Medical dramas are made or unmade based on their casts, with The resident having one of the best in the genre, which made Dr. Bell's season 5 diagnosis all the more heartbreaking. Premiered for the first time in 2018, The resident is considered one of the best medical dramas on TV. Centered on the lives of employees at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia stands out from similar shows for its intense focus on the bureaucratic practices of the healthcare industry. Although there was talk of The resident Season 7, the show was canceled after six seasons in 2023.
Although the cast of The resident is a tight ensemble, led by protagonist Dr. Conrad Hawkins, the titular resident. Conrad often finds himself butting heads with Dr. Randolph Bell, who was the Chief of Surgery at Chastain Park Memorial at the start of the show. The main source of conflict is that Dr. Bell seemed to care more about his reputation as a surgeon than the lives of his patients. It's clear that Dr. Bell evolved over time, and a certain life-changing revelation changed his character for the rest of the show.
Bell is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in season 5 of Resident
His diagnosis changes the way he viewed his career
Dr. Randolph Bell was one of the most important characters in The residentbeing featured in all 107 episodes of the show during its run. He saw his fair share of challenges throughout the series, with his biggest challenge being his diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the latter part of the show. In Season 5, Episode 11, “Her Heart,” Dr. Bell finally finds out the results of his test, which are confirmed as multiple sclerosis.
After the episode aired, The resident executive producer, Andrew Chapman, sat down with TV Line to discuss Dr. Bell's diagnosis and the thought process that led him to decide that multiple sclerosis was the disease he had, stating:
We talked a lot with our doctors. MS is a really complicated and variable diagnosis… What we've learned – and I'm certainly no expert – is that some people can have MS and have almost no symptoms, and for other people, it can be such an incredibly debilitating disease… We wanted to something that could potentially be interesting in terms of clinical trials, because there are all kinds of trials going on in multiple sclerosis right now. It was also something that Bruce Greenwood – our Dr. Bell – could support and really research and find out more about the community of people who suffer from this. It wasn't an easy decision. It was a complicated and very considered decision.
After the diagnosis, Dr. Bell questions everything about his life, including his romantic relationship with Kit. One of his first thoughts is to leave Chastain Park Memorial Hospital for good, but he eventually continues his work as a doctor, treating his multiple sclerosis along the way. Dr. Bell also finds lasting happiness with Kit, marrying her in The resident season 5.
Where have you seen Dr. Bell actor Bruce Greenwood before
He plays Captain Pike in the Kelvin timeline of Star Trek and has frequently collaborated with Atom Egoyan
Starting in the late 1970s, actor Bruce Greenwood had a long and storied acting career long before he was cast in the role of Dr. The resident. Greenwood is most famous for his role as Captain Pike in the Star Trek Kelvin Timelineand he also appeared in the cinema I, robot, 13 days, Coatand Eight below. In 1994, Bruce Greenwood starred in the film Exoticdirected by influential Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan. After that, Greenwood appeared in several other Egoian films, the most recent being The Captive in 2014.
Atom Egoyan isn't the only director Bruce Greenwood has continued to work with, as much of his most recent work is with Mike Flanagan, one of the best horror filmmakers working today.. Greenwood had roles in Geraldo's game, Doctor Sleep, The Haunting of Hill Houseand The Fall of the House of Usher. At the moment, Bruce Greenwood has two projects planned; Any other worldand Terra Infirma. It's great to see him appear in several other projects with The resident it is no longer working.