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NBC Sports
16-05-2025
- Climate
- NBC Sports
Driving it better than ever, better than anyone, Bryson DeChambeau primed for PGA battle
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It's unclear which drive Friday prompted the look of astonishment. Maybe it was the 357-yard blast down the left side of the third hole that left his fellow playing competitors – neither of whom are short hitters – in the dust, some 40 yards back. Or perhaps it was the 359-yard moon shot that flew over the edge of the fairway bunker on 16 and settled, oh, a few inches from the center stripe. But at some point during the second round of the PGA Championship, caddie Brennan Little – who has been on a tour bag since 1999, through Tiger and DJ and Rory and all of the others – remarked to Bryson DeChambeau's looper, Greg Bodine: 'I'm not sure if I've seen someone driving it as well as he's driving it.' And here's the thing: Little wasn't alone in his assessment. 'Legitimately, in my opinion, he's the best driver I've ever seen,' swing coach Dana Dahlquist said. 'He controls the launch, the spin, the curve, the distance. It's all good' This is not exactly groundbreaking, of course. DeChambeau has been one of the game's biggest boppers since his body transformation five or six years ago that turned par 4s into pitch-and-putts. But as powerful as he's appeared, he's never been quite as dominant as this. Not when he bomb-and-gouged his way to the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. Not when he hit towering shots over the waste areas last summer at Pinehurst. This right here is Bryson, quite literally, in full flight. DeChambeau is five shots back at this PGA Championship, but he's poised like no other to close the gap. He's leading the field in total driving distance, at 331.6 yards, and his advantage in that department is only expected to increase as the temperatures creep closer to 90 degrees, the fairways and greens firm up after four inches of rain, and the rough that hasn't been touched in six days continues to grow. It hasn't been a flawless first two days at Quail Hollow. DeChambeau missed too many greens in the opening round and made three bogeys. Some of his bold lines over tall trees or long bunkers have taken bad bounces into the rough, forcing him to take more conservative lines into the greens. He acknowledged that his wedge play needs to be cleaned up; despite having significantly less club into the greens, he's outside the top 90 in proximity to the hole. But he's still right there, just outside the top 10, and with only Scottie Scheffler in front of him to fear. 'It was a weird day today, much like yesterday,' DeChambeau said. 'I felt like I was playing good. Just didn't get anything out of it.' And yet he and his team are feeling good, really good, about what this weekend might hold. Over the past few months, DeChambeau has continued to refine his equipment, the most significant change coming two years ago when he switched to the Krank driver head that gave him a tighter dispersion on off-center hits. Minor tweaks keep leading to more incremental gains. 'He's always been a phenomenal player, and he's driven it well at times, but once he got that level of comfortability with the face of the driver, it was knowing he could hit it off the toe and heel and still be in play,' Bodine said. 'He just had the margin of error that other guys have, where he always felt like he had a dime on the face that he had to hit. Now, even a little bit off the toe or heel, it can still go where he's looking.' On the LIV circuit this year, DeChambeau is gaining nearly two shots per round on the field off the tee – by far the best of any player in the world. It's not a perfect comparison, because it's the same field every week and not as strong, top to bottom, as the PGA Tour, but for perspective, that's nearly a half-shot better driving than peak Rory McIlroy. Through seven LIV events, DeChambeau is leading in distance and ranks seventh in accuracy, hitting 66% of the fairways. So he's longer than everyone and as accurate as players such as Sepp Straka or Russell Henley, who are renowned for their precision. It's a staggering combination. 'The last month or two has just been a little bit better than normal,' Bodine said. 'It's taken a step up.' DeChambeau's marathon practice always make for compelling TV viewing as he shuts down the range, but Dahlquist said their swing work now is actually quite simple and specific. 'The big thing for him is to make sure that he keeps trying to rotate left, trying to get his pressure to be proper and swing to the right,' he said. 'It's pretty linear at this point. It's been like that for a while now.' If there's anything that's held DeChambeau back from going on a tear, it's been his approach play. Even from the most advantageous positions he can become indecisive as his unique golfing mind takes into account all of the variables. At the Masters, he was nearly last in the field with his irons as, Dahlquist said, he continued to learn the various slopes and lies at Augusta National. Here at the PGA he has not been as sharp as he'd like either, as he adapts to changing course conditions and how that affects his spin rates. 'Standard deviation off a flat lie, he's the best in the world,' Dahlquist said, 'because he's just hitting the same shot every time.' But that's the next frontier, since he's already the best in one area – an area that, by the end of the weekend, should become the most significant. On every tipped-out tee box at Quail Hollow, he takes a deep breath, plunges his tee into the soggy turf, and lashes the longest and straightest drives of anyone at this level. 'The kid's good at golf,' Dahlquist said with a smile. And only getting better.
