- Mercy (TV series)
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Mercy 
IntertitleGenre Medical drama Created by Liz Heldens Starring Taylor Schilling
Michelle Trachtenberg
Jaime Lee Kirchner
James Tupper
Diego Klattenhoff
Guillermo Díaz
James LeGrosOpening theme "Better Get Right" by Devin Moore Country of origin United States Language(s) English No. of seasons 1 No. of episodes 22 (List of episodes) Production Executive producer(s) Gail Berman
Lloyd Braun
Liz Heldens
Gretchen Berg
Aaron HarbertsEditor(s) Scott Gamzon Cinematography William Rexer Production company(s) Universal Media Studios and Berman Braun Broadcast Original channel NBC Original run September 23, 2009 – May 12, 2010 External links Website 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.[1]
On October 23, 2009, Mercy was picked up for a full twenty-two-episode first season.[2] On May 14, 2010, NBC announced that Mercy had been cancelled and would not return for a second season due to low ratings.[3]
Contents
Plot
Mercy is an ensemble drama set in the fictional Mercy Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey. 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.
Cast
Main
- Taylor Schilling as Veronica Agnes Flanagan Callahan
- Michelle Trachtenberg as Chloe Payne
- Jaime Lee Kirchner as Sonia Jimenez
- James Tupper as Dr. Chris Sands
- Diego Klattenhoff as Mike Callahan
- Guillermo Díaz as Ángel García
- James LeGros as Dr. Dan Harris
(From left to right) Michelle Trachtenberg as Chloe, Taylor Schilling as Veronica and Jaime Lee Kirchner as Sonia.
Recurring
- David Call as Paul Kempton
- Delroy Lindo as Dr. Alfred Parks
- Kate Mulgrew as Jeannie Flanagan
- Peter Gerety as Jim Flanagan
- Michael Chernus as Ryan Flanagan
- Charlie Semine as Nick Valentino
- K.K. Moggie as Dr. Gillian Jelani
- Margo Martindale as Helen Klowden
- Jill Flint as Simone Sands
- James Van Der Beek as Dr. Joe Briggs, new Chief of the ICU
Episodes
Main article: List of Mercy episodesProduction
NBC producer Jim Bigwood selected the warehouse at 10 Enterprise Avenue in Secaucus, New Jersey 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.[4]
Some interior shots for the show were filmed in the unused Barnert Hospital in Paterson, New Jersey.[5][6] 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.[5] 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.[7]
On May 14, 2010, NBC announced that Mercy had been canceled and would not return for a second season due to low ratings.[3]
Critical reception
Mercy received a score of 41 out of 100 from the review aggregator Metacritic.[8] 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."[9] 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".[10] Several critics have referred to Mercy as a weak copy of Showtime's Nurse Jackie.[9][10][11][12]
The show's writing has been criticized as "twisting itself into a pretzel to provide ironies,"[10] and a review by Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune states that "all the characters are so thinly drawn."[13] 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."[12] Robert Bianco from USA Today stated that "remarkably good actors [are] going to waste here."[11]
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".[14] 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." [15]
Ratings
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 #76[16] 6.33[16] DVD release
Name Region 1 Region 2 Region 4 Discs The Complete Series August 3, 2010[17] TBA September 29, 2010[18] 5 International distribution
Country Channel Notes 
AustraliaSeven Network
7TwoMonday 9:30 then 10:30, moved to 7Two on Wednesday 9.30pm then 10:30 
AustriaORF 1 Monday 9:55pm 
Belgiumvtm
RTBFWednesday 22.40, vtm
Tuesday, La Une
BrazilLiv[19] Tuesdays 10:00 PM, premiered April 13 
CanadaCitytv 8:00 Monday, in simultaneous substitution 
FranceM6 June 12 at 8:50 pm 
IrelandRTÉ Two Airs on Monday nights at 12:45am (Tuesday Morning) 
Israelyes Drama 
ItalyMya Friday 9pm from 3rd September 2010 
JapanUniversal Channel Saturday 11:00pm 
MalaysiaStar World 9.00 pm Tuesday[20] 
NetherlandsRTL 5 8:30pm Tuesday 
New ZealandFOUR 9:30pm Monday, from the 7th February 2011 
NorwayTV3 10:30 pm Wednesday 
Philippines2nd Avenue Monday 9:00 pm–10:00 pm (exclusive Philippine Premiere on Ladies Night) 
PolandTVN Saturday 11.10 pm 
PortugalFox life 
SwitzerlandTSR Friday 8.30 pm, TSR1 
SpainFactoríaDeFicción Saturdays and Sundays 7.00 pm 
