--- title: 'Pulse,' Netflix's First Big Medical Procedural, Is DOA description: The streaming giant's foray into the emergency room arrives not only a bit late but also bereft of personality. canonical: https://time.com/7273499/pulse-review-netflix/ author: Judy Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-04-03T07:01:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:51:33.031Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Netflix's First Big Medical Procedural, 'Pulse,' Is DOA og:description: The streaming giant's foray into the emergency room arrives not only a bit late but also bereft of personality. og:url: https://time.com/7273499/pulse-review-netflix/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda756c29bdf1a6f0/6998c56466d4e39e84cbc56b/PULSE_107_240628_JN_01226_R.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Pulse og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Netflix's First Big Medical Procedural, 'Pulse,' Is DOA twitter:description: The streaming giant's foray into the emergency room arrives not only a bit late but also bereft of personality. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda756c29bdf1a6f0/6998c56466d4e39e84cbc56b/PULSE_107_240628_JN_01226_R.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Netflix's First Big Medical Procedural, _Pulse_, Is DOA  by [Judy Berman](https://time.com/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman TV Critic Apr 3, 2025 7:01 AM UTC  Willa Fitzgerald and Colin Woodell in Pulse Willa Fitzgerald and Colin Woodell in PulseJeff Neumann—Netflix  by [Judy Berman](https://time.com/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman TV Critic Apr 3, 2025 7:01 AM UTC When money gets tight, as it certainly is in Hollywood at the moment, industries default to dependable formulas. Which is probably why we’ve seen so many new shows set in emergency rooms. Reuniting producers of ur-ER drama _ER_ with one of its stars, Noah Wyle, Max’s [_The Pitt_](https://time.com/7211890/best-tv-shows-january-2025/), whose debut season unfolds in real time over a single shift,is the best and buzziest of the bunch. NBC sitcom [_St. Denis Medical_](https://time.com/7172266/st-denis-medical-review/)gives emergency medicine the mockumentary treatment. Apple has a dry, German-language take on the familiar setting in _Berlin ER_. Each of these series puts its own spin on the format. The same cannot be said of Netflix’s foray into the ER, _Pulse_, which arrives not only a bit late but also bereft of personality. Set at a hectic Level 1 Trauma Center in Miami, the soapy drama opens as a hurricane is rolling into the city. A staff charged with riding out the storm is at a distinct disadvantage because its popular and charismatic chief resident, Dr. Xander Phillips (Colin Woodell), has just been suspended pending a sexual misconduct investigation. The show’s protagonist is his accuser, Dr. Danielle “Danny” Simms (Willa Fitzgerald)—who is shocked when her intimidating boss, Dr. Natalie Cruz ([Justina Machado](https://time.com/6292921/the-horror-of-dolores-roach-sweeney-todd/)), names her interim chief. As gossip circulates and flashbacks reveal that Danny and Xander’s relationship is more complicated than it looks, Cruz’s teenage daughter is brought to the ER, critically injured. To add to the list of coincidences and contrivances, Danny’s sister Harper (Jessy Yates), is _also_ an emergency medicine resident working through the storm.  From left: Jessica Rothe , Jack Bannon, Jessy Yates, Jessie T. Usher, and Willa Fitzgerald in Pulse Anna Kooris—Netflix It might’ve been possible to extract a fun procedural from this setup, but with _Pulse_, the execution is even shoddier than the premise. The patients are a blur of slit-open chest cavities. A big supporting cast—including the two strongest actors, Machado and Néstor Carbonell ([_Lost_](https://time.com/6994839/lost-on-netflix-how-to-watch/)), who plays a high-ranking surgeon—is wasted in one-note roles. What’s foregrounded instead is a misguided [#MeToo](https://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2017-silence-breakers/) plot in which the details of Danny and Xander’s story are milked for cheap suspense, as Danny’s tritely troubled backstory is played for sympathy. Fitzgerald is an adequate lead, but it would take a remarkable performance to save material this weak. The only real surprise in this predictable potboiler is its provenance, as a collaboration between first-time creator Zoe Robyn and _Lost_ co-showrunner Carlton Cuse. Twenty years ago, Cuse was reinventing network TV. 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