USA Today
08-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Bryson DeChambeau is searching for the perfect driver at Augusta National
Bryson DeChambeau is searching for the perfect driver at Augusta National The two-time U.S. Open champion is on the hunt for a driver that can handle his speed, and he's excited about the process. Bryson DeChambeau's press conference on Tuesday at Augusta National Golf Club touched on topics ranging from the emotional challenges that the course presents to which hole bothers him the most ('all of them!') to the idea of creating YouTube content at the home of the Masters. Then Bryson was asked about writing something on the faces of drivers he was testing with a red pen Tuesday morning in the practice area. 'It's just trying to get that dialed-in head, that perfect head,' DeChambeau explained. '(I've) been working a lot on some equipment stuff, and it's super close. Super close with some of the driver stuff we've been working on, but for my speeds, it's just so tedious, and they have to be so precisely measured and defined. It's tough; the manufacturing process is not easy. It's one of those where, for speeds of my caliber, it has to be super precise.' What DeChambeau, 31, is referring to is manufacturing tolerances and precision, and how, for someone who swings his driver between 125 and 130 mph as he does, DeChambeau needs clubs that are made to an especially tight tolerance. 'I'm testing different heads to see how it reacts, how I feel, how it feels in my hands. I'm swinging it really good right now, so I'm just trying to get the most precise thing in my hand for this week,' he said. The red marks that the two-time U.S. Open champion made on Tuesday during his practice session describe what the club does and how it feels. 'I'm just trying to find that driver that acted like the one when I shot 58 at Greenbrier. If that driver, that would be great. But I don't want to use it because I don't want to change the face curvature and change the dynamics of it. I want to have that head just as it is.' Last week at the LIV Golf event in Miami, DeChambeau used a 5.5-degree Krank Formula Fire LD driver, and that's the club he used to shoot 58 at the LIV Golf event at The Greenbrier. DeChambeau also practiced with a Krank driver on Tuesday at Augusta National, but he has recently been testing prototype LA Golf drivers that have varying amounts of bulge and roll based on their loft and what players are being targeted. Krank has designed drivers for long drive competitions, so it makes sense that the company designers and engineers have a solid understanding of what happens when a player swings like DeChambeau. But it sounds like DeChambeau, who tied for sixth at the 2024 Masters, wants more data and a better understanding about how he can reduce the effects of mis-hit shots when ball speeds approach 190, 195 and even 200 mph. 'We don't truly know what happens at super-fast speeds, and that's something I'm keen on figuring out this next year,' DeChambeau said on Tuesday. 'It's going to be a yearlong testing protocol for something that I'm working on.' However, Bryson does not intend to be the guinea pig for all the experiments. 'I'm not going to be testing it. I want someone that's even more precise than me,' he said. 'It'll be fun to see what that information presents us and how we can improve in all facets of the game, whether it's the driver, 3-wood, 5-wood, the irons, wedges, putter, we're going to test everything, you name it, shafts, golf balls, everything. I'm really excited for that testing protocol come later this year.'
