NBC Moving Ahead With Blindspot, Heartbreaker And Chicago Med

As broadcast television heads toward upfront week, NBC has announced the addition of three brand new dramas to its slate. Having commissioned 19 pilots, the network already sent Shades Of Blue, Coach and Telenovela straight to series. These projects have now been joined by series commitments for Heartbreaker, Blindspot and Dick Wolf’s Chicago Med.

Chicago Med promises to take audiences into the daily chaos of Chicago’s busiest hospital – focusing on the doctors working within. It fits into Dick Wolf’s successful Chicago franchise, with characters from Chicago P.D and Chicago Fire planned to pass through the sterile hallways of the hospital. Oliver Platt, S. Epatha Merkerson, Laurie Holden, Nick Gehlfuss, and Yaya Dacosta are among the cast of this show that is written by Matt Olmstead, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas. The synopsis clearly sounds like a version of ER made to fit with Wolf’s existing shows, but the presence of Oliver Platt elevates this to something that is must-see TV.

Heartbreaker is the show that has previously been referred to as Heart Matters, and features a central character based on the real-life pioneering heart-transplant surgeon, Dr. Kathy Magliato. Depicted here as Dr. Alex Pantierre, the show will encompass her complex social life, in addition to her dealings with staff, students and colleagues, and her achievements in a highly competitive and challenging field. Dave Annable, Don Hany, Shelley Conn, D.L Hughley, Jamie Kennedy, Maya Erskine, J. Louis Mills and Joshua Leonard star, while Jill Gordon writes the show. While it is tempting to roll the eyes at the prospect of yet another medical drama on the television schedules, this one has great potential given that it is based upon a real person, has a female lead character, and is written by a woman.

Blindspot is a new project from sought-after producer Greg Berlanti, and begins with the discovery of a naked, intricately tattooed woman with amnesia in Times Square. Though the woman is unable to provide an explanation for her condition, it is noted that her tattoos contain the name of an FBI agent, who must work to understand the connection between the markings on the woman and a range of unsolved crimes. Sullivan Stapleton, Jaimie Alexander, Audrey Esparza, Rob Brown, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Ukweli Roach and Ashley Johnson star, while Martin Gero writes the script. Many television shows shroud their use of women as plot devices in layers of subtlety, but this plot synopsis seems to make no such attempt – having the whole thing actually hang on a naked woman’s body. Whether this new NBC show manages to add any substance to this well-worn trick when it comes to be broadcast remains to be seen.