St. Denis Medical: Season Two, on NBC

This hospital should certainly count as a workplace comedy setting, because head nurse Alex Mazurkian definitely works as hard as anyone. Yet, the toughest part of her job is keeping her sanity. That’s a universal truth we can all relate to. It also helps that the comedy is still actually funny in the second season of co-creators Eric Ledgin & Justin Spitzer’s St. Denis Medical, which premieres tonight with back-to-back episodes on NBC.

Mazurkian finally got to enjoy a well-deserved break, so now she wants to keep those vacation vibes going in “Aloha, Everyone.” Curmudgeonly Dr. Ron Leonard knows that will never last, but good luck to her. That will be especially true when the Steve Carell-esque hospital administrator Dr. Joyce Henderson starts drafting the nursing staff to finish decorating their new birthing center for a major donor.

Frankly, this is a relatively laidback episode compared to some of the highlights from season one, but it still has far more bite than the toothless The Paper. There is no question St. Denis Medical is the true successor to The Office. Regardless, it serves as a nice showcase for recurring cast-member David Theune as Keith Finger, the deadpan sad sack orderly. It also offers Kahyun Kim an opportunity to act a little nutty as the ordinarily too-cool-for-you Nurse Serena Jung.

Regardless, “Mama Bear Activated” is a prime example of the show’s edgy wit, especially when Dr. Henderson calls a meeting to discuss a recent wave of physical attacks on staff members. On a serious note, medical professionals really are five times more likely to be victims of violent assaults. That is a legit problem, but Henderson is not solving it with her self-defense seminar—in lieu of greater spending on security systems, of course. Seriously, this compares favorably with some of Carrel’s best Office scenes. Arguably, there is no funnier depiction of an obnoxious boss currently on television than Wendi McClendon-Covey’s portrayal of Henderson. That is meant as the highest praise. Yet, what really makes her funny is her after-the-fact realizations of her infractions against current heightened (wokish) sensitivities.

David Alan Grier also has more screentime as acerbic Dr. Leonard, which is also a good thing. Grier has appealing chemistry with Allison Toman, who is the closest thing to the show’s lead character, Nurse Mazurkian. Their personalities are total opposites, but the writers make them friends rather than rivals. That is a really smart strategy, because they serve as a credible foundation when the medical part of the show turns somewhat realistic. (That must occasionally happen, because this is a hospital, but it never lasts too long.)

St. Denis Medical is the only sitcom I’ve ever reviewed that has made me laugh out loud. That includes Ted Lasso. (Son of a Critch consistently earned its chuckles, but it’s a quieter series, built more on nostalgia.) So far, the second sesaon maintains the same level of humor, because it never tiptoes around people’s feelings. That is how comedy is supposed to be. Highly recommended, season two of St. Denis Medical starts tonight (11/3) on NBC (and streams the next day on Peacock).