How The Resident’s Netflix Success Could Lead To A Revival

After ending with six seasons in 2023, The Resident‘s move to Netflix has made it a hit once again. The medical drama, which was created for Fox by Amy Holden Jones, Hayley Schore, and Roshan Sethi, takes place at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital and follows a hard-nosed resident who is disillusioned with the business of medicine, as well as the staff that surrounds him. The show earned solid reviews and was a decent hit for the first few seasons. However, the ratings began to drop in the fourth season and the show never recovered, ending for good with season 6.

Although The Resident season 7 was never renewed at Fox, the medical show became a success on the streamer, landing among their most-watched English-language shows in the United States in March 2024. Such success is not unheard of with canceled series or overlooked movies suddenly finding an audience among the binge-watching audience of the platform. With The Resident becoming a surprise hit as well, some have wondered if it means there is a future for the show.

Will The Resident Ever Come Back?

Netflix Success Could Help Resurrect The Medical Drama

It remains to be seen if this newfound streaming success will help the medical drama return to the airwaves. However, Netflix set a precedent for boosting acquired shows when the USA Network legal drama Suits, which ended in 2019, became a mega-hit on the streamer in 2023. This led NBC to develop a pilot for the spinoff Suits: L.A., which is set to star Arrow‘s Stephen Amell.

Ultimately, the return of the show will depend on the network and the availability of the cast. Should The Resident flagship show come back, it would need to feature the return of the title star, Conrad Hawkins (Matt Czuchry), even if other cast members with busy schedules don’t come back. Czuchry’s one credited role following the end of the show was appearing as Dexter Harding Jr. in American Horror Story: Delicate, which will be ending in April, so that could at least provide him with the perfect opportunity to reprise the role of Conrad Hawkins should producers move quickly.

It will likely take more than landing in the Top 10 for The Resident to return in some way, shape, or form, however. The show had dropped out of the top 10 on Netflix by April 2024, but more word of mouth could see it return at any time. The show’s cancellation was so recent that if it was brought back, it would almost serve as an extra-long hiatus rather than an actual end to the long-running drama.

Everything The Resident Cast Has Done Since The End Of The Show

The Stars Of The Resident Haven’t Rested On Their Laurels

While Czuchry would likely be key to properly reviving the show, the rest of the ensemble cast hasn’t yet been entirely scattered. The majority of the main cast from season 6 has taken on projects since the show ended, but they haven’t necessarily found new long-term roles that will lock them into contracts that could prevent them from returning for a revival. This includes Bruce Greenwood, who already starred in the Netflix horror show The Fall of the House of Usher, which found success but was a miniseries that has already ended and won’t complicate his schedule moving forward.

Manish Dayal may not be quite as available, as he was cast in a recurring role in the Walking Dead spinoff Daryl Dixon, which shoots in France and could very well be renewed for further seasons with the actor on board. However, other cast members have not yet officially boarded major projects, perhaps partially due to the 2023 Screen Actors Guild strike. Stars for whom The Resident is still their most recent credit include Jane Leeves, Jessica Lucas, and Anuja Joshi. Below, see the biggest roles taken by the remaining main cast members of season 6 since the show ended:

The Resident cast largely being available speaks to the complicated post-strike schedules of many actors. The show united a unique ensemble that mixed up-and-coming stars with entertainment icons who had huge roles under their belts, including Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Andrew McCarthy, who are known for The Cosby Show and Pretty in Pink respectively. Even if they couldn’t all return, it could be important for a spinoff or revival to find new stars who would be able to reach their level.

What The Resident Cast Has Said About Season 7

The Connection The Cast Of The Resident Have Could Help Its Continuation

While some of the cast of the series moved on to other things, when it comes to the potential for The Resident season 7 actually happening, many of the actors seem to be on the same page. The sentiment among the cast of the show since it ended was that it was a great experience filled with meaningful relationships among the ensemble. For this reason, many of the actors have expressed a passionate desire to return for more.

Before the cancellation was made official and when the show’s future remained uncertain, actor Ian Anthony Dale talked about the warm environment of the show and the connection among the cast, hoping that they would be able to continue into The Resident season 7:

I had such a great time on that show… The cast was extremely welcoming and so kind. I felt very comfortable there and it was a character and a job that I thoroughly enjoyed getting to experience and I’m holding out hope that they put the sets back up and give it another go for one more season, but fingers crossed.

While Dale’s hope for The Resident‘s future seemed to be dashed with the cancellation, some cast members have continued to hold onto the idea that there could be more to come. Malcolm Jamal Warner, who played AJ Austin, suggested that, if the show is given the chance to continue, there would not be an issue with getting the ensemble back together (via Decider):

“I think one of the best things about that show is how much we as a cast loved and still love one another. I think we would all jump at the opportunity to be able to work together again,”

Source: Netflix, Decider

The Resident

The Resident is a medical drama that follows a senior resident named Conrad Hawkins and other staff members at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital. The series provides a look into the practices of the healthcare industry that are frequently scrutinized by those who must participate, as well as the personal lives of the staff as they attempt to juggle an increasingly difficult work/life balance.

Cast

Matt Czuchry , Emily VanCamp , Manish Dayal , Shaunette Renée Wilson , Bruce Greenwood , Merrin Dungey , Melina Kanakaredes , Moran Atias , Malcolm-Jamal Warner , Glenn Morshower

Release Date

January 21, 2018

Seasons

6

Network

FOX

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu

Writers

Amy Holden Jones , Hayley Schore

Showrunner

Andrew Chapman

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