Transplant (TV series)


Transplant is a Canadian medical drama television series created by Joseph Kay, that premiered on CTV on February 26, 2020. The series centres on Bashir "Bash" Hamed, a doctor from Syria who came to Canada as a refugee during the Syrian Civil War, and is now rebuilding his career as a medical resident in the emergency department at York Memorial Hospital in Toronto. In June 2020, the series was renewed for a second season.

Cast and characters

Production

Although set in Toronto, the series is actually shot primarily in Montreal, with some location shooting in Toronto for establishing shots and other scenes which require a clear Toronto geographic marker.
Produced by Sphère Média Plus, the series entered production in June 2019. It will also be broadcast in French on Vrak.

International broadcast

In May 2020, NBC acquired the U.S. broadcast rights for the series.
TVNZ on demand offers the series for streaming

Reception

Critical response

of The Globe and Mail wrote that the show's positioning of Bash as an immigrant struggling for acceptance in his adopted country set the show apart from other medical dramas: "The plot device that kick-starts the series - and Episode 1 sure comes with a kick - might seem ludicrous, but it gets your attention and signals what themes in Transplant are about to blossom. It's about the terror and frustrations that immigrants experience, trying to use their skills in a new country. Much is made of Bashir's knowledge and knowhow being heightened by his experience working in a war zone with few resources. He can intuit medical problems and injuries faster than most of his colleagues. This does not, however, make him either distinctly heroic or arrogant. Given his situation, he's actually an extremely vulnerable man. He's not the irascible Dr. House, nor is he the spookily wise young virtuoso at the heart of The Good Doctor." He praised the series and Haq's lead performance in particular, ultimately concluding that "There are numerous medical dramas that move with a breathless, hectic pace and then stop for some romance or heart-warming moments. Transplant has some of that, but there is an astutely Canadian spin on the familiar. It gives grim articulation to the issues of immigration and the harried, under pressure immigrant experience. It's not entirely original, but certainly superior to the usual and disarmingly different."
For etalk, Christine Estima also favourably reviewed many aspects of the show, giving special praise to its choice to avoid positioning its two female doctors, June and Magalie, as competitive rivals, instead presenting them simply as doctors who respect and support each other even if they don't always agree.