Among the series NBC is set to move forward with for next season is Do No Harm, a drama that puts Rescue Me's Steven Pasquale in a well-deserved leading role as a neurosurgeon with a split personality. While the premise sounds a bit like NBC's short-lived drama My Own Worst Enemy, I'm hoping this one has a bit more success than the Christian Slater-starring series.
NBC posted the official description for the drama. which will have Pasquale playing a doctor who, until recently, has been able to keep his dangerous alternative personality "Ian Price" in check. But the medicine isn't working anymore, which means Ian's able to come out and play each night at the same time.
Dr. Jason Cole (Steven Pasquale, "Rescue Me") is a highly respected neurosurgeon who has it all – a lucrative career, confident charm, the gift of compassion. But he also has a deep, dark secret. One morning when he wakes up disoriented in a wrecked hotel room amidst several near-naked women he's never seen before, he knows one thing: it's happening again.Every night at the same hour, something inside Jason changes, leaving him almost unrecognizable – seductive, devious, borderline sociopathic. This new man is his dangerous alternate personality who goes by the name of ‘Ian Price.' For years he's battled Ian, keeping him in check with a powerful experimental sedative. But now his – their – body has developed a resistance to the serum, setting Ian free once again. And to make matters worse, after being suppressed for so long, Ian's hell-bent on taking revenge on his oppressor. With everyone Jason cares about at risk – patients, friends, coworkers and even the woman he loves – he's got to stop Ian once and for all. Will they find some common ground, or will they bring each other down? Hell hath no fury like an alter ego scorned.
Below is a promotional image for the series, which shows Pasquale as a doctor, and his reflection showing the darker side of his nature…
And here are a couple of pictures from the pilot…
It looks like he might be trying to inject himself with his "serum" in the second one.
I have high hopes for this series, largely because Pasquale was one of my favorite actors in Rescue Me (a series full of great actors). On the premise though, I could go either way. I remember being intrigued by My Own Worst Enemy and the Jekyll and Hyde nature of that one, and things didn't work out so well for that one. Plus, factor in the recent cancellation of Awake, and I have reservations about feeling especially optimistic for dramas with these kinds of twists involved.
