Mercy (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Mercy is a medical drama which aired on NBC from September 23, 2009 to May 12, 2010. The series initially aired on Wednesday nights at 8/7c, as part of the 2009 fall season, but was pushed back to 9/8c in April.
On October 23, 2009, Mercy was picked up for a full twenty-two-episode first season. On May 14, 2010, NBC announced that Mercy had been cancelled and would not return for a second season due to low ratings.
. The show focuses on the lives of three nurses. Veronica Flanagan Callahan is a nurse who has just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq
, while Sonia Jimenez, her best friend, has become seriously involved with a police officer, and Chloe Payne is a recent nursing graduate who is thrown into the world of nursing and is unprepared for what it entails.
as the filming location for the series. The show occasionally also filmed inside a private residence in Weehawken. The production left New Jersey for New York in 2010, however, when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie suspended the tax credits for film and television production for the Fiscal Year 2011 to close budget gaps.
Some interior shots for the show were filmed in the unused Barnert Hospital
in Paterson, New Jersey
. Exterior shots of Mercy Hospital were taken of the back side of a public school on 4th street (between Newark Ave. and Colgate St.) in Jersey City. The exterior of Lucky 7's Bar was filmed at a location on the corner of 2nd and Coles Street in Jersey City. The interior of the bar was the Park Tavern located on West Side Avenue off Communipaw Avenue in Jersey City. The exterior shots of The Red Fox Saloon were filmed at the Monaghan House in South Amboy, New Jersey. The interior shots of the Saloon were filmed at Ted's Bar in the Morgan area of Sayreville, New Jersey
.
Mercy was originally slated to begin midseason
but was moved to the fall after the premiere of Parenthood
was pushed to 2010 due to production issues.
On May 14, 2010, NBC announced that Mercy had been canceled and would not return for a second season due to low ratings.
. Reviews were mixed, although most critics panned the show. Matthew Gilbert, from The Boston Globe
, referred to the medical drama as "a bunch of played-out hospital clichés" and said it "follows the hospital melodrama blueprint way too closely." Similarly, a review in The Hollywood Reporter
calls the show "just another hospital soap opera" and "a lethal cocktail of virtually every medical drama ever seen on TV". Several critics have referred to Mercy as a weak copy of Showtime's Nurse Jackie
.
The show's writing has been criticized as "twisting itself into a pretzel to provide ironies," and a review by Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune
states that "all the characters are so thinly drawn." In a review in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
, Rob Owen said the show "hits viewers over the head with its thesis statement that nurses are under-appreciated." Robert Bianco from USA Today
stated that "remarkably good actors [are] going to waste here."
On the positive side, in a review in The Daily Telegraph
, Rachel Ray found the show "utterly enjoyable" and "marvelous television", while praising the "clicking pace, real-person dialogue, excellent writing, a fresh story line, and thoughtful acting". Noting an effort by NBC to find a replacement for the former standout ER, David Hinckley, from the New York Daily News, favorably compared the two shows and stated that Mercy "comes the closest yet to capturing that chemistry."
On October 23, 2009, Mercy was picked up for a full twenty-two-episode first season. On May 14, 2010, NBC announced that Mercy had been cancelled and would not return for a second season due to low ratings.
Plot
Mercy is an ensemble drama set in the fictional Mercy Hospital in Jersey City, New JerseyJersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
. The show focuses on the lives of three nurses. Veronica Flanagan Callahan is a nurse who has just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, while Sonia Jimenez, her best friend, has become seriously involved with a police officer, and Chloe Payne is a recent nursing graduate who is thrown into the world of nursing and is unprepared for what it entails.
