This CBS series, which attempts to emulate the template of the 15-year-running NBC hit ER, barely won renewal after its first season, and this second season sees some cast changes. While Marcia Gay Harden continues to be the series' linchpin as attending physician Leanne Rorish, two permanent cast members were dropped, and Rob Lowe was added as Dr. Ethan Willis, an Army doctor pulled from combat duty and reassigned to the trauma unit of Angels Memorial in Los Angeles to serve out his tour. While the changes don't signal a significant improvement, Code Black remains a watchable, if hardly outstanding, medical drama. The second season offers a predictable blend of medical emergencies and staff soap opera, as the doctors treat all sorts of injuries on site and via helicopter, including shark victims, workers trapped on a construction crane, landslide survivors, a sailor injured on a Russian submarine, a policeman with an explosive bullet embedded in his leg, and cult members who survived a mass suicide attempt. Other patients include a transgender woman and an autistic girl, and the entire unit is endangered by a measles outbreak. The measles crisis pales, however, when compared to the season-ender, as the ER becomes ground zero in a viral outbreak that necessitates CDC intervention. The stellar cast helps make this fairly familiar material more palatable. Extras include a season overview, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and a gag reel. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
Code Black: Season 2
Paramount, 4 discs, 683 min., not rated, DVD: $46.99 December 11, 2017
Code Black: Season 2
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