Are you a fan of medical dramas? Then you’ll want to check out Berlin ER, which premiers on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
We talked with Samuel Jefferson, one of the series creators and a former ER physician, about the new series. It’s a bit of a culture shock for Americans due to the differences in medical systems, but the series is all about being authentic. That’s what you get when someone who has lived it ends up co-creating the series.
Berlin ER, known as Krank ER in Germany, focuses on the chaos of an emergency room in the most overcrowded and difficult hospitals in Berlin. Dr. Parker is the new boss of the ER, running away from a past in Munich and focused on carving out a career to help people. That’s not easy when it comes to staff members who are fatigued and disillusioned by everything they’ve seen and experienced.
Samuel Jefferson talks creating an authentic emergency room in Berlin ER
Show Snob: I think this series is going to be a bit of a culture shock for Americans in terms of the German healthcare system. Can you share what it was like bringing the Berlin ER system to life?
Samuel Jefferson: I think it’s interesting that you think it’ll be a culture shock for the U.S. I like that.
When we made this show, we wanted to make something that felt authentic, and not necessarily hyper realistic. Something that really made you feel what it feels like to be a doctor and a nurse or a healthcare professional working in that role. I think we wanted to give the audience a real roller coaster journey through that, so it’s quite hard-hitting and gritty. It’s quite intense.
But it also has this kind of love and humor and humanity in it. I think a lot of medical shows are ironically too clinical, like everything is a bit Star Trek: The Next Generation—a bit shiny, the door swash too easily. The truth of when I worked as a doctor is it’s a lot grittier, more visceral. It’s a lot more like being a farmer than it is working in a lab, to be honest. I think not many medical shows show you the truth of the behind the scenes.
However you try to present yourself, there’s still the you when you go home or there’s still the real you. All the characters are quite contradictory and a bit messy and complex. And that is okay. We will do that.
SS: You mention the grittiness. We’re thrown right into the noise and hustle of the ER. I’m guessing that was purposely done. I felt like I was there.
SJ: Absolutely! There are certain ways to go into a show, and I think we made the choice of literally slamming the audience into what’s happening because, I think for multiple reasons. One, I think the world is like that. I remember when I would start shifts at a new hospital or in a new department and I had no lead in. There is no one there to say “hey, welcome” and hold your hand. The doors open and someone gives you a stethoscope and says “go over there and do that.”
I think the content that people are exposed to at the moment and the amount of things for people to watch, I think it’s important for us to say “don’t worry, we’ve got you. Come spend eight hours of your day with us and it will be worth it.”
I think we wanted to show even in the first couple of minutes that this is going to be a ride, so I’m glad it feels like that.
SS: Your characters are flawed as hell and I love it. I just love the opening with Ben to show us what he’s really like. What was the motivation behind bringing these not-so-perfect doctors? I had to wonder if they cared sometimes.
SJ: Yeah, it’s an odd job to be in. I think what’s nice is in the show they’re all excellent doctors, if that makes sense. I would trust any of the characters with my life. The problem is how they deal with the person that’s actually behind the role of doctor.
I think you meet Ben backstage. You kind of meet the reality of who Ben is and what he’s going through, and then you put him back into the hospital and be like “hey, I’m the doctor.” It’s nice to do it that way around, whereas a lot of other hospital shows you met the amazing doctor and then you go home with them and you realize they have a divorce and it must be really hard for their kids. I liked doing the opposite.
I like it when shows show the reality, a bit of a lived experience. So, the show is messy, the characters are messy. Life is messy.
Berlin ER premieres on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, Feb. 26.