The name of Bill Lawrence shouldn't sound foreign to the ears of the most insatiable fans of television series. Just recently, its latest series “Shrinking” is available on Apple +, which has many and favorable points in common with the previous one “Ted Lasso”, also available on the platform. But most of all his comic and creative genius is linked to the timeless series of the early 2000s “ Scrubs ”, a television classic also recently available on Disney +, a must for those who unfortunately missed it.
What absolutely distinguishes Lawrence's expressive taste is his innate ability to mix comic verve with drama , which while contemplating situations bordering on the insane never falls short or irreverent and emerges even more strongly in all its charge emotional, giving moments of sincere transport and emotion.
If we had to use an expression that most of all would help us to define - albeit in broad terms - his style, it would be that of the " comfort show ", that is, that type of entertainment that we go looking for in moments of melancholy and discouragement, certain who will know how to cheer us up at least a little.
Let's take a closer look at the titles mentioned above: “Scrubs” was the first comedy set in a hospital, with a group of resident residents as the protagonists; not to be confused with equally well-known but more medical drama-oriented serials such as ER, “Grey's Anatomy” or “Dr. House".
Quoting the opening theme, with its famous expression "I'm no Superman", the series immediately captures a different spirit from the usual, where one wonders and sometimes jokes about life and death, but always in the middle of a fragile balance which is that of the responsibilities that future doctors will have to take into account in each situation. The result is a unique mix of winning elements , always enriched by that extraordinary lightness that the characters manage to convey in every single episode.
The wonderful trio of JD, Turk and Elliot shine for situations bordering on tears and laughter, as well as Nurse Carla, Chief Physician Kelso, Dr Cox, the orderly and many, many others. In each episode, one breathes the will to grow, in one's work and as human beings, which are opposed by feelings of cold lucidity and cynicism, which are also equally human, equally understandable if seen as a defense mechanism against a profession which, coupled with the opportunity it offers to save lives, it forces constant and unsustainable losses.
Created together with Jason Sudeikis - who is also the protagonist - the series "Ted Lasso" introduces us to a football coach called to British soil to try to get a team back on its feet . But we soon discover that these premises are only the result of a sinister strategy by Rebecca, the new manager, intent on giving the coup de grace to the football team to spite her ex-husband. Still, Ted's innate optimism will conquer everyone: always armed with his smile, even among the most contemptuous, he will gradually be able to instill in everyone a renewed hope, from Rebecca herself to veterans Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt. Because deep down, very often, you just need to believe it. And his extraordinary strength, clumsily hidden behind a mustache against the trend, will leave you even more surprised after discovering the pain it brings with it. A way to allow Lawrence to treat, after physical health with Scrubs, the more delicate aspects of the psyche.
The very recent “ Shrinking ” instead boasts the collaboration of Jason Segel and Brett Goldstein. Already from the title the theme of mental health comes back into discussion again this time in the foreground, in a labyrinth inside and outside of us that we can grasp in its countless ways starting from the theme song. The protagonist, Dr. Jimmy Laird , is a psychotherapist who, after many years, still can't deal with his wife's mourning. For this reason he will also suffer the abandonment of his daughter Alice, and the necessary comfort of his colleagues Gaby and Paul. It's further proof of how Lawrence knows in an absolutely special way to find a synthesis between comedy and drama that works without overflowing, giving us unforgettable characters from whom it will be difficult to separate in the last episode. In the same way, the shock therapy that Jimmy offers to his patients is brilliant, the same one he needs for himself combined with all the possible affection of those close to him to continue to resist.
John Scanu
