Netflix Orders New Medical Procedural 'Pulse'

Netflix is hopping on the medical train. Deadline reports that the streaming giant has finally ordered its first original medical procedural, Pulse, which comes from The Equalizer's Zoe Robyn, who will serve as showrunner and executive producer with Carlton Cuse. As of now, Six Feet Under's Justina Machado is the first and only series regular cast. Kate Dennis, known for The Handmaid's Tale and New Amsterdam, will direct and executive produce the first two episodes.

Pulse will center on the staff of Miami's busiest Level 1 Trauma Center, where "young ER doc Dani Simms is unexpectedly promoted to Chief Resident amidst the fallout of her own provocative romantic relationship." Machado will portray Natalie Cruz, the Chair of Surgery and Emergency Medicine, overseeing administration and medicine, and who is also a "brilliant and politically-savvy doctor."

Even in the midst of all of the shows that Netflix has, canceled or not, Pulse will be its very first medical procedural. The streamer has done other procedurals in the past, including The Lincoln Lawyer and Lucifer. Not to mention the fact that it's seen much success with acquired series like Grey's Anatomy, NCIS, The Blacklist, and more. Meanwhile, Robyn is no stranger to procedurals, having served as a writer/producer on CBS' The Equalizer and Hawaii Five-0, among others.

As of now, there's no other information on Pulse, including who else will be cast or when it will be coming out. Since it seems like Dani Simms will be at the center of the series, hopefully, it shouldn't be long until Netflix casts the lead and adds more to the cast list. It's also unknown when Netflix plans to release the series, but shows on Netflix can take a while to come out, so fans may be still waiting a long time.

Pulse could be the start of a genre shift for the streaming service. It's possible that if it does well, Netflix could order more medical procedurals or expand its universe, maybe even creating its own little procedural franchise. Of course, that is still a long ways away, but you never know what could happen. Medical shows have been keeping viewers locked in for decades, so it's always possible. As of now, fans will just have to stick with the medical shows they can currently binge-watch right now and wonder just how Pulse will stack up against them.