Spoilers ahead for the penultimate episode of St. Denis Medical Season 1, called "Bruce-ic and the Mus-ic" and available streaming next day with a Peacock subscription.
St. Denis Medical took a break from the emergency department in the second-to-last episode of Season 1 in the 2025 TV schedule, but the whole crew was still on board. They were dressed to the nines for a fundraising gala, with Alex and husband Tim passive aggressively arguing about having another kid, Matt kinda sorta almost taking a step forward with Serena, and Dr. Bruce busting a move to "The Rockafeller Skank." Josh Lawson went all-out for his character's elaborate dance number, so I had to ask co-showrunner/co-creator Eric Ledgin and star Allison Tolman about the sequence.
While Dr. Ron and Joyce roasted each other as co-hosts, Bruce was determined to win this year's fundraiser dance contest by going solo and not holding back. This involved a wardrobe change from his gala suit, chopping a board in half with his hand, lighting effects, and a big finish with confetti. He seemed like he would have gotten a perfect score, if only Serena was willing to give out 10s as a judge. Alas for Bruce, the win went to Dr. Katie Tenon and her retired dad, Dr. Henry Tenon, for their sweet father/daughter dance while he was in a wheelchair.
Even Bruce was won over by the Tenons by the end, so apparently this just wasn't his year to win St. Denis' version of Dancing with the Stars, as shown in full mockumentary glory. When I spoke with co-showrunner and co-creator Eric Ledgin as part of NBC's St. Denis Medical junket ahead of the April 29 finale, he shared the origin of Dr. Bruce's dance:
The origin for that is truly just me wanting to normalize middle-aged men dancing. [laughs] It's something I feel strongly about. I always saw Bruce as someone who can move and likes to dance and likes the peacocking of it a little bit. And then we got some very funny pitches in the writers room about how that would manifest itself, and what's the most Bruce-like way to tell the story of him getting into that competition. It just kind of – I want to say wrote itself, but that just means the room full of people that make the show happen did a great job, and I was very happy with it.
Will Dr. Bruce's routine inspire middle-aged men across the world to start dancing more regularly? Only time will tell, but this episode did make me even happier that NBC renewed the comedy early on. Maybe the 2026 gala will be Bruce's redemption on the dance floor! The show wasted no time in earning awards recognition, so clearly the Season 1 approach has been working.
Of course, the dance number might not have been nearly as much fun if not for the reactions of Dr. Bruce's colleagues watching from the audience. Everybody was genuinely impressed and excited to see his moves, even Serena despite her unwillingness to give him a 10. It was very sweet and pretty funny, so I asked for her thoughts when speaking to Allison Tolman about the whole sequence:
It's so good. Sweet Josh. He had all these special dance rehearsals for that episode, and it's impossible not to have a lot of build up whenever you're going to be like, 'It's the scene where these people kiss, or this person dances, or they're going to sing!' [laughs] It's really hard not to be a build up, but he was a good sport about it, and we cheered him on as best we could.
Bruce got himself into some wild situations in the first batch of St. Denis Medical episodes, but the penultimate episode was evidently the only one that required dance rehearsals and choreography! It's also the only one that involved a shiny shirt instead of scrubs, so I was certainly on board. And according to Tolman, the rest of the cast didn't have to fake their excitement about the performance:
You're pretty much just capturing our actual reactions. [laughs] We're all genuinely that excited. It would have been much harder to have to look unimpressed, I think.
It's probably a safe bet that the upcoming Season 1 finale is going to be short on dancing, but I'm certainly more excited for that episode now than I was before the gala and Dr. Bruce's choreography. "Bruce-ic and the Mus-ic" was also St. Denis. Medical's return from a few weeks of reruns, so what's not to be excited about? For now, check out NBC's description for the finale:
A storm causes chaos in the Emergency Department. Alex is torn between an obligation to her husband and her co-workers’ needs. Joyce goes on a spending spree with found money.
The Season 1 finale of St. Denis Medical is called "This Place is Our Everything" and airs on Tuesday, April 29 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. With Season 2 already guaranteed thanks to the sitcom's early renewal, fans don't need to worry about the future even if Season 1 does end on a cliffhanger. Over hiatus, you'll also have the option of watching and rewatching earlier episodes streaming on Peacock.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
