Not for the squeamish: gripping and gory Netflix docuseries proves a ratings winner
Congratulations to Stern & Wild filmmaker Adnan Ahmed and the whole team behind the hit Netflix hospital docuseries CRITICAL: BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH. Grierson award-winner Adnan is a Shooting Director on the show, which is produced by The Garden, the makers of Channel 4’s award-winning medical docs 24 HOURS IN A&E and EMERGENCY.
Shot over 21 days across London’s four biggest trauma centres, the six-part series captures the incredible work of paramedics, doctors, nurses and surgeons as they battle to save the lives of critically injured patients. The series dropped last week and has been warmly received by critics and audiences. It has ranked among the streamer’s top 10 series in the UK since its launch and is currently ahead of the new season of SQUID GAME!
“CRITICAL: BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH landed on the platform on 23 July and is already being hailed as one of the streaming service’s most powerful releases of the year… Unlike fictional hospital dramas, this documentary does not cut away from the reality of trauma care. It’s raw, unfiltered, and difficult to watch at times.”
Edward Lauder, Hello! Magazine
“Netflix viewers are ‘in tears’ as they binge a brand-new documentary that has left them completely ‘hooked’.”
“Some of the doctors featured on the new show are 24 HOURS IN A&E veterans and it is, in key respects, a very similar programme, albeit executed with added flair and – let’s be honest – a noticeable amount of extra West Coast wonga that makes for a slicker, faster-paced and irresistible watch.”
“Where CRITICAL does well is in reminding the viewer that highly qualified consultants and surgeons are human, too. In one episode, trauma consultant Maryam (doctors are introduced by first name only) is reduced to tears as she recalls a teenage friend dying in a car crash. ‘I could not comprehend or believe or accept it,’ she says. She explains that it was this event that made her want to become a doctor and help those involved in similar tragedies.”
“CRITICAL beautifully captures the fragility and vulnerability of life — and the paradoxical resilience that can come from accepting its cruel randomness… Patients repeatedly express their gratitude to the NHS and say how cared for they feel, how supported, how relieved.”
Margaret Lyons, New York Times
To stream the series, click on the image below.
© Netflix