Spoilers ahead for the Season 4 premiere of The Resident on Fox.
The Resident returned to Fox to face the same problem as primetime's other biggest medical dramas: COVID-19, which was only mentioned in the Season 3 finale. The good news is that the Season 4 premiere ended on a high note, and The Resident didn't throw in a last-minute twist to ruin the nuptials between Nic and Conrad. There was no bait-and-switch from the trailers, and fans were rewarded after four years of ups and downs with a sweet wedding. But will they get to stay happy, and is the plan for them what fans want? The executive producer weighed in.
Executive producer Andrew Chapman opened up about what to expect from Conrad and Nic in the fourth season of The Resident, and all signs point toward smooth sailing on the relationship front for the big romance of the show. Speaking with The Wrap, Chapman said:
This has been our central love story — it was on and off at the beginning of our show and then it became on, now they get married. So what we really wanted to do is a couple of things. One, Nic is a nurse and Conrad is a doctor, so what is that sort of complicated relationship between a married couple — one is a doctor, one is a nurse — how will that play going forward? And also, just the idea of what does it look like to be a married couple in a workplace and how do you navigate those things because there are lots of married doctors and nurse out there. And it’s not always an easy thing. I can’t do the big reveals of what’s coming for the season — but I can tell you that there are some serious ups and downs for them in married life. We just shot our Episode 5 and it’s all about Nic and Conrad, it’s about their relationship, it’s all about what happens to them and it’s going to be explosive.
Would it really be a romance in a primetime drama if there weren't ups and downs and explosive twists? Nic and Conrad dealt with their share of complications before they tied the knot, and saying "I do" doesn't mean that they're past any and all hardships. I just hope that whatever happens that's so "explosive" doesn't involve an actual explosion coming between the newlyweds! I watch enough TV to be concerned whenever things seem to be going too well for a pairing.
That said, executive producer Andrew Chapman dropped some reassuring details that indicate The Resident won't follow in the footsteps of shows that tried to keep things interesting by throwing obstacles at happy couples for the sake of drama. In fact, fans who might have been hoping for a dramatic roller coaster of emotional twists between Nick and Conrad in Season 4 might be disappointed, while viewers who want a solid relationship are in for a pleasant surprise. Chapman explained:
We figured that it would kind of be a breath of fresh air to allow Nic and Conrad to get together, love each other and to not play the slightly — this is no offense to other shows — but a little bit of the jump-the-shark of ‘Let’s find another problem for their relationship so they can break up again!’ We were like, no, how about this: how about we have a man and a woman who treat each other as equals, who respect what each other does, who love each other and honor each other and let’s see what that relationship looks like in a work environment. And in a work environment with incredible life-or-death stakes every episode. So I think what we did — and again, very consciously — for this season is Nic and Conrad are together, they love each other, they have each other’s back, they are always honoring each other and we’re going to save the up-and-down soap for other characters.
Andrew Chapman didn't rule out some bumps in the road down the line if The Resident continues beyond Season 4, and some soapy drama is still on the way courtesy of some other characters, but it seems that the happy couple will at least get to remain happy with each other. All things considered, they deserve some happiness in their relationship now more than ever.
Their plans for their wedding were ruined by the arrival of the pandemic, and COVID resulted in the deaths of some people they knew from the hospital. The world of The Resident has moved past COVID, much like over on The Good Doctor as opposed to medical dramas like Chicago Med and Grey's Anatomy, so viewers can count on seeing the next stage of the Conrad/Nic saga unfold without PPE blocking their faces. Interestingly, The Resident actually donated its medical supplies to a real hospital battling COVID back in the spring.
For now, you can look forward to new episodes of The Resident on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. The show has added a former Gotham villain to play a hot-tempered new character, so this should be a season not to miss. For more of what to watch, be sure to swing by our 2021 winter and spring premiere schedule.