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Want to be prescribed a new hospital drama? These TV doctors are ready to treat you
LONDON (AP) — No matter your ailment, there are plenty of TV doctors waiting to treat you right now on a selection of channels and streamers. Whether it's Noah Wyle putting on his stethoscope for the first time since 'ER,' Morris Chestnut graduating to head doctor, Molly Parker making her debut in scrubs or Joshua Jackson trading death for life on a luxury cruise, new American hospital dramas have something for everyone. There's also an outsider trying to make a difference in 'Berlin ER,' as Haley Louise Jones plays the new boss of a struggling German hospital's emergency department. The show's doors slide open to patients Wednesday on Apple TV+. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. These shows all contain the DNA of classic hospital dramas — and this guide will help you get the TV treatment you need. 'Berlin ER' Dr. Suzanna 'Zanna' Parker has been sent to run the Krank, which is only just being held together by hardened — and authority-resistant — medical staff and supplies from a sex shop. The result is an unflinching drama set in an underfunded, underappreciated and understaffed emergency department, where the staff is as traumatized as the patients, but hide it much better. From former real-life ER doc Samuel Jefferson and also starring Slavko Popadić, Şafak Şengül, Aram Tafreshian and Samirah Breuer, the German-language show is not for the faint of heart. Jones says she eventually got used to the blood and gore on the set. 'It's gruesome in the beginning, highly unnerving. And then at some point, it's just the most normal thing in the world,' she explains. 'That's flesh. That's the rest of someone's leg, you know, let's just move on and have coffee or whatever.' As it's set in the German clubbing capital, the whole city seems to live at a frenetic pace and the staff deals with the pressure by partying. The music, the lighting and the pulse of the drama also rubs off on the audience. 'When I saw it the first time I was sitting there, my heart was racing,' says Jones of watching the program. 'I knew what was coming, but I just, you know, my body just reacted. And I think that really says a lot.' Would she agree to be treated by Dr. Parker? Jones reckons it depends on what day you catch her. DIAGNOSIS: 'This is Going To Hurt' gets the 'ER' treatment — side effects include breathlessness and heartbreak. 'The Pitt' Emergencies are often against the clock, but in 'The Pitt,' they are on a timer. Attached to a bomb. Each episode shows an hour of Dr. Michael Robinavitch's emergency room shift on one of the worst days of his life. After avoiding all doctor roles since the finale of 'ER' in 2009, Wyle pulls on the navy hoodie of a weary Dr. Robby — this time in Pittsburgh. Initially an idea for a 'ER' reboot with producer John Wells, the show morphed into a fresh take on the challenges medical professionals face in the wake of the world-shifting pandemic. 'It felt a little sacrilegious to try to walk back into that arena prematurely,' says Wyle. 'It was really only thoughtfully, soberly, cautiously and meticulously that we attempted it again.' Robby is calm and competent in showing his medical students how it's done, while keeping his own mental health crisis hidden. Not that there are many places to hide: Wyle explains that they are setting themselves apart from other hospital dramas by turning up the lights, cutting the mood-telegraphing music and showing the real dimensions of the department. 'All of those kind of lend themselves to doing something different,' he says. 'Rattling the cage, you know, trying to put a new spin on an old form.' Joining him in Max's 'The Pitt' are co-stars Tracy Ifeachor, Katharine LaNasa, Patrick Ball and Supriya Ganesh. As for his own medical knowledge, Wyle says there are procedures he feels adept at least pretending to do. With the amount of time he's spent playing a doctor, he could have earned his own degree by now. 'I've been doing this long enough,' he says. 'So I'm either the worst student or one of the best doctor actors around.' DIAGNOSIS: With front-line workers against the clock, it has a similar pathology to both 'ER' and '24.' 