15 Reasons ‘The Resident’ Needs a Second Season

7. A Chance to Show E.R. Staff Helping Sex Trafficking Victims

Sex trafficking victims face significant risk of physical and psychological injury.

They visit the E.R. to escape their traffickers and receive help. Or, people being sex trafficked may be brought to the E.R. by their trafficker, and the trafficker may control the medical treatment under the guise of being a victim’s relative or boyfriend.

Sometimes sex trafficking victims do not even recognize themselves as victims.

Nurses and doctors are seeing patients who are being sex trafficked and have an opportunity to intervene and provide help. The Chastain Hospital staff have the morals and heart to tackle the complicated situation of intervening on behalf of sex trafficking victims.

Sex trafficking victims and survivors do not see themselves on screen in an empowering way. The Resident has the opportunity to show victims and survivors that nurses and doctors are worth trusting and will not always look the other way.

If you suspect someone is being trafficked or if you are being victimized, please contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline Call 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733 for help.

8. Nicolette Nevin’s Doctorate

Nicolette Nevin, played tenderly and earnestly by Emily VanCamp, was motivated to join the medical professional by her personal experiences with medical error.

Her loss has turned into her ambition.

Nic is moving forward in her education to earn her doctorate and The Resident needs a second season so we can see that come to fruition.

Nicolette Nevin is a character unlike those in other medical dramas. She is not just concerned with individual patients. The focus of her attention and work is really the system as a whole.

Where other shows tend to cast nurses as the behind the scenes or under the radar change makers, (Carla on Scrubs, for example), Nevin is visibly at the center of the ethics at Chastain Memorial.

A Phd. in Public Health would arm Nevin with real power on The Resident. A second season would allow the medical ethics drama to focus on her journey to equality with the doctors, just as a hospital administrator rather than a doctor.

9. Backstories

Let’s be honest. The juiciest backstory we are all drooling to hear is how Nic and Conrad got together and why in the world they broke-up! Still, there are many other backstories on The Resident that also deserve to be told.

Dr. Mina Okafor was once an intern herself, but it is not clear if she has always been blunt and ambitious. The Resident has hinted mildly at her struggles with dating and a deeper exploration of her romantic life would enrich her character.

Dr. Pravesh succeeded at Yale and other Ivy League institutions. A peek at what he was like as a college student and medical school student could add some humor and depth to Devon’s story.

Importantly, in order to develop the morality analysis, The Resident is doing in its first season, we need to know the backstories of Dr. Bell and Dr. Hunter.

Both doctors are motivated by wealth and prestige. But, did they start out as idealistic rebels like Dr. Hawkins and Nicolette Nevin? The doctors’ path to villainy is worthwhile to explore and we need a second season to do it.

10. Upcoding and Other Shadowy Hospital Practices

The Resident Season 1 Episode 3, “Comrades in Arms,” hurriedly presents the issue of upcoding.

Upcoding is a practice of coding treatments in a way that maximizes profits for the hospital by making expensive procedures the absolute last resort. It may not be called “upcoding” in reality, but we can feel sure that such practices exist in reality.

It is a twisted practice that confirms what many people suspect: health care providers care about profits more than people and will use insidious tactics to reach financial gain.

The billing coding system is not often shown on screen. It is great that The Resident is introducing audiences to this seedy side of hospital care.

The topic is complex. A second season would allow the cast to revisit it. With an additional episode or two, a rich story can be told about upcoding, and other practices like it, that impact patients without them ever knowing it even exists.

11. Mina and Conrad’s Friendship

Dr. Mina Okafor and Dr. Conrad Hawkins have a mutual respect for each other’s excellence and a middle-finger approach to protocols. While Mina’s career ambitions tend to inform her decision-making, she understands and values Conrad’s commitment to saving everyone.

The friendship between the two top-of-their-class doctors is fresh and exciting. There is more ribbing than mentoring, and that feels right for the overachievers.

Conrad interrupts Mina’s zen as she listens to music while benched from the OR, and Conrad fits right into the scene without altering the vibe.

Mina is never disturbed or shocked by Conrad’s requests, and it gives the feeling of acceptance and understanding that is a fantastic foundation for friendship. A second season of The Resident would allow the friendship to deepen as the doctors develop trust and add vulnerability to their banter.

12. WOC in STEM-Representation Matters

Dr. Mina Okafor is a Black woman at the top of her profession as a cardiac surgeon. She is direct, individualistic and ambitious, all traits typically provided to male characters.

Being able to see a woman of color excelling in a highly competitive, white male-dominated field, is incredible. That she is doing that without sacrificing her identity is inspiring.

Importantly, Mina is not cutthroat and domineering to others. Her ambition and assertiveness is not trying to take others down. It is self-contained and focused.

Where other women of color in male-dominated spaces are often given “boss b*tch” characteristics, Mina is powerful based on her merits and drive, not her oppression of others.

This representation is very important to see on screen. The Resident needs a second season so viewers at home, especially young women of color, can see a future for themselves in the top levels of the medical profession.

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