Kathryn Morris UK

It’s been nearly two days since the news of Kathryn’s new project broke so let’s collate all the info we have on it and run through some talking points:

• Show name:  Surgeon General / The Surgeon General
• Kathryn’s role:  Lydia Ferrari (aka LaFerrari to us at KM UK )
• Lydia’s job title:  Chief Of Staff to the Surgeon General
• Co-stars:  Jason Isaacs (Awake), Beth Riesgraf (Leverage) and Katherine McNamara.
• TV network:  CBS
• Filming location:  Atlanta, Georgia
• Writer/Creator:  Samuel Baum (Lie To Me)
• Pilot director:  Rod Lurie (Resurrecting The Champ)
• Premise:  Dr John Sherman (Jason Isaacs) is the Surgeon General of the United States, the nation’s doctor.  He has to deal with the political side of the medical profession, taking on government for the sake of the people.

Kathryn is not the lead actor in the show, that’s Jason Issacs as the Surgeon General Dr John Sherman.  The Chief Of Staff to the Surgeon General is a management role, second in command to the General.  Incumbents in both roles hold military senior military ranks.  The Surgeon General works in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC), based in Washington.

Lydia Ferrari is described as “fiercely loyal chief of staff and long-time friend, who was close to Sherman’s late wife. The consummate political operative, Ferrari admires Sherman and runs interference when he won’t play ball with their White House superiors” (THR).

Although talked about as a medical show because of the obvious doctor element, Surgeon General is more likely to be more of a political drama.  No doubt there’ll be some investigative work as Beth Riesgraf plays Dr. Page Wyatt, a micro-organisms expert.   TV have a habit of expanding characters roles in to investigators beyond the scope of the real job, see the CSI franchise for prime examples of that.  It is not going to be an E.R., House or Bones.

Continue reading »