'Watson' Also in Pittsburgh, you'll find The Holmes Clinic for Diagnostic Medicine, where it's still life-and-death, but your heart rate can afford to slow a little. It's run by Dr. John Watson, former colleague of Sherlock Holmes, the famous sleuth who has bequeathed the funding for the medical center. Chestnut he plays the lead 'doc-tective,' as he puts it, leading a team trying to solve medical mysteries while avoiding old foe Moriarty (Randall Park) — Watson is still dealing with a traumatic brain injury from their last encounter. And Chestnut is no stranger to the long words and Latin terms that accompany hospital dramas. Chestnut was a nurse in 'ER,' a former army doc in 'Nurse Jackie' and a pathologist in 'Rosewood.' More recently, he was the ruthless and talented neurosurgeon Barrett Cain on 'The Resident.' Luckily, his Watson has a better beside manner and uses cutting-edge science to help puzzle out a unique selection of patients, alongside his staff, played by Eve Harlow, Inga Schlingmann and Peter Mark Kendall. The Sherlock mythology is provided by show creator, Arthur Conan Doyle fan and ex-'Elementary' writer Craig Sweeny, who brings a case-of-the-week style to the program. Chestnut reckons it's this literary twist on the medical mystery formula that sets it apart from 'House MD,' whose lead character was more of a Sherlock. And he wouldn't hesitate to be treated by Dr. Watson because 'he wants to understand you as a person' and 'truly cares' about his patients. DIAGNOSIS: More tests needed to confirm if 'Elementary' or 'House' is the leading condition. 'Doc' Over her 30-year career, Molly Parker has never played a doctor before. In 'Doc,' based on a true story, she jumped right in with the top job, chief of internal medicine, at Minneapolis' Westside Hospital. A car crash causes the overachieving, work-centric Dr. Amy Larsen to lose eight years of her memory, turning her into a patient with a traumatic brain injury. Parker portrays both versions of Larsen through Fox's debut season — the career woman in flashback and the mother learning to trust again in the present. The focus of the show is on feelings over physical ailments, as Larsen has to deal, all over again, with the loss of her son. 'What I liked about this is that it has all the elements of that genre, like it has the high stakes and the mystery illness and the romantic love triangle,' explains Parker, who stars alongside Anya Banerjee, Jon-Michael Ecker, Amirah Vann and Omar Metwally. 'But at the center of it is this woman who is going through this really profound grief.' Parker has learned 'not to diagnose yourself on the internet,' a deeper respect for health care workers and that playing a doctor is not easy. 'The most you can do is sort of try to get the words right sometimes,' she says with a smile, admitting she still can't pronounce the name of one particular drug. 'It's, like, so important in the entire season,' Parker adds, 'and I said it wrong every single time.' DIAGNOSIS: For fans of 'Grey's Anatomy,' where complications come from relationships rather than infections. 'Doctor Odyssey' An honorable mention goes to Dr. Max Bankman of 'Doctor Odyssey,' who set sail at the end of 2024 and is finishing up Season One's maiden voyage March 6 on ABC. Joshua Jackson, who previously portrayed real-life man of malpractice Christopher Duntsch in 'Dr. Death,' is on board as the accomplished and smiley new head of a luxury cruise liner's medical team. 'Doctor Odyssey' comes from super producer Ryan Murphy and is set in the same world as his '9-1-1' franchise, with an upcoming crossover episode starring Angela Bassett. Philippa Soo and Sean Teale complete the ship's medical threesome contending with a surprisingly frequent number of bizarre illnesses and accidents that befall the guest stars (episode one: a broken penis). Jackson acknowledges the cases are 'absurd and fun and wild and over-the-top,' much to the amusement of his brother, who runs an actual ER. But that is the appeal, he says, for viewers to 'exhale' and find 'welcome relief' from the stress of real life. 'To have this, you know, pretty bauble in the middle of your week to just come in and go on an adventure,' Jackson explains. 'The stakes are high, the relationships are intense. Everything's very dramatic. And 42 minutes later, you realize you're just in the most beautiful place in the world.' Unfortunately, his own medical skills remain more Dr. Death than Dr. Bankman. 'I could really, really, deeply mess somebody up,' he says. 'I have just enough terminology and jargon to sound like I know what I'm doing, but none of the practical skills.' Jackson wouldn't hesitate to put his own health in the hands of Dr. Bankman, though, citing the miracles he's able to perform weekly on The Odyssey. DIAGNOSIS: Call '9-1-1' for a therapeutic trip on 'The Love Boat.'