Main
- Taylor SchillingTaylor SchillingTaylor Schilling is an American actress.She is the daughter of Robert Schilling, a prosecutor, and Tish Schilling. She grew up in West Roxbury and Wayland, splitting time between her parents, who are divorced....
as Veronica Agnes Flanagan Callahan - Michelle TrachtenbergMichelle TrachtenbergMichelle Christine Trachtenberg is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Dawn Summers in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl...
as Chloe Payne - Jaime Lee KirchnerJaime Lee KirchnerJaime Lee Kirchner is an actress who is best known for her roles on Just Legal as Dulcinea 'Dee' Real and Mercy as Sonia Jimenez. She was born in Germany but was raised in Clarksville, Tennessee.-Filmography:...
as Sonia Jimenez - James TupperJames TupperJames Tupper is a Canadian actor best known for his role as Jack Slattery on the ABC television series Men in Trees and recently appeared as Dr. Chris Sands on the NBC medical drama series Mercy , which was cancelled by NBC in May 2010.Tupper was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada...
as Dr. Chris Sands - Diego KlattenhoffDiego KlattenhoffDiego Klattenhoff is a Canadian actor best known for playing Derek in Whistler and Ivan in Men in Trees.-Career:Diego Klattenhoff studied with some of Canada's most respected acting coaches, including David Rotenberg, Bruce Clayton and Rae Ellen Bodie, and eventually his dedication and persistence...
as Mike Callahan - Guillermo Díaz as Ángel García
- James LeGrosJames LeGrosJames LeGros is an American film and television actor. He is known as a star of independent films with a diversified body of work in the early to mid 1990s.-Personal life:...
as Dr. Dan Harris
Recurring
- David CallDavid CallDavid Steven Call , is an American film and television actor- Personal life :He is a graduate student of NYU Tisch School of the Arts and the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School.- Acting career :...
as Paul Kempton - Delroy LindoDelroy LindoDelroy George Lindo is an English actor and theatre director. Lindo has been nominated for the Tony and Screen Actors Guild awards and has won a Satellite Award...
as Dr. Alfred Parks - Kate MulgrewKate MulgrewKatherine Kiernan Maria "Kate" Mulgrew is an American actress, most noted for her roles on Star Trek: Voyager as Captain Kathryn Janeway and Ryan's Hope as Mary Ryan...
as Jeannie Flanagan - Peter GeretyPeter GeretyPeter Gerety is an American actor.Gerety began acting while a student at Boston University, participating in productions at the Charles Playhouse. In 1965, he joined the Trinity Square Repertory Company, a resident theater company in Providence, Rhode Island where he appeared in over 125...
as Jim Flanagan - Michael Chernus as Ryan Flanagan
- Charlie Semine as Nick Valentino
- K.K. Moggie as Dr. Gillian Jelani
- Margo MartindaleMargo MartindaleMargo Martindale is an American stage, television and film actress. In 2011, Martindale won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Mags Bennett on Justified.-Early life:...
as Helen Klowden - Jill FlintJill FlintJill Flint is an American actress, best known for her role of Jill Casey in USA Network's series Royal Pains.-Career:Flint has appeared in several feature films, most recently in Cadillac Records with Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright and Beyonce Knowles, and The Women, alongside stars Meg Ryan, Annette...
as Simone Sands - James Van Der BeekJames Van Der BeekJames William Van Der Beek, Jr. is an American television, film, and stage actor, known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery in The WB series Dawson's Creek...
as Dr. Joe Briggs, new Chief of the ICU
Production
NBC producer Jim Bigwood selected the warehouse at 10 Enterprise Avenue in Secaucus, New JerseySecaucus, New Jersey
Secaucus is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 16,264. Located within the New Jersey Meadowlands, it is the most suburban of the county's municipalities, though large parts of the town are dedicated to light manufacturing, retail, and...
as the filming location for the series. The show occasionally also filmed inside a private residence in Weehawken. The production left New Jersey for New York in 2010, however, when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie suspended the tax credits for film and television production for the Fiscal Year 2011 to close budget gaps.
Some interior shots for the show were filmed in the unused Barnert Hospital
Barnert Hospital
Barnert Hospital was a 236-bed hospital located on Broadway in the Eastside section of Paterson, New Jersey that operated for 99 years. The hospital was named for Nathan Barnert, a philanthropist and former mayor of Paterson who founded the hospital.The hospital was a full service facility offering...
in Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
. Exterior shots of Mercy Hospital were taken of the back side of a public school on 4th street (between Newark Ave. and Colgate St.) in Jersey City. The exterior of Lucky 7's Bar was filmed at a location on the corner of 2nd and Coles Street in Jersey City. The interior of the bar was the Park Tavern located on West Side Avenue off Communipaw Avenue in Jersey City. The exterior shots of The Red Fox Saloon were filmed at the Monaghan House in South Amboy, New Jersey. The interior shots of the Saloon were filmed at Ted's Bar in the Morgan area of Sayreville, New Jersey
Sayreville, New Jersey
Sayreville is a borough located on the Raritan River, near Raritan Bay in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 42,704....
