the crashes and explosions are almost overpowering. Not every episode will be quite so action-packed, but one can expect to see some exploding tankers, helicopter crashes and fast-paced drama.
“Trauma” also breaks the mold of most medical dramas because of one very special character — the city of San Francisco. With most of the scenes filmed outside all over the city, the show effectively uses the elements presented to it.
“You can’t film the Golden Gate Bridge on a universal lot — we actually have real-life backgrounds,” Garcia said. “People nowadays are craving authenticity. We do a lot of our own stunts — it’s an actual car, an actual helicopter. San Francisco gives it a different character. It adds a whole other dimension that you don’t get in any other show, let alone any medical show.”
But what would a medical show be without drama? From fear to anger to despair to joy, “Trauma” covers a huge range of emotions from the paramedics working to save lives to the victims suffering the worst days of their lives.
“These paramedics are the first on the scene, the Navy SEALs of the medical world,” said Garcia. “They see when the leg is 60 feet away from the body, and they see not only the victims, but the people who are in the car. Maybe the mother was the victim and the 12-year-old was in the car watching what’s going on. That doesn’t require explosions. It’s just raw heroism, sometimes going into different environments and dealing with those challenges. That, to me, is the heart of the show.”
On-location shooting, high-octane action and heart-wrenching emotion distinguish “Trauma.” In a sea of high-drama medical shows, it will be proving its worth at the end of the month, battling another new medical show, “Mercy.”
“This is a borderline-action show,” Scardapane said. “I think it sets itself apart from the pack pretty easily, actually — I mean, we blow shit up.”
“Trauma” premieres Sept. 28 on NBC at 9 p.m.
You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