Associated Press
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Want to be prescribed a new hospital drama? These TV doctors are ready to treat you
LONDON (AP) — No matter your ailment, there are plenty of TV doctors waiting to treat you right now on a selection of channels and streamers. Whether it's Noah Wyle putting on his stethoscope for the first time since 'ER,' Morris Chestnut graduating to head doctor, Molly Parker making her debut in scrubs or Joshua Jackson trading death for life on a luxury cruise, new American hospital dramas have something for everyone. There's also an outsider trying to make a difference in 'Berlin ER,' as Haley Louise Jones plays the new boss of a struggling German hospital's emergency department. The show's doors slide open to patients Wednesday on Apple TV+. These shows all contain the DNA of classic hospital dramas — and this guide will help you get the TV treatment you need. 'Berlin ER' Dr. Suzanna 'Zanna' Parker has been sent to run the Krank, which is only just being held together by hardened — and authority-resistant — medical staff and supplies from a sex shop. The result is an unflinching drama set in an underfunded, underappreciated and understaffed emergency department, where the staff is as traumatized as the patients, but hide it much better. From former real-life ER doc Samuel Jefferson and also starring Slavko Popadić, Şafak Şengül, Aram Tafreshian and Samirah Breuer, the German-language show is not for the faint of heart. Jones says she eventually got used to the blood and gore on the set. 'It's gruesome in the beginning, highly unnerving. And then at some point, it's just the most normal thing in the world,' she explains. 'That's flesh. That's the rest of someone's leg, you know, let's just move on and have coffee or whatever.' As it's set in the German clubbing capital, the whole city seems to live at a frenetic pace and the staff deals with the pressure by partying. The music, the lighting and the pulse of the drama also rubs off on the audience. 'When I saw it the first time I was sitting there, my heart was racing,' says Jones of watching the program. 'I knew what was coming, but I just, you know, my body just reacted. And I think that really says a lot.' Would she agree to be treated by Dr. Parker? Jones reckons it depends on what day you catch her. DIAGNOSIS: 'This is Going To Hurt' gets the 'ER' treatment — side effects include breathlessness and heartbreak. 'The Pitt' Emergencies are often against the clock, but in 'The Pitt,' they are on a timer. Attached to a bomb. Each episode shows an hour of Dr. Michael Robinavitch's emergency room shift on one of the worst days of his life. After avoiding all doctor roles since the finale of 'ER' in 2009, Wyle pulls on the navy hoodie of a weary Dr. Robby — this time in Pittsburgh. Initially an idea for a 'ER' reboot with producer John Wells, the show morphed into a fresh take on the challenges medical professionals face in the wake of the world-shifting pandemic. 'It felt a little sacrilegious to try to walk back into that arena prematurely,' says Wyle. 'It was really only thoughtfully, soberly, cautiously and meticulously that we attempted it again.' Robby is calm and competent in showing his medical students how it's done, while keeping his own mental health crisis hidden. Not that there are many places to hide: Wyle explains that they are setting themselves apart from other hospital dramas by turning up the lights, cutting the mood-telegraphing music and showing the real dimensions of the department. 'All of those kind of lend themselves to doing something different,' he says. 'Rattling the cage, you know, trying to put a new spin on an old form.' Joining him in Max's 'The Pitt' are co-stars Tracy Ifeachor, Katharine LaNasa, Patrick Ball and Supriya Ganesh. As for his own medical knowledge, Wyle says there are procedures he feels adept at least pretending to do. With the amount of time he's spent playing a doctor, he could have earned his own degree by now. 'I've been doing this long enough,' he says. 'So I'm either the worst student or one of the best doctor actors around.' DIAGNOSIS: With front-line workers against the clock, it has a similar pathology to both 'ER' and '24.' 