South AfricaMNET Series Monday 9:30pm 
UkraineTRK Ukraina Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 11:50pm References
- ^ Ken Tucker (2009-05-04). "Rating NBC's new fall shows: 'Parenthood,' a 'Trauma,' a 'Community,' '100 Questions,' and oh 'Mercy'!". Entertainment Weekly. http://watching-tv.ew.com/2009/05/04/nbc-new-fall-sh/. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
- ^ "This just in: NBC picks up 'Community,' 'Parks and Recreation,' and 'Mercy' for full seasons". http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/10/23/nbc-picks-up-community-parks-and-recreation-and-mercy/. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
- ^ a b Ausiello, Michael (May 14, 2010). "Breaking: NBC cancels 'Mercy,' 'Trauma'". Entertainment Weekly. http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/05/14/nbc-cancels-mercy-trauma/. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
- ^ Wright, E. Assata. "Getting the film crews back to NJ", Hudson Reporter, February 13, 2011
- ^ a b "The Tipsheet: ‘Mercy’ Brings Jersey City to the Small Screen, AhoraJC, Biking the Studio Tour and More". The Jersey City Independent. September 30, 2009. http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/2009/09/30/the-tipsheet-mercy-brings-jersey-city-to-the-small-screen-ahorajc-set-for-liftoff-biking-the-studio-tour-and-the-new-loews-season/. Retrieved September 30, 2009.
- ^ Brian Gallagher (2009-06-11). "EXCLUSIVE: Guillermo Diaz Takes Us Into the World of Weeds". MovieWeb. http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEFunNINYhT9JL. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ^ Brian Stelter (July 10, 2009). "Citing Star’s Condition, NBC Delays ‘Parenthood’". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/arts/television/11arts-CITINGSTARSC_BRF.html. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
- ^ Mercy reviews metacritic.com
- ^ a b Gilbert, Matthew (September 23, 2009). "Nurses need to inject some originality into ‘Mercy’". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5n0oWxbvX. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ a b c Dawn, Randee (September 22, 2009). "Mercy – TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5n0oZXKso. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ a b Bianco, Robert (September 23, 2009). "NBC programmers should show no 'Mercy'". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5n0oLHMaE. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ a b Owen, Ro (September 23, 2009). "'Mercy' needs a transfusion, STAT". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on January 24, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5n1uFMo75. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
- ^ Ryan, Maureen (September 22, 2009). "Have 'Mercy' on yourself, skip this medical melodrama". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 24, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5n1uVW045. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
- ^ Ray, Rachel (September 24, 2009). "Mercy (NBC), review". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5n0oHUjyi. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ Hinckley, David (September 23, 2009). "NBC's 'Mercy' takes great care in showing nursing life". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5n0oEVi0G. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ a b Gorman, Bill (June 16, 2010). "Final 2009-10 Broadcast Primetime Show Average Viewership". The Futon Critic. http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/06/16/final-2009-10-broadcast-primetime-show-average-viewership/54336. Retrieved June 18, 2010.
- ^ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Mercy-The-Complete-Series/13784
- ^ http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/815043
- ^ LIV o novo canal de entretenimento da Discovery - TV Magazine
- ^ "Ziekenhuisseries Mercy en Trauma nieuw bij RTL 5" (in dutch). Mediacourant. http://www.mediacourant.nl/?p=46386.
External links
- Mercy at the Internet Movie Database
- Mercy at TV.com
- Mercy at Metacritic
Categories:- 2000s American television series
- 2009 American television series debuts
- 2010s American television series
- 2010 American television series endings
- American drama television series
- English-language television series
- Medical television series
- NBC network shows
- Television shows set in New Jersey
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