Hospital dramas never seem to go out of style. Two new series centered on female physicians premiere this week — and in fact, they premiere on the same night, at the same time.
"Rejidento: Gonin no Kenshui" ("Resident: Five Medical Interns"; TBS, Thursday, 9 p.m.) stars Riisa Naka as Shizuku Miyama, a medical student who has already finished her rotation in various medical fields. She is now a first-year intern assigned to the Emergency Room with four other interns. Their supervisor is Dr. Miyajima (Yukiyoshi Ozawa), who doesn't consider interns to be proper doctors. Shizuku is baptized by fire during her first night shift when she has to treat a woman who habitually attempts suicide.
Michiko Daimon (Ryoko Yonekura), the protagonist of "Dokuta X: Gekai" ("Doctor X: Surgeon"; TV Asahi, Thursday, 9 p.m.) is a much more experienced physician, though she looks and acts more like a supermodel. She's a freelance surgeon recently hired by a hospital where a number of doctors have quit due to harsh working conditions.