'Watson' Also in Pittsburgh, you'll find The Holmes Clinic for Diagnostic Medicine, where it's still life-and-death, but your heart rate can afford to slow a little. It's run by Dr. John Watson, former colleague of Sherlock Holmes, the famous sleuth who has bequeathed the funding for the medical center. Chestnut he plays the lead 'doc-tective,' as he puts it, leading a team trying to solve medical mysteries while avoiding old foe Moriarty (Randall Park) — Watson is still dealing with a traumatic brain injury from their last encounter. And Chestnut is no stranger to the long words and Latin terms that accompany hospital dramas. Chestnut was a nurse in 'ER,' a former army doc in 'Nurse Jackie' and a pathologist in 'Rosewood.' More recently, he was the ruthless and talented neurosurgeon Barrett Cain on 'The Resident.' Luckily, his Watson has a better beside manner and uses cutting-edge science to help puzzle out a unique selection of patients, alongside his staff, played by Eve Harlow, Inga Schlingmann and Peter Mark Kendall. The Sherlock mythology is provided by show creator, Arthur Conan Doyle fan and ex-'Elementary' writer Craig Sweeny, who brings a case-of-the-week style to the program. Chestnut reckons it's this literary twist on the medical mystery formula that sets it apart from 'House MD,' whose lead character was more of a Sherlock. And he wouldn't hesitate to be treated by Dr. Watson because 'he wants to understand you as a person' and 'truly cares' about his patients. DIAGNOSIS: More tests needed to confirm if 'Elementary' or 'House' is the leading condition. 'Doc' Over her 30-year career, Molly Parker has never played a doctor before. In 'Doc,' based on a true story, she jumped right in with the top job, chief of internal medicine, at Minneapolis' Westside Hospital. A car crash causes the overachieving, work-centric Dr. Amy Larsen to lose eight years of her memory, turning her into a patient with a traumatic brain injury. Parker portrays both versions of Larsen through Fox's debut season — the career woman in flashback and the mother learning to trust again in the present. The focus of the show is on feelings over physical ailments, as Larsen has to deal, all over again, with the loss of her son. 'What I liked about this is that it has all the elements of that genre, like it has the high stakes and the mystery illness and the romantic love triangle,' explains Parker, who stars alongside Anya Banerjee, Jon-Michael Ecker, Amirah Vann and Omar Metwally. 'But at the center of it is this woman who is going through this really profound grief.' Parker has learned 'not to diagnose yourself on the internet,' a deeper respect for health care workers and that playing a doctor is not easy. 'The most you can do is sort of try to get the words right sometimes,' she says with a smile, admitting she still can't pronounce the name of one particular drug. 'It's, like, so important in the entire season,' Parker adds, 'and I said it wrong every single time.' DIAGNOSIS: For fans of 'Grey's Anatomy,' where complications come from relationships rather than infections. 'Doctor Odyssey' An honorable mention goes to Dr. Max Bankman of 'Doctor Odyssey,' who set sail at the end of 2024 and is finishing up Season One's maiden voyage March 6 on ABC. Joshua Jackson, who previously portrayed real-life man of malpractice Christopher Duntsch in 'Dr. Death,' is on board as the accomplished and smiley new head of a luxury cruise liner's medical team. 'Doctor Odyssey' comes from super producer Ryan Murphy and is set in the same world as his '9-1-1' franchise, with an upcoming crossover episode starring Angela Bassett. Philippa Soo and Sean Teale complete the ship's medical threesome contending with a surprisingly frequent number of bizarre illnesses and accidents that befall the guest stars (episode one: a broken penis). Jackson acknowledges the cases are 'absurd and fun and wild and over-the-top,' much to the amusement of his brother, who runs an actual ER. But that is the appeal, he says, for viewers to 'exhale' and find 'welcome relief' from the stress of real life. 'To have this, you know, pretty bauble in the middle of your week to just come in and go on an adventure,' Jackson explains. 'The stakes are high, the relationships are intense. Everything's very dramatic. And 42 minutes later, you realize you're just in the most beautiful place in the world.' Unfortunately, his own medical skills remain more Dr. Death than Dr. Bankman. 'I could really, really, deeply mess somebody up,' he says. 'I have just enough terminology and jargon to sound like I know what I'm doing, but none of the practical skills.' Jackson wouldn't hesitate to put his own health in the hands of Dr. Bankman, though, citing the miracles he's able to perform weekly on The Odyssey.
