Netflix is venturing into the scripted medical space with their new procedural Pulse, which has quite a star-studded cast.
The series, which premieres on April 3, follows the personal and professional lives of doctors and staff at a busy Miami trauma center as they navigate medical crises and personal drama. Willa Fitzgerald, Colin Woodell and Justina Machado lead the cast that also includes other familiar faces such as Jessica Rothe and Nestor Carbonell.
“As a hurricane barrels towards Miami’s busiest Level 1 Trauma Center, third-year resident Dr. Danny Simms is unexpectedly thrust into a promotion when beloved Chief Resident Dr. Xander Phillips is suspended,” read the official synopsis for the show. “Amid the worsening storm and an onslaught of trauma cases, the hospital goes into lockdown, and Danny and Phillips must find a way to work together — even as the bombshell details of a complicated and illicit romance between them begin to spill out.”
The synopsis continued: “The rest of the ER is left to process the fallout of their relationship while balancing their own challenges, both personal and professional, as they work under the pressure of life-or-death stakes. Because for this tight-knit group of doctors, saving their patients’ lives is often less complicated than living their own.”
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Pulse joins a wide variety of ongoing medical dramas including Max’s The Pitt, NBC’s St. Denis Medical, Fox’s Doc and ABC’s Doctor Odyssey.
Keep scrolling for a guide to the main characters — including where you previously know each actor from:
Willa Fitzgerald
Before leading the Pulse cast, Fitzgerald was best known for her starring role as Emma in MTV’s underrated Scream series. Fitzgerald continued to book TV roles on Dare Me, Reacher and The Fall of the House of Usher.
Fitzgerald has also made a name for herself on the big screen with Strange Darling and Colleen Hoover‘s upcoming Regretting You adaptation.
Colin Woodell
The actor probably looks familiar because of his roles on The Continental, The Flight Attendant, Devious Maids, Masters of Sex or The Purge TV series. But OG fans remember when Woodell played Aidan on The Vampire Diaries spinoff The Originals.
Woodell, who is in a relationship with longterm girlfriend and former costar Danielle Campbell, has also appeared in I Love America, Ambulance and Fly Me to the Moon.
Justina Machado
Machado has been booked and busy before Pulse with projects such as Six Feet Under, which earned her a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. From there, Machado appeared on ER, Jane the Virgin, Queen of the South, One Day at a Time, Happy’s Place and The Horror of Dolores Roach.
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Jessie T. Usher
Ahead of his role in Pulse, Usher played Reggie Franklin a.k.a A-Train on Prime Video’s The Boys and appeared on Level Up and Survivor’s Remorse. Usher also starred in movies such as Ride, The Banker, Dangerous Lies and Smile.
Jack Bannon
Bannon’s most memorable role was as Alfred Pennyworth in Pennyworth. His other projects include Endeavour, Clique, The Loch, Medici and The Darkness.
Daniela Nieves
Pulse is Nieves’ first TV role after playing Lissa Dragomir on Peacock’s adaptation of Richelle Mead’s novels series of the same name. Nieves has also appeared on Every Witch Way, WITS Academy, Five Points and Sex Appeal.
Jessica Rothe
Fitzgerald isn’t the only screen queen in the Pulse cast with Rothe winning Us over in Happy Death Day and the 2019 sequel. Rothe went on to star in Valley Girl, All My Life and Boy Kills World as well.
More recently, Rothe was cast in Utopia and Virgin River. The actress has been married to Eric Clem since 2020.
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Nestor Carbonell
Instead of listing what projects Carbonell has been a part of, it might be quicker to share which he hasn’t been in. Carbonell’s best hits include TV roles on Lost, Bates Motel, The Morning Show and Shōgun. Carbonell has also been recognized for playing Mayor Anthony Garcia in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight film series.
Carbonell has been married to Shannon Kenny since 2001 and they share two kids.
Santiago Segura
Pulse marks a Scream reunion between Fitzgerald and Segura, who joined the short-lived series during season 2 as Gustavo Acosta. Segura could also look familiar for his roles on Faking It, Grey’s Anatomy, MacGyver, Roswell, New Mexico and Walker: Independence.
J.R. Ramirez
When Ramirez wasn’t playing a doctor on Pulse, he was in a wide variety of shows such as Manifest, Jessica Jones, Power and Arrow.