.
Mercy was originally slated to begin midseason
Midseason replacement
In American and Canadian television, a midseason replacement is a television series that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between January and May...
but was moved to the fall after the premiere of Parenthood
Parenthood (2010 TV series)
Parenthood is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Katims and produced by Imagine Television and Universal Media Studios. The first season premiered on March 2, 2010 on NBC...
was pushed to 2010 due to production issues.
On May 14, 2010, NBC announced that Mercy had been canceled and would not return for a second season due to low ratings.
Critical reception
Mercy received a score of 41 out of 100 from the review aggregator MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. Reviews were mixed, although most critics panned the show. Matthew Gilbert, from The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, referred to the medical drama as "a bunch of played-out hospital clichés" and said it "follows the hospital melodrama blueprint way too closely." Similarly, a review in The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
calls the show "just another hospital soap opera" and "a lethal cocktail of virtually every medical drama ever seen on TV". Several critics have referred to Mercy as a weak copy of Showtime's Nurse Jackie
Nurse Jackie
Nurse Jackie is an American series that premiered on June 8, 2009, on Showtime, Movie Central and The Movie Network.The series stars Edie Falco as the title character Jackie Peyton, an emergency room nurse at All Saints' Hospital in New York City...
.
The show's writing has been criticized as "twisting itself into a pretzel to provide ironies," and a review by Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
states that "all the characters are so thinly drawn." In a review in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
, Rob Owen said the show "hits viewers over the head with its thesis statement that nurses are under-appreciated." Robert Bianco from USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
stated that "remarkably good actors [are] going to waste here."
On the positive side, in a review in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, Rachel Ray found the show "utterly enjoyable" and "marvelous television", while praising the "clicking pace, real-person dialogue, excellent writing, a fresh story line, and thoughtful acting". Noting an effort by NBC to find a replacement for the former standout ER, David Hinckley, from the New York Daily News, favorably compared the two shows and stated that Mercy "comes the closest yet to capturing that chemistry."
Seasonal ratings
| Season | Timeslot (EST) | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wednesday 8/7c (September 23, 2009 - April 21, 2010) Wednesday 9/8c (April 28, 2010 - May 12, 2010) |
September 23, 2009 | May 12, 2010 | 2009–2010 2009–2010 United States network television schedule The following is the 2009–2010 network television schedule for the five major English-language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 2009 through May 2010. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new... |
#76 | 6.33 |
DVD release
| Name | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | Discs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete Series | August 3, 2010 | TBA | September 29, 2010 | 5 |
International distribution
| Country | Channel | Notes |
|---|---|---|
 Australia |
Seven Network Seven Network The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach... 7Two 7Two 7TWO is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel which was launched by the Seven Network on Sunday 1 November 2009 at 12pm.... |
Monday 9:30 then 10:30, moved to 7Two 7Two 7TWO is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel which was launched by the Seven Network on Sunday 1 November 2009 at 12pm.... on Wednesday 9.30pm then 10:30 |
 Austria |
ORF 1 | Monday 9:55pm |
 Belgium |
vtm VTM The abbreviation VTM may refer to::* Vampire: The Masquerade, a popular role-playing game* Virginia Tech massacre* vtm, the main commercial television station in Flanders, Belgium... RTBF RTBF Radio Télévision Belge Francophone is the public broadcasting organization of the French Community of Belgium, the southern, French-speaking part of Belgium... |
