Mini TV Review – Malpractice (Season 2)

Recently I have been watching Malpractice; and it was really good! Created by Grace Ofori-Attah, and starring Tom Hughes, Helen Behan, and Selin Hizli; Malpractice is a medical drama TV series, and this time around (I genuinley had no idea there was more than one series) the focus is on psychiatric registrar Dr Ford, who gets embroiled in a major scandal, that kicks off after one of his patients commits suicide! The season kicked off with a bang, an episode filled with action and unforseen consequences, as a diagnosis goes wrong. The story then plays out more like a police investigation, as MIU investigate the death of Ford’s patient, and then uncover a more sinister matter. When the series starts out, it’s hard to not see this as a police show, given how MIU to the mind reads as Murder Investigation Unit (rather than Medical Investigation Unit), but also the two key investigators act more like police than medical professionals. Also the show runs into the trap of of casting it’s villains, with actors (like Rick Warden) known for playing untrustworthy/unsavoury characters. It would be nice to see a show where actors known for playing nice people, provide the biggest twist, as they were the villains all along. It’s also hard to look past how it feels like this is ITV‘s ‘attempt’ to create a medical Line of Duty, as it dives into the possibilities of corruption within medical bodies. And then there’s the issue of creating interesting subplots, which are then never resolved. These issues look big on papaer, and they are hard to ignore, which is a shame because despite these issues, it was seriously enjoyable. I watched it to give it a go, but by the end of the week, I wanted to do nothing more than see how it concluded. It was intensely gripping, with near edge of the seat inducing action (no matter how ridiculous one element of the final episode was). I now (knowing of the existence of a first season) want to go and watch the first season!