LOS ANGELES _ Matt Czuchry is talking as loudly as he can to be heard over the din of music and people talking at a party being thrown by Fox to promote the 2018-2019 fall TV season. He's part of that lineup through his medical drama, "The Resident," that has been given a second season order.
There was plenty to shout about in the first season as Conrad (Matt Czuchry) tried to navigate his way through life in a medical facility that at times was sicker than the patients they treated. It's run by an egotistical doctor (played by Bruce Greenwood) who won't admit his deteriorating medical condition should keep him out of the operating room. Another doctor (Melina Kanakaredes) showed she would go to any lengths to make sure her clinical trials looked as good as possible.
There were only 14 episodes the first year but they were packed with stories about patients and the staff.
"One of the things I like about the show is that there is a serialized element that you don't often see in medical dramas," Czuchry says. "Usually you just have the procedural elements, which we have, but we also have serialized stories.
"We will do that again this season."
The other element continuing from the first season is the balance of how for everyone who is concerned about billing and image, there are those who believe that healing the sick trumps everything else. What the series star has observed about "The Resident" is that while they show that doctors do heroic work, they are also fallible.
When the show looks at topics such as corruption and medical error, it's not intended to be an indictment of the medical profession but just a way of showing viewers a peek behind the curtain to see how the process runs.
"We take some creative licenses as well but the theme of the show is to show both sides," Czuchry says.
Czuckry wasn't surprised by what was going on when he read the initial script because he has a close friend who lost someone due to a medical error. That gave him a very personal connection to what was being told through the series. He's certain there are plenty of people who have had a bad situation in regards to medical treatment who will be able to connect with his show.
A major curve thrown at Czuchry's character at the end of the first season was the role his estranged father (Glenn Morshower) will be playing in his professional life. Czuchry explains the addition of the character will help continue the battle between good medicine and big business that was a driving theme the first year.
"The Resident" is the latest in a long career on television for Czuchry that has included seven seasons of "The Good Wife" plus long runs on "Friday Night Lights" and "Gilmore Girls." The New Hampshire native has been working professionally since he landed a role on "Freaks and Geeks" in 2000.
This is the first time Czuchry has had to deal with a character responsible for saying so much medical jargon. It took him a few episodes to get comfortable with all of the language but he is proud he has gotten much quicker and better with the lines.
"It's really tough when you combine all of that medical jargon with the actions. There's a lot of choreographed action that goes along with saying those medical terms. Those are the hardest scenes to do and while I'm getting better, they will always be challenging," Czuchry says. "It takes preparation, preparation, preparation.
"It's really demanding as far as the responsibilities but I knew that going in. I always felt like after 19 years in the business, I was ready to take that big step."
He hasn't had a role like this one but Czuchry has been around the medical world much of his life because his mother is a nurse. Czuchry laughs and says that his mother was certain that he would make a good doctor. Although he enjoyed biology classes when in school, Czuchry was never good enough in math to be able to make his mother's prediction come true. He has at least through "The Resident" been able to pretend he's a doctor.
