Richard Madden to Star as Action Hero Doctor in ‘Trauma’
It’s 'Bodyguard' meets 'The Pitt' in medical hostage thriller 'Trauma.'
Paramount+ has a new direction, and it will commission shows that fit the new brief, no matter how ridiculous they sound. After decades of a slow roll collapse, the company has taken a hard turn into programming celebrating toxic masculinity as it is refashioned into American state television. Decades under Les Moonves took what was once the Tiffany Network and turned it into a haven for right-wing copaganda shows like NCIS, CSI, FBI, CIA, and other alphabet soup shows. But since the change in ownership, the network has only gotten more into celebrating male violence with the Yellowstone franchise, Mobland, The Agency, and the forthcoming Laird, a “Yellowstone but set in Scotland” written and produced by the team behind Mobland and The Agency.
The latest addition to the Paramount lineup continues this trend of glorifying violent men with Trauma. Unfortunately, the new series is a hospital drama.
(Get it? Trauma, like the ward? Someone very high up mistook this for the height of cleverness. At least whoever tried to excuse it as a “working title” in the press release recognized this was deeply embarrassing.)
It’s a choice of “tried and true TV trope” that only serves to highlight just how ludicrous it is to insist on glorifying gun culture no matter the scenario. Moreover, the series’ star, Richard Madden, plays a completely unhinged concept of a character – a Royal Marine-turned-surgeon who is dedicated to saving lives, until he has to start taking them. That the series cast Madden – best known for his role in the BBC’s Bodyguard, a wacko pro-Reform series where the big twist was “look at these libs being owned” – feels deliberate, a specific style of virtue signaling, where the virtue being signaled is bigotry.
Here’s the series synopsis:
When terrorists seize a busy London Hospital and take the Prime Minister hostage during surgery, former Royal Marines medic turned ER doctor Jim Marchant must fight his way through the building to save everyone inside. As he takes the hospital floor by floor, the balance of power shifts—and the building becomes a deadly battle of strategy, nerve and survival.
Madden stars as Marchant; no other cast has been announced at this juncture. Further announcements are expected closer to the start of filming.
The series is created by Geoff Bussetil (Slow Horses), who will also serve as lead writer. The series is directed by Mobland’s Daniel Syrkin with Chrissy Skinns and Chris Kennedy serving as co-producers. Madden and Syrkin both executive produce, alongside Ben Pugh and Ben Cavey for 42.
Trauma is expected to begin production before the end of 2026, and debut as part of the 2027-2028 TV season.
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