Mercy Street

Set in the Union-occupied city of Alexandria in the Confederate state of Virginia, this Civil War drama explores the conflicts between North and South through the uneasy interactions at a Union Army Hospital that lies in the center of Confederate sympathizers. Here, the occasional wounded Confederate soldier is treated, along with the Union men, free black citizens, and slaves who are still not emancipated. At the center of the sprawling cast of characters are Mary Phinney (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a Boston widow and committed abolitionist appointed to be the hospital's head nurse, and Emma Green (Hannah James), a Southern belle in the town's leading family who volunteers to help the Confederate soldiers neglected by the Union staff. Josh Radnor is the forward-looking civilian doctor who clashes with the veteran military surgeon, while Gary Cole plays a loyal Southern patriarch attempting to balance his Confederate loyalties with keeping the peace under military occupation. Mercy Street is an historical American medical drama that takes its cues from British period pieces, with the first few episodes setting up the conflicts—both political and personal—and establishing the contradictions among the characters, after which the series really comes alive as personal stories begin to drive the drama. Presenting all six episodes from 2016, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes and deleted scenes. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)