''Pulse'' is an

Australian television Television in Australia began experimentally as early as 1929 in Melbourne with radio stations 3DB and 3UZ, and 2UE in Sydney, using the ''Radiovision'' system by Gilbert Miles and Donald McDonald, and later from other locations, such as Brisb ...

drama series that was first screened on ABC TV on 20 July 2017 and ended after eight episodes on 7 September 2017. The series was written by Kris Wyld, Michael Miller,

Kristen Dunphy Kristen Dunphy is an Australian television screenwriter and producer. She is best known as creator, co-writer and co-executive producer of ''Wakefield'', which screened on ABC TV in 2021. Career Dunphy's career in film and television bega ...

and Mandy McCarthy; directed by Peter Andrikidis, Jennifer Leacey and Ana Kokkinos; and produced by ClandestineTV and Beyond Productions in conjunction with the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

Plot summary

The series follows the story of Frankie, a high-flying financial analyst who had it all before a failing kidney landed her at death's door until a transplant offered her a second chance. Inspired by the man who saved her life, Frankie alters course to become a doctor herself, working and learning in the high stakes, high pressure world of the cardio-thoracic and renal wards of a major teaching hospital.

Cast

* Claire van der Boom as Frankie Bell *

Andrea Demetriades Andrea Demetriades (born 1987) is an Australian actress known for her television, theatre and film roles. Personal life Demetriades was born in Perth, the youngest of four sisters. Her father, Costas, emigrated from Cyprus to Australia in 1969 ...

as Lou Tannis *

Owen Teale Owen Teale (born 20 May 1961) is a Welsh character actor having appeared in many films, including ''Robin Hood'' (1991), '' The Hawk'' (1993), ''King Arthur'' (2004), '' The Last Legion'' (2007), '' Tolkien'' (2019), and '' Dream Horse'' (2020) ...

as Chad Berger *

Liam McIntyre Liam James McIntyre (born 8 February 1982) is an Australian actor, best known for playing the lead role on the Starz television series '' Spartacus: Vengeance'' and '' War of the Damned'' and as Mark Mardon / Weather Wizard on ''The Flash''. He ...

as Eli Nader *

Pallavi Sharda Pallavi Sharda (born 5 March 1992) is an Australian actress and Bharathanatyam dancer of Indian descent. She won the Miss India Australia beauty pageant in 2010. As an actress she is best known for her role in the Academy Award nominated film ...

as Tanya Kalchuri *

Penny Cook Penelope Cook (13 July 1957 – 26 December 2018) was an Australian actress, stage director, TV presenter and writer. She played roles in the soap opera ''A Country Practice'', as Vicki Dean Bowen from 1981 to 1985, '' E Street'' as lead anchor ...

as Carol Little *

Susie Porter Susie Porter (born 1970 or 1971) is an Australian television, film and theatre actress. She made her debut in the 1996 film '' Idiot Box'', before rising to prominence in films including '' Paradise Road'' (1997), '' Welcome to Woop Woop'' (1997 ...

as Maggie Cutter * Renee Lim as Monica Lee *

Arka Das Arka Das is an Australian actor, director and screenwriter. Early life Das born in Bangladesh and emigrated to Australia with his family as a child. He grew up in Ashfield in Sydney's western suburbs, where he attended school and university ...

as Tabb Patel * Blessing Mokgohloa as Rowan Mitri * Dalip Sondhi as Rupert Steele * Arianthe Galani as Arianna Koutoufides (1 episode) *

Carmen Duncan Carmen Joan Duncan (7 July 1942 – 3 February 2019) was an Australian-born stage and screen actress and activist, with a career locally and internationally in the United States that spanned over 50 years. She was nominated for the AFI Award ...

as Nora Johns (1 episode) *

Catherine Mack-Hancock Catherine Mack-Hancock (born 1983) is an Australian actress and director. Early life and education Mack-Hancock started acting an early age, performing locally with the Geelong Society of Dramatic Arts and landing a role in Channel 9’s ''Ki ...

as Alicia Knox (1 episode) * Daniel Amalm as Shawn (1 episode) *

Geraldine Hakewill Geraldine Hakewill (born 13 July 1987) is an Australian actress and singer. She acted as Chelsea Babbage in the Australian TV series '' Wanted'' for three seasons from 2016 to 2018 and Peregrine Fisher the titular character in ''Ms Fisher's Mod ...

as Connie (1 episode) * Helen Thomson as Lorraine Walsh (2 episodes) *

Rahel Romahn Rahel Romahn (born ) is a Kurdish-Iraqi born Australian actor. Early life Born in Kurdistan, in Northern Iraq, Romahn's family fled Saddam Hussein’s regime when he was three, initially hiding in Turkey for a year, then emigrating to Austral ...

as Adam Aswany (1 episode)

Episodes

Reception

Ratings

Critical reception

This series has received mixed reviews. Luke Buckmaster, writer for

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, rated the series two out of five stars saying "medical dramas will probably never fall out of fashion. The genre is crowded, emphasising the need for programs with interesting and distinctive visions. Unfortunately, ''Pulse'' isn’t one of them". David Knox, writer for

TV Tonight TV Tonight is an Australian-based website which features reviews, news and programming information related to television in Australia as well as OzTAM ratings information. The site was started by television critic David Knox in 2007 after li ...

, rated the series four out of five stars praising the casting of the series and that it's "the strongest medical drama in years" saying that it holds strong against an overcrowded genre.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 6664638, Pulse 2010s Australian drama television series 2017 Australian television series debuts 2017 Australian television series endings Australian English-language television shows Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Television series by Beyond Television Productions