“This is a rarity in network television,” said “Third Watch” executive producer Ed Bernero, “in that it’s a crossover that actually makes sense.”
On Friday, NBC’s freshmen medical-mystery drama “Medical Investigation” and “Third Watch,” now in its sixth season, will share a story line that tracks a mystery illness striking New York City, where the “Third Watch” police, paramedics and firefighters work.
The story begins on “Third Watch,” with “MI” (as it’s called on the set) characters Dr. Stephen Connor (Neal McDonough) and Dr. Natalie Durant (Kelli Williams) coming to New York because a captured thief displays symptoms of a fast-spreading contagion, and his also-infected accomplice is still on the run. Musician Wyclef Jean guest stars.
On “Medical Investigation,” the symptoms strike “Third Watch” paramedic Carlos Nieto (Anthony Ruivivar), causing concern for his girlfriend, paramedic Holly Levine (Yvonne Jung, Ruivivar’s real-life wife).
The crossover story line isn’t a stretch because in “MI,” Connor, Durant, McCabe and the other investigators travel all over America to probe outbreaks. In fact, the show’s pilot was set in New York.
“And we deal with medical stuff,” Bernero said. “We have paramedics. We don’t have Boston detectives going to Las Vegas.”
(That’s a sideswipe at NBC’s forensic drama “Crossing Jordan,” which recently crossed over with “Las Vegas.”)
“This makes sense,” Bernero said. “It’s going to help both of us. It was easy, just write a script like any other ‘Third Watch’ script, and when they would normally call someone else, they just call these ‘Medical Investigation’ characters.”
Right now, neither drama has a pickup for fall, so a little cross-promotion can’t hurt either show’s chances. But, optimism reigns. “Obvious signs point to us coming back for another year,” McDonough said.
“I’m always confident,” Bernero said of his show. “We’ve never actually ended a year picked up, so this is no different than any other year. I think this show’s going to be on for 15 years. We’re like a bad penny. They can’t get rid of us.”
———-
Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Victoria Rodriguez (vrodriguez@tribune.com)
