‘Lenox Hill’ Follows the ‘Dramatic, Inspiring & Sensitive’ Moments of a Hospital
Healthcare workers are finally getting the recognition (and nightly applause) they deserve. But filmmakers Adi Barash and Ruthie Shatz were interested in spotlighting doctors before the global pandemic thrust them into the news. Their documentary series Lenox Hill follows two brain surgeons, an emergency room doc, and an ob-gyn chief resident at the New York hospital named in the title.
“We are always looking for powerful human stories,” Shatz says, “and there’s no doubt that the healthcare environment engulfs many dramatic, inspiring, and sensitive moments.”
With remarkable access to both the patients they treat every day and the doctors’ own personal lives, Lenox Hill is the real-life version of network medical dramas like Grey’s Anatomy—with admittedly a lot less hooking up in the on-call rooms. The show takes us inside the OR as neurosurgeons David Langer and John Boockvar (above left) operate on people’s brains. We see Dr. Amanda Little-Richardson deliver babies while navigating a tricky pregnancy of her own. And in the ER, Dr. Mirtha Macri, also pregnant, does her best to help the city’s least fortunate patients.
“It’s our hope that we can provide real-life role models for young people,” Shatz says, “and ask the question, ‘What does it really mean to take meaningful action, to be a thoughtful person, and to take steps to contribute to society and truly enact change?'”
Lenox Hill, Series Premiere, Wednesday, June 10, Netflix