Should You Stream or Skip It? A Guide to Your Next Watch

Malpractice, a gripping new medical drama crafted by former NHS junior doctor Grace Ofori-Attah, makes its way to Hulu following its 2023 premiere on ITV. The series, spanning five episodes, features Niamh Algar as Dr. Lucinda Edwards, a seasoned ER physician in West Yorkshire. Dr. Edwards finds herself under intense scrutiny when her actions during a tumultuous and devastating night shift attract the attention of medical investigators. As the investigation unfolds, hidden truths surface, plunging Dr. Edwards into a whirlwind of professional challenges and personal dilemmas.

MALPRACTICE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? 

Opening Scene: The camera zooms in on Dr. Lucinda Edwards (Algar) as she dons her scrubs, readying herself for the demanding shift ahead with palpable determination.

The Overview: “On three, lift!” The emergency department at West Yorkshire Royal Hospital buzzes with urgency as a critical overdose situation unfolds. Dr. Lucinda Edwards is the lead physician, stepping up in the absence of her mentor, Dr. Leo Harris (James Purefoy), who had to leave early. As Lucinda begins treating the opioid overdose, assisted by junior doctor Ramya Morgan (Priyanka Patel), chaos erupts. A bloodied man enters the hospital, brandishing a gun and carrying an injured boy. Unfazed, Lucinda confronts the situation head-on, assuring the man of her intent to help.

With every trauma bay occupied, Dr. Edwards faces a critical decision: which patient should be relocated to make space for the gunshot victim? Amidst the urgency from Morgan and Nurse Beth Relph (Hannah Walters), Lucinda opts to focus on the boy, delegating the overdose treatment to Ramya. She instructs her to administer 800 micrograms of naloxone repeatedly until the patient stabilizes. Although the boy survives, the woman suffering from the overdose tragically does not.

As questions of accountability arise, Dr. Edwards becomes the subject of a formal complaint by the deceased patient’s father, Sir Anthony Owusu (Brian Bovell). She is summoned for a preliminary inquiry by the Medical Investigation Unit, represented by doctors Norma Callahan (Helen Behan) and George Adjei (Jordan Kouamé), the latter of whom is an old acquaintance from medical school. “You believed Dr. Morgan was competent enough to handle an overdose?” Initially straightforward, the inquiry’s questions begin to tighten, signaling the gravity of the situation.

At home, Lucinda’s husband Tom (Lorne MacFadyen) assures her everything will be fine. They play with their toddler daughter and try to ignore the inquiry. But pretty soon George is shadowing Dr. Edwards at work, and questioning the junior staff about her style. Luce makes a frantic call to someone she has saved under an alias in her personal phone. “If MIU keeps investigating, they’ll find out.”

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Well, medical dramas are a small screen perennial, and the current crop ranges from the iffy Doc to the insanely gripping Pitt. Malpractice adds a new wrinkle in that it’s as much about the medical professionals who investigate wrongdoing as it is doctors on the job And additionally to this first season of Malpractice, which was a smash hit in the UK, Hulu will also stream the second installment of the anthology medical drama, which stars Tom Hughes.   

Our Take: Watching Malpractice, we kept expecting Dr. Robby to walk around the corner. This is partly on us, because we’re obsessed with The Pitt, but parts of the predicament where Dr. Lucinda Edwards finds herself have also surfaced in HBO’s hit medical drama. And while Malpractice doesn’t utilize a real-time format, it presents its life-or-death moments in the emergency room with an effective blend of shouted jargon, staff scrambling to work over each other, and tight camera angles to ratchet up the tension. 

But Malpractice isn’t staying in the trauma bays. It’s the investigation Dr. Edwards finds herself a target of that will take up the bulk of this series, since it’s already clear that while Lucinda is an excellent doctor, her decisions in the seconds surrounding her opioid patient’s death were made under some kind of duress. There is information moving around underneath her professional standing, and we’re not saying that’s automatically incriminating, but rather that it’s the kind of intriguing angle doctor shows which stay in the ER don’t usually incorporate. We’re very psyched to see how this plays out for Lucinda. We believe in this doctor, but want to know more.  

Performance Worth Watching: Niamh Algar is just so great in Malpractice. Immediately, we both trust her decisions and have plenty of questions, and Algar deftly maintains that delicate balance. This is also yet another spot for us to shout out her performance in Raised by Wolves, the cancellation of which we’ll never get over.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: With the Medical Investigation Unit breathing down her neck, Lucinda is becoming more and more paranoid. What happens at the end of this lead episode of Malpractice will not help her relax. 

Sleeper Star: Hannah Walters does fine work on Malpractice as Beth Relph, a senior-level nurse who works in the A&E with Dr. Edwards. You might recognize Walters from A Thousand Blows, also on Hulu, where she does similarly fine work as Eliza Moody of the Forty Elephants Gang. 

Most Pilot-y Line: “Sounds like a straightforward decision,” the investigating doctor tells Lucinda in her interview. Then things go sideways. “However, a number of witnesses state you struggled to make this decision…” 

Our Call: Stream It! Maybe as a side-watch between episodes of The Pitt? Niamh Algar is terrific at the heart of Malpractice, as the doctor’s professional work and personal life come under intense scrutiny.

How To Watch Malpractice

If you’re new to Hulu, you can get started with a 30-day free trial on the streamer’s basic (with ads) plan. After the trial period, you’ll pay $10.99/month. If you want to upgrade to Hulu ad-free, it costs $18.99/month.

If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the Disney+ Bundles, all of which include Hulu. These bundles start at $12.99/month for ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu and goes up to $32.99/month for Disney+, Hulu, and Max, all ad-free.

Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is a Chicago-based writer. A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.