‘St. Denis Medical’ EP Teases Joyce & Alex Juggling Messy Matters in Season 1 Finale

The first season of the critically adored medical comedy St. Denis Medical scrubs out with two cases of universally overextended caretakers that will feel very familiar to anyone who has ever tried to do the right thing the wrong-est way possible.

As usual, it’s money matters that are ailing chronically needy CEO Joyce (Wendi McLendon-Covey), who realizes she can actually buy the respect of her hospital staff with new equipment — even if it means exhausting the funds she hoped to use to elevate St. Denis’ reputation in the community. “A redeeming quality of Joyce is that she does have a plan,” laughs the NBC hit’s first-time showrunner Eric Ledgin. “It’s a little bit of a ‘Shoot for the moon, you’ll land among the stars’ thing.”

In this case, it’s more like flying too close to the sun. Once word gets out that the boss is approving requests for new CT scanners and such, Joyce is suddenly beloved. Never mind that she’s literally writing checks she won’t be able to cash if she keeps it up. “To get some extra money, for Joyce, this was like that first opportunity to be like, ‘Now I can make a move,'” continues Ledgin, adding that her inner-Oprah soon comes out and she begins to spontaneously give her colleagues their favorite things, some that didn’t even make the cut. ‘We shot even more of those scenes than ended up in the show. It was just so fun to watch the glee of her leaning into that [generosity].”

Glee is the last thing on the mind of harried nurse Alex (Allison Tolman), whose work-life imbalance becomes painfully acute after she ditches hubby Tim (Kyle Bornheimer) during his vasectomy to help in the ER. It’s not one of Alex’s best moments, and Ledgin knows that fans may be unwell with her decision. 

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“I am not sure I realized how frustrating it would feel [watching it],” he admits, crediting the writers’ room with “talking me out of a bad idea that I had for the ending,” as well. “It became so clear when they were like, ‘She can’t do this to Tim and it’s bordering on f**ked up!’ [But] it was nice to feel like we could create that real frustration of see someone almost do something that would probably be not so great for them and then ultimately — hopefully — redeem themselves.”

Which she does, thanks to a dose of reality from the last person any of us would expect, who shows Alex that it’s not healthy to put work before family. “A lot of people in these life-or-death jobs not only have to triage patients, they also have to do triage on their own lives sometimes,” offers Ledgin, “and learn to see what needs the most attention right now.” 

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“I think that that’s true not just for healthcare workers. I think that’s true for parents, working parents especially, because across the board, there’s no such thing as a work-life balance,” he adds. “It’s always out of balance or almost always and it’s just figuring out ‘Where am I needed now?'”

St. Denis Medical, Season 1 Finale, Tuesday, April 29, 8/7c, NBC