Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s TCA coverage.
Network primetime seems especially determined to make a high-concept dual-personality drama work. The most recent example of a noble failure was NBC’s Awake. But NBC in particular seems undaunted and is wading back into those waters with the midseason drama Do No Harm, starring Steven Pasquale of FX’s Rescue Me as a renowned neurosurgeon whose body is “overtaken” every night by a “dangerous
alternate personality.” When asked early in an afternoon TCA session what makes Do No Harm different than the handful of similarly themed hours that have come before, creator and exec producer David Schulner reasoned that the concept is classic and time-tested going back to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. “I think ultimately you can only write the show that you want to watch,” Schulner said, “and this was a show that I wanted to see on TV. I wanted it to be fun. I wanted it to be thrilling. I wanted it to be a roller-coaster ride. And I wanted it to have stakes. I also wanted there to be a love story at the center of it. Hopefully those ingredients will make it different than what has come before.”
Related: ‘Grimm’ Producers Consider What Makes A “Breakout Hit” And The Friday Night Curse: TCA
Pasquale noted that the attempt to establish the dual-personality conceit is so strong from the Do No Harm team that it even has separate chairs on set for each of Pasquale’s characters. Schulner assured, “I took lessons from (those earlier dual-personality shows), and this is a show you’re going to want to watch. It’s thrilling and fun. That’s the big difference.” Time will tell. You can watch a trailer below:


“My Own Worst Enemy”…will NBC ever learn?
Nooo! Now The Mob Doctor can’t be the dumbest series ever created about a doctor! Why?????!
Totally different show and character, other than two personalities. This concept has been around for awhile, but no one’s cracked it yet (other than the BBC drama Jekyll.) People will be pleasantly surprised by this one.
Jekyll and Hyde is a classic tale about the good and evil in each of us. It’s unfair to compare it to Awake which was a catchy premise with a juvenile execution. JAson Isaac breathed more life into that show than it deserved.
It would be great if he’d write a show that AMERICA wants to watch…
“I think ultimately you can only write the show that you want to watch.” Well, at least there’ll be one viewer.
“I wanted it to be fun. I wanted it to be thrilling. I wanted it to be a roller-coaster ride. And I wanted it to have stakes. I also wanted there to be a love story at the center of it. Hopefully those ingredients will make it different than what has come before.”
Was this sequence uttered with a straight face?
I was wondering exactly the same thing. It sounds like someone memorized their talking-points REALLY well.
NBC really shoved down his throat what he needed to say. He’s a great guy and a wonderful writer and I’m sure those pesky development execs are marginalizing every turn of story and character developed so far. And there in lies the problem at NBC with Salke and Greenblat. They have no taste and no idea what they’re doing. Can’t believe they’ve been hired to ruin NBC even more.
I really miss “My Own Worst Enemy.” That was one of my favorite shows. Both personalities had their appeal, although they were incredibly different. What I worry about with “Do No Harm” is whether the “bad boy” will have any likable characteristics. If he doesn’t, the show has little interest for me. If he is appealing in his own way, then the juxtaposition is something I am looking forward to.
A lot of nasty comments here from people who don’t have their own television shows on the air.
I agree. This show is unequivocally different than My Own Worst Enemy and Awake. People are entirely entitled to form an opinion, but watch it first. The show has a much more buyable way in to the Jekyl-esque element (no microchips, no dimensions, etc.) and the dueling characters are fresh, imperfect and interesting to watch.