Netflix’s first-ever original medical procedural has officially flatlined. Deadline announced today that Pulse, which premiered back in April, has been canceled after one season on the platform despite some modest streaming success. According to the report, the series’s time of death actually came about a month ago, with the cast and crew already given the freedom to start pursuing other projects. It’s just one of three Netflix originals given the bad news today, with comedic murder mystery show The Residence also axed after its inaugural run and No Good Deed put on hold with the potential for a new season for the darkly comedic anthology series sometime in the future.
From the beginning, Pulse was facing headwinds as it dropped in the shadow of a sea of new medical dramas, all of which were picked up for sophomore seasons. Of those shows, hype was still at a high for Max’s The Pitt starring Noah Wyle, which dominated much of the conversation around television while it was still rolling out new episodes. Coupled with deeply negative reviews to the tune of a 48% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, it made getting a foothold all the more difficult for Zoe Robyn‘s series. Even with the deck stacked against Pulse, viewers still kept it in the Top 10 list for weeks after its release, even if it wasn’t the consistent chart-topper hoped.
Pulse earned plenty of comparisons to Grey’s Anatomy when it premiered, following the personal and professional lives of the medical staff at the Miami-based level-one trauma center, Maguire Hospital. Set during a race for the coveted position of Emergency Medicine Chief Resident, the show demonstrated how everything can change in a heartbeat when a sexual harassment complaint rocks the facility. With the city reeling from a hurricane and patients flooding in, the staff is sent scrambling to respond to the emergency at an uncertain time. Willa Fitzgerald and Colin Woodell led the cast, alongside Jessie T. Usher, Jack Bannon, Justina Machado, Daniela Nieves, Jessy Yates, and Néstor Carbonell, among others.
What Could Season 2 of ‘Pulse’ Have Looked Like?
The cast of Pulse had a few ideas about how the show could’ve upped the ante going into Season 2 and beyond. Season 1 ended with a freeing finale that seemingly left the field wide open for the doctors at Maguire Hospital to start a new chapter. For Fitzgerald‘s Danny, it was a roller-coaster of a season that ended with her cleaning the slate with Woodell‘s Xander and moving on, while Usher‘s Sam Elijah received the call to become Chief Resident. In an interview with Collider‘s Christina Radish, Usher remarked that the show would’ve continued to explore power dynamics in the hospital going forward, particularly involving his new role:
“I like how many open doors there are. I like how many unanswered questions we have. It allows the drama to unfold. The plot will thicken, inevitably. I’m really excited to see how Dr. Cruz has to work against her competitor because they have a history. Sam Elijah and Dr. Cruz have always worked together and she liked him. She was considering making him the Chief Resident for a reason, even though she didn’t go with him. So, there will be a weird shift of power because she’s no longer involved in the trauma side of things. She’s just on the surgical side and will have to watch from the outside. The power dynamic between those two characters is going to be really interesting to see play out. Sam Elijah will have to play that middle ground, where he doesn’t want to piss off Dr. Cruz, but he’s also got a new boss and he’s going to have to manage his position in this corporation.”
All episodes of Pulse are now streaming on Netflix.
via Collider