Heading Into ST. DENIS MEDICAL’s First Holiday Episode, David Alan Grier Peers Deeply Into The Soul of Doctor Ron

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede David Alan Grier’s cynical character Doctor Ron Leonard on the CTV sitcom ST. DENIS MEDICAL was asked a simple question: does he like his job? “I used to,” Doctor Ron replied, somewhat enigmatically. So, in a recent panel session with the main cast of ST. DENIS MEDICAL – which airs its first holiday episode on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app – Grier was asked to elaborate on Doctor Ron’s behalf. What is it that Doctor Ron used to love about his job, that just isn’t there any more? “Well, I think he was a real crusader,” explained Grier, whose portrayal of Doctor Ron just earned him a Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. “I think Ron was like, ‘I am going to change medicine. I am going to change the way healthcare is given. I’m going to be a hero to these people and heal everyone.’ And he has broken down.” And what led him along that path? “In reality, doctors spend sometimes two-thirds of their time filling out forms, like a policeman,” Grier said. “You arrest somebody, then you have to go and write the police report for two days. And I just have seen that people who don’t have any money are falling through the cracks, they don’t get the same level of healthcare. Not to get too deep, but I think that’s what has really broken him. You know, a doctor, a young doctor, they’re gods. But he’s a fallen guy. He’s just, ‘whatever.’ He’s like that teacher, you know, who says, ‘I’m going to teach all the kids how to read,’ and 20 years later, ‘I don’t care.’ ” At this point Grier realized that he was maybe sounding a bit too serious for a discussion about ST. DENIS MEDICAL, which is a very funny sitcom. So he quickly shouted with over-the-top comic enthusiasm, “thanks for the question!” To be fair to Doctor Ron, he is not without caring for some of his colleagues, particularly Alex, the supervising nurse played by Allison Tolman. Ron is constantly pushing the workaholic Alex to go home and spend time with her own family, trying to assure her that the hospital isn’t going to fall apart if she leaves on time to attend her kid’s school play. “Allison’s character is like, ‘we can’t leave or else everything will burn down,’ ” Grier said. “While my character is like, well … ” “Let it burn,” Tolman chimed in. “I think my character cares too much, so I would say that Dr. Ron perhaps cares too little.” Grier added, “honestly, I look at Allison’s character more like the way that Doctor Ron was. Ron was a true believer. But he has also lost his family. His kids are kind of estranged. He lives alone eating TV dinners. I’m trying to help her not wind up like me, you know? So I think that I do have a much more paternal view of Allison’s character.” And what about Joyce, the hospital administrator played by Wendi McLendon-Covey? “Joyce is gone,” Grier said with a laugh. “Joyce and Ron knew each other when she was still a doctor, when we were young and impressionable. So I’ve seen her disease, as I say, her psychosis, as it developed from a tic. Now it is full blown. She just cares violently about the wrong things. Obsessive perhaps? Yes.” On that very subject, McLendon-Covey was eager to talk about the holiday episode, which is titled “Ho-Ho-Hollo.” “Our holiday episode is really good,” McLendon-Covey said. “It’s a little bit silly, but Joyce is in competition with another hospital. They don’t know that, nor do they care. She is, once again, putting her faith in things that are stupid, like, you know what? If we build up our Instagram following with a viral video, that’s really going to put this hospital on the map. So we do this big production number, and it turned out so well.” Hmmm, is that Wendi McLendon-Covey saying that, or her character Joyce saying that? Watch the holiday episode of ST. DENIS MEDICAL to find out! billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv