'The Night Shift' disappoints with subpar characterization and plot development

"The Night Shift"(2014-present) is NBC’s lackluster shot at a medical drama. Set in a hospital in San Antonio, Texas, the show is a mix of comedy and drama, but it is heavier on the dramatic elements. The first season of "The Night Shift" had a weak start, with subpar characterization and not much plot; however, NBC ordered another season, the first episode of which premiered Feb. 23. The second season's premiere seems to be off to a better start than the series' pilot, most likely because the characters and their backgrounds are already established -- with a couple new faces in the mix to spice things up.

The show centers on a group of doctors working the night shift in a Texan hospital. More than half of them are military and crave the adrenaline that comes from working in what is often a high-stress environment. The nurses, new interns and lawyers that make up the cast of regular characters on the night shift join the group of doctors. The main character is TC Callahan (Eoin Macken), an army medic with severe PTSD which led to a nervous breakdown in the operating room at the end of the previous season. This breakdown resulted in his suspension at the conclusion of season one. Refusing to stop working as a medic, Callahan continues to pop in and out of the hospital in the second season’s first episode, trying to help. But while some aspects of "The Night Shift" may be on the up-and-up, a major pitfall of the series seems to be poor character construction. 

Callahan, for instance, is two dimensional -- his backstory, although more or less fleshed out in the first season, doesn’t seem to be as compelling as those of some of the other characters. Instead, he seems to be the same cocky but brilliant doctor trope that many other shows have already used, and he does not add anything new or nuanced to the role.

The other main character, Jordan Alexander (Jill Flint), is a smart, focused doctor who genuinely cares for her patients. Unfortunately, though she has a do-gooder attitude, she lacks common sense, the absence of which prevents her from being able to logically foresee the results of her decisions. Somehow, this character flaw is not addressed very well in the show. Often Jordan makes extremely questionable calls that, most of the time, result in little to no consequences for her. In the first episode of the new season, she makes her brash decisions with no repercussions. However, all may not be lost; at least she seems to think about the consequences of her choice before deciding to stick to her course of action anyway. Though minor, this is an indication of a potential glimmer of character growth.

In contrast, one of the more compelling characters on "The Night Shift" is Michael Ragosa (Freddy Rodriguez), the hospital’s lawyer. The show often pits Ragosa against the other doctors, often due to discord over the hospital’s budget. Ragosa remains concerned about the budget because the hospital is accommodating an influx of people who need treatment but can’t afford it due to their lack of health care. Ragosa is often in a tight position: he wants to help people in need, but he is unable to connect to the other doctors who view him with disdain. Again, disappointingly, the show squanders what could have been a sharp critique of the way hospitals operate day to day, and instead abandons complex storyline altogether; Ragosa quits in order to finish his dream of becoming a doctor. Dramatic tension dissolves just as soon as his interesting and conflicted position as the hospital’s lawyer suddenly evaporates.

It seems that although "The Night Shift" tries its best to push new boundaries as a medical drama, it falls short due to its lack of ambition and vision. The characters just aren’t nuanced enough to be truly likable or relatable, and the case-a-week format is just too limiting to create meaningful storylines. Even cast romances feels superficial and tacked on as an afterthought, ultimately leaving the viewer woefully unsatisfied.