The Independent
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Want to be prescribed a new hospital drama? These TV doctors are ready to treat you
No matter your ailment, there are plenty of TV doctors waiting to treat you right now on a selection of channels and streamers. Whether it's Noah Wyle putting on his stethoscope for the first time since 'ER,' Morris Chestnut graduating to head doctor, Molly Parker making her debut in scrubs or Joshua Jackson trading death for life on a luxury cruise, new American hospital dramas have something for everyone. There's also an outsider trying to make a difference in 'Berlin ER,' as Haley Louise Jones plays the new boss of a struggling German hospital's emergency department. The show's doors slide open to patients Wednesday on Apple TV+. These shows all contain the DNA of classic hospital dramas — and this guide will help you get the TV treatment you need. 'Berlin ER' Dr. Suzanna 'Zanna' Parker has been sent to run the Krank, which is only just being held together by hardened — and authority-resistant — medical staff and supplies from a sex shop. The result is an unflinching drama set in an underfunded, underappreciated and understaffed emergency department, where the staff is as traumatized as the patients, but hide it much better. From former real-life ER doc Samuel Jefferson and also starring Slavko Popadić, Şafak Şengül, Aram Tafreshian and Samirah Breuer, the German-language show is not for the faint of heart. Jones says she eventually got used to the blood and gore on the set. 'It's gruesome in the beginning, highly unnerving. And then at some point, it's just the most normal thing in the world,' she explains. 'That's flesh. That's the rest of someone's leg, you know, let's just move on and have coffee or whatever.' As it's set in the German clubbing capital, the whole city seems to live at a frenetic pace and the staff deals with the pressure by partying. The music, the lighting and the pulse of the drama also rubs off on the audience. 'When I saw it the first time I was sitting there, my heart was racing,' says Jones of watching the program. 'I knew what was coming, but I just, you know, my body just reacted. And I think that really says a lot.' Would she agree to be treated by Dr. Parker? Jones reckons it depends on what day you catch her. DIAGNOSIS: 'This is Going To Hurt' gets the 'ER' treatment — side effects include breathlessness and heartbreak. 'The Pitt' Emergencies are often against the clock, but in 'The Pitt,' they are on a timer. Attached to a bomb. Each episode shows an hour of Dr. Michael Robinavitch's emergency room shift on one of the worst days of his life. After avoiding all doctor roles since the finale of 'ER' in 2009, Wyle pulls on the navy hoodie of a weary Dr. Robby — this time in Pittsburgh. Initially an idea for a 'ER' reboot with producer John Wells, the show morphed into a fresh take on the challenges medical professionals face in the wake of the world-shifting pandemic. 'It felt a little sacrilegious to try to walk back into that arena prematurely,' says Wyle. 'It was really only thoughtfully, soberly, cautiously and meticulously that we attempted it again.' Robby is calm and competent in showing his medical students how it's done, while keeping his own mental health crisis hidden. Not that there are many places to hide: Wyle explains that they are setting themselves apart from other hospital dramas by turning up the lights, cutting the mood-telegraphing music and showing the real dimensions of the department. 'All of those kind of lend themselves to doing something different,' he says. 'Rattling the cage, you know, trying to put a new spin on an old form.' Joining him in Max's 'The Pitt' are co-stars Tracy Ifeachor, Katharine LaNasa, Patrick Ball and Supriya Ganesh. As for his own medical knowledge, Wyle says there are procedures he feels adept at least pretending to do. With the amount of time he's spent playing a doctor, he could have earned his own degree by now. 'I've been doing this long enough,' he says. 'So I'm either the worst student or one of the best doctor actors around.' DIAGNOSIS: With front-line workers against the clock, it has a similar pathology to both 'ER' and '24.' 