- Network: Netflix
- Series Premiere Date: Apr 3, 2025
Critic Reviews
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Despite the burden the binge-model proposes, Netflix has crafted one of the best procedural dramas of the decade. .... The pressure of life-or-death stakes, paired with the unbeatable chemistry of each and every cast member, makes this series feel like lightning in a bottle. These characters don’t feel like caricatures of medical professionals: they feel like real people.
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Pulse might not be interested in reinventing the wheel, but it gives the formula a slight upgrade. And while the show doesn’t always land, it nicely juggles soapy entertainment with relevant issues, making for a worthy Netflix investment as the streamer tries to carve a space in the medical-procedural landscape.
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It’s a compelling spin on a problematic trope (work romance between people with a significant gap in power dynamic), but does it work? The answer is: Sort of.
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It’s not half bad — entertaining enough to scratch the same itch [as "Grey’s Anatomy"], if not yet satisfying enough to claim its own place in the pantheon of hospital shows.
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It covers some of the same traumatic territory [as "The Pitt"], but it’s more of a soap opera, a moderately diverting mix of bubbling relationship froth and coolly handled medical emergencies — the professional business entangled with the (very) personal, its pretty young cast never looking quite as tired as they say they are or ought to be.
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Especially in the season’s first half, “Pulse” feels bland despite the chaos that’s unfolding. Never have I seen a show try this hard to generate drama and fail so spectacularly.
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Considering that most characters don't get the depth they deserve, as well as Pulse's lack of story originality — both in terms of workplace dynamics and the clinical cases the doctors are working on — it's hard to determine if the show will make it to another season (or whether it deserves to).
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“Pulse” may appeal to “Grey’s” fans who prefer their medical shows on the soapy side, but anyone who’s given up on “Grey’s” and embraced “The Pitt” would be wise to let “Pulse” flatline on its own.
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Pulse is one of the most generic medical dramas we’ve seen in some time, with characters who aren’t compelling and medical situations that are eye-rolling to watch.
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Overall, “Pulse” has a few captivating moments that don’t last. Worse, it takes wading through hours of blood and chaos to get there.
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It’s not anything, really, except a frustrating mishmash of many better shows crammed into a blender and pulsed until any specific flavor or texture has been pulverized beyond recognition.
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Are there reasons to watch all this? Yes. But Dr. Cruz gives good advice ["take me somewhere else."]
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It might’ve been possible to extract a fun procedural from this setup, but with Pulse, the execution is even shoddier than the premise. The patients are a blur of slit-open chest cavities. A big supporting cast—including the two strongest actors, Machado and Néstor Carbonell (Lost), who plays a high-ranking surgeon—is wasted in one-note roles.