Soapy medical procedural Pulse parties like it's 2005

Netflix’s Pulse makes it clear, without an ounce of subtlety, that Dr. Danielle “Danny” Simms (a formidable Willa Fitzgerald) is having a terrible day right off the bat. Within 20 minutes of the premiere, it’s revealed that after filing a harassment complaint against her boss, she is temporarily promoted to his role as the Chief Resident and that most of her colleagues don’t trust her. Danny battles this rumor mill just as a hurricane batters Miami, power is cut, a school bus crashes, and one of the teens whom she has to operate on is the daughter of the beloved Chief Of Surgery. Pulse packs a jarring, overstuffed punch to lay out the hot mess Danny and her co-workers are in, with barely any breathing room to allow viewers to get to know or care for them. 

Thankfully, the show’s approach simmers down as it progresses. Once Pulse gets out of its own way, with no natural disasters in sight, a far more interesting TV series starts to emerge. Under the guise of a fast-paced procedural is a provocative dissection of toxic workplace romances and the intersection of ambition and love. The complicated, forbidden, and fucked-up relationship between Danny and her ex-boyfriend/ex-boss Xander Phillips (Colin Woodell) is Pulse’s addictive linchpin, even has the series hits ordinary genre beats like tough surgeries and emotional patients (whose stories conveniently tend to mirror doctors’ personal crises). 

Created by Zoe Robyn, who showruns alongside Emmy winner Carlton Cuse, Pulse has the glossy look and feel of Grey’s Anatomy. There’s even a similar adoration for breezy, frequent needle drops (in this case by the likes of Benson Boone, Black Pumas, MediumBuild, and The Marías). ABC’s long-running drama even gets name-checked as early as episode two. The Netflix original also arrives at a time when medical dramas are all the rage, from Max’s gritty The Pitt to recent network-TV debuts such as NBC’s sentimental Brilliant Minds, Fox’s Doc, and ABC’s zany Doctor Odyssey. Pulse’s unique schtick is that it essentially poses the question: What if Meredith Grey had gone to HR about Derek Shepherd? 

In this case, Danny reports Xander, who sticks around to help despite his suspension because of a staff shortage and an influx of patients. This rightfully evokes frustration from co-workers, who see them working side by side despite Danny’s complaint. While handling one emergency after another, their cryptic conversations and fights prove there are layers to this messed-up situation, which slowly come to light through flashbacks. (The sign that Pulse is jumping back in time is the sound of—what else?—a beating heart.) The internal storm both of them are weathering becomes far more fascinating than anything a hurricane could bring to this show. So it’s a relief the disaster wraps up halfway through the season’s 10-episode run.