WhileSt Denis Medicalhas only just begun, the mockumentary sitcom’s surprising ratings prove season 1 has already found its footing.St Denis Medical’s cast of charactersare a likable group of eccentric doctors, nurses, and administrators, and the show’s plentiful laughs are no surprise considering the titular institution is staffed by alumni fromThe Goldbergs,In Living Color, andSuperstore. However,St Denis Medical’s season 2 renewalstill arrived impressively fast, even considering its reliably solid cast.
St Denis Medicalearned a superb score of 89% from critics onRotten Tomatoes, proving that the series isn’t struggling with reviewers. A workplace comedy that follows the hardworking doctors, fresh-faced interns, and veteran nurses who keep the eponymous hospital running,St Denis Medicalbalances moments of real medical drama with broad character comedy. The result is something likeScrubscrossed withThe Office, a combination few sitcom fans could afford to miss. Season 1’s ratings appear to bear this out.
St Denis Medical’s Ratings Are Substantially Higher Than Abbott Elementary Season 1
St Denis Medical’s Premiere Earned 4.75 Million Viewers
After only nine episodes,St Denis Medicalis already doing a lot better than the last mockumentary workplace sitcom to debut on a major network, and that series was already fairly successful in its own right. WhenABC’s acclaimed hit sitcomAbbott Elementarybegan airing on December 2021, its premiere earned an impressive audience of 2.88 million. In contrast, NBC’sSt Denis Medicalseason 1, episode 1, “Welcome to St. Denis,” earned a whopping 3.75 million viewers in November 2024.
As if this weren’t impressive enough,St Denis Medicalhas kept outdoing the already impressive ratings ofAbbott Elementaryseason 1 as season 1 has continued.St Denis Medicalhasn’t dipped under 2.35 million in the following episodes, whereasAbbott Elementaryhad a season 1 low of only 2.31 million viewers.Abbott Elementary’s season 1 high was 3.45 million viewers for episode 2, “Light Bulb,” whereasSt. Denis Medicalearned 3.05 and 3.11 million viewers apiece for episodes 2 and 3, “A Very Robust Personal Life” and “Weird Stuff you’re able to’t Explain.”
St Denis Medical’s Ratings Can’t Beat Its Predecessor
Superstore’s Premiere Earned A Whopping 7.21 Million Viewers
Although the ratings ofSt Denis Medicalare impressive when compared to those ofAbbott Elementary, the sitcom struggles when put up against its predecessor. WhileSt Denis Medicalshares the same creator asSuperstore, Justin Spitzer,Superstore’s pilot episode earned a massive 7.21 million viewers back in November 2015. Unlike a lot of sitcoms,Superstore’s ratings didn’t peak with its premiere. Instead, the show’s most-watched episode aired a year later when season 2, episode 1, “Olympics,” earned 9.67 million viewers.
LikeSuperstore,St Denis Medicalis a workplace sitcom centered around the antics of a group of colleagues.
As impressive as that viewership was,St Denis Medical’s strengthsmean the show has nothing to worry about. LikeSuperstore,St Denis Medicalis a workplace sitcom centered around the antics of a group of colleagues whose personal and professional lives are often messily intertwined. However,St Denis Medicalhas something its predecessor was missing. The show’s hospital setting injects real stakes into its day-to-day drama, whereasSuperstore’s low-stakes story takes place in a big-box chain store.
St Denis Medicalhas more opportunities for pathos and poignancy thanks to its hospital setting, something that was underlined in episode 9, “You Gotta Have A Plan.” As two characters waited by a patient’s deathbed with their bickering family, the quirky executive director Joyce tried to decide whether Alex and Ron should be the executor of her estate when she died. This plot managed to balance moments of genuine sadness with absurd comic relief, proving thatSt Denis Medicalhas the makings of a classic sitcom.
St Denis Medical’s Season 1 Ratings Made Its Season 2 Renewal Inevitable
The NBC Sitcom Proves That The Mockumentary Format Is Back
The mockumentary format was massive in the world of sitcoms throughout the late ‘00s and the early 2010s as everyone clamored to replicateThe Office’s successful formula.Modern FamilyandParks and Recreationwere both huge successes, but the market soon became flooded by too many similarly self-aware efforts. Fortunately, hits likeAbbott ElementaryandSt Denis Medicalrevived mockumentary sitcomsten years after high-profile flops likeThe Comedians,Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous, andthe muppets.killed it.
St. Denis Medical Already Has A Toxic Romance That Shouldn’t Go Anywhere
St. Denis Medical is a roaring success for NBC, but a potential romantic plot between two main characters needs to be abandoned immediately.
LikeAbbott Elementary, St Denis Medicalis a solid workplace comedy first and foremost and a mockumentary second. Although the show makes use of its fourth-wall-leaning premise, its writing is strong enough to stand up on its own without any self-referential gimmicks. As such,St Denis Medicalshould continue to succeed with critics and audiences throughout season 1and may even garner ratings as high asSuperstore’s later seasons in the coming months. After all,St Denis Medicalhas all the ingredients it needs to become a major sitcom success.
