Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin are officially the masters of workplace sitcoms. Following the success of American Auto and Superstore, the creative duo chose the hospital as their next setting for chaotic workplace shenanigans with St. Denis Medical, and guess what? It’s proving to be a working formula, as new ratings reveal. Anticipation was high when NBC ordered the series with The Goldberg alum Wendi McLendon-Covey cast to lead the team of medical workers at the titular hospital, and it’s satisfying to see it living up to expectations. Move over Scrubs, there’s a new medical sitcom in town.
St. Denis Medical premiered on November 12, 2024, to 3.8 million total viewers, scoring a 0.5 rating in the key broadcast demo among adults 18-49, making it the most-watched scripted program on the premiere night. Two episodes were released back-to-back and for episode 2, the show retained the 0.5 demo rating with a slight dip in viewership to 3.1 million. However, while that was already impressive, as St. Denis Medical became the highest-rated scripted broadcast series premiere without an NFL lead-in in nearly two years, the show has become even more popular within a week since its premiere.
Per Deadline, those numbers have soared by an incredible 85%. The first episode, “Welcome to St. Denis” has now had its viewership grow to 7.4 million cross-platform viewers according to Nielsen’s live + same-day report. The demo ratings, when factoring in delayed viewing across multiple platforms, have now jumped to 1.44, reflecting a 182% increase from the debut night. Episode 2, “A Very Robust Personal Life” maintained the momentum, retaining 82% of the total number of viewers. Also, on Peacock, the numbers look good as the sitcom sits atop the charts as NBC’s most-watched comedy launch.
What Was The Inspiration Behind ‘St. Denis Medical’?
Set within the titular poorly financed hospital, St. Denis Medical follows the hospital’s overworked healthcare workers as they strive to provide the best care possible to its patients while trying to avoid burnout and maintain their own sanity. Overseeing operations at the facility is oncology surgeon Joyce, played by McLendon-Covey. Speaking to Collider about what inspired their choice of setting for the series, creator Ledgin said:
“The hospital part, in coming up with a workplace comedy, was like, “Why not try to create a show in the most interesting workplace I can think of?”… What was interesting to me is that people in hospitals have that attitude. They’re in this place where people are getting the relief of their life, the worst news of their life, they’re having the craziest stories that they’re going to tell at dinner parties for years, and as that’s happening, several feet from them, there are people who are just rolling their eyes at their jobs or being annoyed because their coworker keeps repeating the same phrase, or someone ate their lunch, and they’re trying to get to the bottom of who it was.”
Click here to read the rest of our interview with the St. Denis Medical co-creator and catch up on the sitcom on Peacock.
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