'Watson' Also in Pittsburgh, you'll find The Holmes Clinic for Diagnostic Medicine, where it's still life-and-death, but your heart rate can afford to slow a little. It's run by Dr. John Watson, former colleague of Sherlock Holmes, the famous sleuth who has bequeathed the funding for the medical center. Chestnut he plays the lead 'doc-tective,' as he puts it, leading a team trying to solve medical mysteries while avoiding old foe Moriarty (Randall Park) — Watson is still dealing with a traumatic brain injury from their last encounter. And Chestnut is no stranger to the long words and Latin terms that accompany hospital dramas. Chestnut was a nurse in 'ER,' a former army doc in 'Nurse Jackie' and a pathologist in 'Rosewood.' More recently, he was the ruthless and talented neurosurgeon Barrett Cain on 'The Resident.' Luckily, his Watson has a better beside manner and uses cutting-edge science to help puzzle out a unique selection of patients, alongside his staff, played by Eve Harlow, Inga Schlingmann and Peter Mark Kendall. The Sherlock mythology is provided by show creator, Arthur Conan Doyle fan and ex-'Elementary' writer Craig Sweeny, who brings a case-of-the-week style to the program. Chestnut reckons it's this literary twist on the medical mystery formula that sets it apart from 'House MD,' whose lead character was more of a Sherlock. And he wouldn't hesitate to be treated by Dr. Watson because 'he wants to understand you as a person' and 'truly cares' about his patients. DIAGNOSIS: More tests needed to confirm if 'Elementary' or 'House' is the leading condition. 'Doc' Over her 30-year career, Molly Parker has never played a doctor before. In 'Doc,' based on a true story, she jumped right in with the top job, chief of internal medicine, at Minneapolis' Westside Hospital. A car crash causes the overachieving, work-centric Dr. Amy Larsen to lose eight years of her memory, turning her into a patient with a traumatic brain injury. Parker portrays both versions of Larsen through Fox's debut season — the career woman in flashback and the mother learning to trust again in the present. The focus of the show is on feelings over physical ailments, as Larsen has to deal, all over again, with the loss of her son. 'What I liked about this is that it has all the elements of that genre, like it has the high stakes and the mystery illness and the romantic love triangle,' explains Parker, who stars alongside Anya Banerjee, Jon-Michael Ecker, Amirah Vann and Omar Metwally. 'But at the center of it is this woman who is going through this really profound grief.' Parker has learned 'not to diagnose yourself on the internet,' a deeper respect for health care workers and that playing a doctor is not easy. 'The most you can do is sort of try to get the words right sometimes,' she says with a smile, admitting she still can't pronounce the name of one particular drug. 'It's, like, so important in the entire season,' Parker adds, 'and I said it wrong every single time.' DIAGNOSIS: For fans of 'Grey's Anatomy,' where complications come from relationships rather than infections. 'Doctor Odyssey' An honorable mention goes to Dr. Max Bankman of 'Doctor Odyssey,' who set sail at the end of 2024 and is finishing up Season One's maiden voyage March 6 on ABC. Joshua Jackson, who previously portrayed real-life man of malpractice Christopher Duntsch in 'Dr. Death,' is on board as the accomplished and smiley new head of a luxury cruise liner's medical team. 'Doctor Odyssey' comes from super producer Ryan Murphy and is set in the same world as his '9-1-1' franchise, with an upcoming crossover episode starring Angela Bassett. Philippa Soo and Sean Teale complete the ship's medical threesome contending with a surprisingly frequent number of bizarre illnesses and accidents that befall the guest stars (episode one: a broken penis). Jackson acknowledges the cases are 'absurd and fun and wild and over-the-top,' much to the amusement of his brother, who runs an actual ER. But that is the appeal, he says, for viewers to 'exhale' and find 'welcome relief' from the stress of real life. 'To have this, you know, pretty bauble in the middle of your week to just come in and go on an adventure,' Jackson explains. 'The stakes are high, the relationships are intense. Everything's very dramatic. And 42 minutes later, you realize you're just in the most beautiful place in the world.' Unfortunately, his own medical skills remain more Dr. Death than Dr. Bankman. 'I could really, really, deeply mess somebody up,' he says. 'I have just enough terminology and jargon to sound like I know what I'm doing, but none of the practical skills.' Jackson wouldn't hesitate to put his own health in the hands of Dr. Bankman, though, citing the miracles he's able to perform weekly on The Odyssey. DIAGNOSIS: Call '9-1-1' for a therapeutic trip on 'The Love Boat.'