Wednesday 22.40, vtm VTM The abbreviation VTM may refer to::* Vampire: The Masquerade, a popular role-playing game* Virginia Tech massacre* vtm, the main commercial television station in Flanders, Belgium... Tuesday, La Une La Une La Une is a Belgian national television channel, owned and operated by RTBF.- INR :The Institut National de Radiodiffusion began experimental television in Belgium on 2 June 1953, with the crowning of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom... |
 Brazil |
Liv People+Arts Liv is an entertainment television channel in Latin America. It is jointly owned by Discovery Communications.The channel was launched in October 1997 as the local version of Travel Channel... |
Tuesdays 10:00 PM, premiered April 13 |
 Canada CanadaCanada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
Citytv Citytv Citytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division... |
8:00 Monday, in simultaneous substitution Simultaneous substitution Simultaneous substitution is a practice mandated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requiring Canadian cable, direct broadcast satellite and multichannel multipoint distribution service television distribution companies to substitute the signal of a foreign or... |
 Early Modern France |
M6 | June 12 at 8:50 pm |
 Republic of Ireland |
RTÉ Two RTÉ Two RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of... |
Airs on Monday nights at 12:45am (Tuesday Morning) |
 Israel |
yes Drama | |
 Italy |
Mya Mya (TV channel) Mya is an Italian Entertainment TV channel, owned by Mediaset and broadcasted on Premium Gallery, a pay television network available on Digital terrestrial television in Italy... |
Friday 9pm from 3rd September 2010 |
 Japan |
Universal Channel Universal Channel Universal Channel is a television channel specializing in movies and television series in the thriller, drama, comedy, horror, crime and investigation genres, owned by Universal Networks International, a division of NBCUniversal and available on satellite and cable platforms... |
Saturday 11:00pm |
 Malaysia |
Star World STAR World STAR World is an Asian English language cable and satellite television network owned by Star TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation. The channel is the successor of STAR Plus, a subsidiary of News Corporation... |
9.00 pm Tuesday |
 Netherlands NetherlandsNetherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
RTL 5 RTL 5 RTL 5 is the 2nd channel of the RTL Group in the Netherlands. The channel mainly broadcasts American films and hit series but also local productions including Jensen! and Holland's Next Top Model, a Dutch version of America's Next Top Model. RTL 5 recently started airing the Dutch version of... |
8:30pm Tuesday |
 New Zealand New ZealandNew Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
FOUR Four (New Zealand TV channel) Four is a television station operating in New Zealand and owned by MediaWorks New Zealand. The channel launched 6 February 2011 at 6pm. The channel broadcasts on channel frequencies previously used by C4 with some shows previously screened on TV3 and C4 now screening on... |
9:30pm Monday, from the 7th February 2011 |
 Norway NorwayNorway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
TV3 TV3 (Norway) TV3 Norway is a commercial television channel targeting Norway owned by Viasat, which is a part of the Swedish media group Modern Times Group... |
10:30 pm Wednesday |
 Philippines |
2nd Avenue | Monday 9:00 pm–10:00 pm (exclusive Philippine Premiere on Ladies Night) |
 Poland |
TVN TVN TVN may refer to:*TVN , a horse racing channel*TVN , a public broadcaster*TVN , a television station*TVN or TVNorge, a commercial television channel*TVN , a commercial broadcaster... |
Saturday 11.10 pm |
 Portugal |
Fox life Fox Life Fox Life is a television network, launched by the Fox Broadcasting Company, which airs across Latin America, Europe and Japan . Its basic programming include numerous television series, sitcoms and movies, among others, which includes some original programming in certain regions... |
|
 Switzerland |
TSR Télévision Suisse Romande Télévision Suisse Romande is a TV network with 2 channels: TSR 1 and TSR 2. They are the main French language channels in Switzerland, part of SRG SSR idée suisse... |
Friday 8.30 pm, TSR1 |
 Spain |
FactoríaDeFicción | Saturdays and Sundays 7.00 pm |
 South Africa |
MNET Series MNET Series MNET Series is a television channel which is part of the popular South African satellite television network, DStv. This channel broadcasts television series 24 hours a day to viewers in Africa. Most of the programmes broadcast are unique to MNET Series but some are re-broadcasts of episodes... |
Monday 9:30pm |
 Ukraine |
TRK Ukraina | Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 11:50pm |