We're officially in the spring of the 2025 TV schedule, which usually means TV fans on pins and needles about the fates of their favorite network TV shows. That's not the case for NBC's St. Denis Medical, which was renewed way back in January. With the Season 1 finale set to bring the chaos on April 29, I talked to the cast about the relief coming from that guarantee of more installments following however the last episode this spring ends.
Only six episodes had aired when St. Denis Medical scored its early renewal in January, not long after the sitcom earned a couple of Critics Choice Award nominations. Months later, it remains one of the only shows that NBC has renewed out of the 2024-2025 TV schedule so far.
So, when I spoke with the stars ahead of the final Season 1 episode, I had to know: how did it feel to get such an early renewal? Wendi McLendon-Covey and David Alan Grier, who respectively play Joyce and Ron, were paired in their interview, and the former Goldbergs leading lady said:
Oh god, it was incredible! It was incredible. We finished filming in September, and then we didn't premiere until November, so we were just kind of sitting there going, 'I hope people like this.' And then the response was so enormous. Not only did we get an early renewal, but we got a Critics Choice nomination after only four episodes. [laughs] Sir Grier got his own nomination, so that was pretty incredible. Wouldn't you say, David?
St. Denis Medical was nominated for two Critics Choice Awards shortly into Season 1: Best Comedy Series and Best Actor in a Comedy Series for David Alan Grier. The actor, who also appeared in Elsbeth as a killer funeral director this spring, jokingly said "yes, for some" in response to his coworker saying his nomination was "incredible," then sincerely shared his take:
It was great! It was nice. It was definitely a vote of confidence. We get to do more shows, and I can't wait to get started again.
Ron and Joyce were paired up for a fun subplot in the penultimate episode of Season 1, with their increasingly toasty roasts of each other unexpectedly resulting in a big donation to the hospital. It didn't have the glitz and glamor of Josh Lawson's wild dance number as Dr. Bruce, but it was a fun showcase of the actors together.
I also speak with Allison Tolman and Kahyun Kim, whose characters also had some fun stories in the second-to-last episode of the season. (You can stream it now with a Peacock subscription.) Alex, played by Tolman, conflicted with her husband about whether they should have a third child. The finale will shed more light on that stalemate, and according to the Fargo vet, they actually filmed the finale earlier than a lot of other episodes. Confirming that they finished shooting before learning about the renewal, she said:
[We filmed it] before. We didn't know that. We were done shooting. [laughs] We left the show not knowing if we were going to come back. We hoped! We believed. We filmed the finale, and we also filmed the finale before we filmed an additional five episodes. The finale is not the last thing we shot. We filmed a little out of it. You're getting things sprinkled a little out of order.
Kahyun Kim's Serena makes up one half of St. Denis Medical's will they/won't they pairing, although Matt (Mekki Leeper) seems to be the only one in the "will they?" camp as of the last episode before the finale. While it remains to be seen if Serena will ever be on the same page, Kim's sentiments about the renewal echo those of her fellow cast members. She shared:
It was very nice. Obviously, as you can imagine, it was probably one of the happiest [reveals] ever. I'm sure it'll just get happier and happier. But also, I'm not going to lie – when people ask me if I was surprised, I'm always like, 'Nope, I kind of assumed.' [laughs] The show is so good. We all have eyes, so I wasn't surprised, I would have to say. I just kind of knew it in my gut, but also it's show business, so it's all always nice to hear and [be] reassured.
The actors of course aren't the only ones to be relieved about being guaranteed another season when there were still months left before the finale. Co-creator and co-showrunner Eric Ledgin, who worked on Superstore and American Auto elsewhere on NBC before St. Denis, said:
It's huge just on a personal level, in terms of my own gratitude and feeling like I know what I'm doing for the next year, and that I can keep working with all the wonderful people that I work with now. But also just to be able to think about the show, not just in the abstract of if we get another season – there's a different thing about knowing 'This is happening. What are we doing?' That really kicks you into gear in terms of waking up in the middle of the night and being like, 'Oh, this is one idea!' It's just gonna make the show better in the long run.
So, why have I said that "chaos" is coming to St. Denis before the end of Season 1? Well, NBC's description of the finale reveals that "A storm causes chaos in the Emergency Department," with Alex "torn between an obligation to her husband and her co-workers’ needs" and Joyce "on a spending spree" with money that she presumably secured with Dr. Ron at the end of the penultimate episode.
Tune in to NBC on Tuesday, April 29 at 8 p.m. ET for the Season 1 finale of St. Denis Medical, called "This Place is Our Everything." You can also stream the installment next day on Peacock, as well as every other episode of Season 1. NBC hasn't announced when the mockumentary will be back for Season 2, but at least fans of this particular show can head into the finale with a guarantee of more.
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