Remember a few years ago, when no one knew much about the cast of Glee, but immediately gravitated toward them after seeing the pilot?
A similar reaction may happen with Red Band Society, a new drama from FOX that premieres Wednesday, September 17. The series takes place in a hospital – which might make it sound like the show would be a bit of a downer – but it’s really anything but.
FOX has released some new images of the show’s cast which can be found below. Some of these faces might be new to you. Others, like Octavia Spencer, obviously won’t be. But mixed together, they make a pretty darn good pilot and a series that I can’t wait to see more of.
Here’s how FOX describes the show:
From Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television and starring Academy Award-winning actress Octavia Spencer (“The Help,” “Fruitvale Station”), Dave Annable (“Brothers & Sisters,” “666 Park Avenue”) and a charismatic cast of fresh faces, RED BAND SOCIETY is a provocative, unconventional and unique coming-of-age dramedy about a group of rule-bending friends and the adults who mentor them through the ups and downs of adolescence in Los Angeles’ Ocean Park Hospital. Exploring everything from strong friendships, and first loves, to humorous mishaps and heartbreaks, the series is a story of life, with an edgy comedic tone all its own.
Twelve-year-old narrator CHARLIE (Griffin Gluck, “Back in the Game,” “Private Practice”) is in a coma and introduces us to this band of unlikely friends, including the “new kid,” JORDI PALACIOS (Nolan Sotillo, “Prom”), a 16-year-old who illegally crosses the Mexican border into California to seek out treatment at the renowned hospital. What Jordi soon discovers is that it’s not his illness that’s going to change his life, but his new friends. Also at Ocean Park is LEO ROTH (Charlie Rowe, “Neverland,” “Pirate Radio”), the 16-year-old, charming and independent “leader” of the group. Leo’s best friend is DASH HOSNEY (Astro, “The X Factor”), a 16-year-old “rebel” with a big personality, who is determined not to let his cystic fibrosis stop him from living his life. Also on the ward is 15-year-old “know-it-all” EMMA CHOTA (Ciara Bravo, “Big Time Rush”), Leo’s on-again-off-again girlfriend who is coping with an eating disorder. Rounding out this group of patients is KARA SOUDERS (Zoe Levin, “Arrested Development,” “The Way Way Back”), a “mean girl” cheerleader who shares a room with Charlie. Although her heart is failing, she is realizing for the first time that she actually has one and begins opening it up to her new friends.
The pediatric ward is run by NURSE JACKSON (Spencer), a caregiver with a take-no-prisoners approach to helping these teens get the most from their lives. Little do they know that she puts her own life second, and her stern manner hides her incredible heart that secretly makes their lives more ordinary. Overseeing much of their treatment is DR. JACK McANDREW (Annable), the country’s top pediatric surgeon. Also attending to the patients is the naïve and gullible Nurse BRITTANY DOBLER (newcomer Rebecca Rittenhouse), who allows the teens to get away with things they probably shouldn’t. These mentors’ lives are more complicated than they seem. They are the guiding force for these teens, but in their own personal lives, things might not be so easy.
These teens form a life-changing bond and singular kinship, represented by their red hospital bands. They face shared experiences, both uplifting and challenging, tragic and comedic, ordinary and out-of-the-ordinary – and they do it together. When you’re brought to the brink, that’s when you laugh the loudest, love the strongest and cry the hardest…This is the story of the RED BAND SOCIETY.
RED BAND SOCIETY is produced by ABC Studios in association with Amblin Television. The series is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, Margaret Nagle (“Boardwalk Empire,” “The Good Lie”), Justin Falvey (“The Americans,” “Falling Skies”), Darryl Frank (“The Americans,” “Falling Skies”) and Sergio Aguero (“No Reservations,” “Y Tu Mama Tambien”). Nagle wrote the pilot and developed the project from the award-winning Spanish series “Polseres Vermelles.” Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (GLEE, “American Horror Story”) directed the pilot.
