Dr. Death (2021 TV series)
Dr. Death is an American crime drama miniseries created by Patrick Macmanus, based on the podcast of the same name, focusing on the titular Christopher Duntsch, a neurosurgeon who became infamous for permanently mutilating his patients, killing two of them. The miniseries was released on Peacock on July 15, 2021. Premise. An arrogant, sinister doctor treats his Hippocratic Oath about the same way he treats his patients. As his malignant narcissism and psychopathy escalate, his fellow surgeons and a young assistant district attorney set out to stop him. Production. Development. On October 3, 2018, NBCUniversal  announced that Patrick Macmanus would adapt the "Dr. Death" podcast into a limited series and produce with Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch executive produce via Escape Artists, as well as Hernan Lopez and Marshall Lewy. On September 17, 2019, NBCUniversal announced that the series would be distributed on its streaming service Peacock. In January 2020, it was announced Stephen Frears would direct the first two episodes. In September 2020, Frears was replaced by Maggie Kiley. Casting. On August 9, 2019, Jamie Dornan, Alec Baldwin, and Christian Slater were cast as Dr. Christopher Duntsch, Robert Henderson, and Randall Kirby , respectively. In March 2020, Grace Gummer, Molly Griggs, AnnaSophia Robb and Chris Sullivan joined the cast of the series. On October 12, 2020, Joshua Jackson and Dominic Burgess joined the cast of the series, replacing Dornan and Sullivan respectively. Later in the same month, Hubert Point-Du Jour and Maryann Plunkett were cast in undisclosed capacities and character name roles. On February 12, 2021 Carrie Preston joined the cast. Release. On May 17, 2021, alongside the release of an official trailer, it was announced that the series is scheduled to premiere in the summer of 2021. The series premiered on  July 15, 2021 with an eight-episode release. In Canada the show debuted on Showcase on September 12 Reception. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 92% approval rating with an average score of 7.40/10 based on 24 critic reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though it keeps viewers in the waiting room a little too long, "Dr. Death" remains a horrifying tale of medical malpractice centered around Joshua Jackson's sufficiently unsettling performance." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 75 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Kristen Baldwin  of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the series an A- and wrote a review saying, "The what and the how are harrowing enough. "Dr. Death" succeeds by focusing on the people who fought for years to make sure Christopher Duntsch could do no more harm."