REVIEW: ‘This is Going to Hurt’ may be one of the best series; here’s why

Now, consider “This Is Going to Hurt,” a new medical drama that shows why Ben Whishaw is going to be the next Daniel Day-Lewis.

Based on a physician’s memoir, it goes inside a National Health Service hospital where Whishaw plays Adam Kay, a junior doctor working in the obstetrics and gynecology ward. It’s understaffed, chaotic and filled with people who are just as acerbic as he.

When Kay tries to reach out to those he has treated poorly, they snap back and work becomes a drain – for him and them.

At home, he’s welcomed more openly. His graphic designer boyfriend Harry (Rory Fleck Byrne) tries to understand the medical world, but he’s often at a loss. He provides a diversion, but the demands of a high-pressure job keep Adam tethered to a world of uncertainty.

Another doctor, Shruti Acharya (Ambika Mod), could be a sounding board but she, too, has demons. Together, they’re an odd partnership, pulling away just when they should be coming together.

Created by the real Adam Kay, “This is Going to Hurt” makes the medical world more understandable than any previous series could. It shows the mistakes. It intensifies the demands. And it explains the personalities.

Ashley McGuire is particularly fascinating as a consultant who isn’t going to put up with drama. She tells how to deliver triplets (in no uncertain terms) and she sets boundaries (that enable her to have smoke breaks). Just when Whishaw’s Kay thinks he has an upper hand, she levels him and the work keeps going.

Early on, Adam’s encouraged to leave a field that seems to have few rewards. Yet, in each episode, you can see why it has such a firm grasp.

At home, his mother (Harriet Walter) is just as heartless as her son makes her out to be. She comes from privilege and doesn’t like that her son is wallowing in the exact opposite. She questions his choice of partners, too, and tries to set him up with someone a little more “worthy.”

Throughout the seven episodes, certain patients pop up with varying interests. The series hits underfunding hard (take note, advocates of socialized medicine), reveals mistakes that can be made and gives us a taste of the corporate world Brits have to endure.

“This is Going to Hurt” has a great sense of humor (wait until you hear what Adam says when he’s asked that age-old question, “Are you a doctor?” at the site of an emergency). And see how Whishaw squirms when he’s told how he can get himself out of a tough situation.

The one-two punch that Whishaw and Mod deliver is uncanny. They’re exceptional partners who make you care even when they don’t.

Parties, disasters, soiled scrubs and demanding patients are just part of their world. When it all gets washed away, you see just what’s left.

“This is Going to Hurt” features nudity and lots of profanity but, for some reason, they seem appropriate. It doesn’t try to be a one-size-fits-all story, but a glimpse at one life and how it reverberates.

Whishaw is the primary reason it works as well as it does. He offers snarky takes on everything and seems just like the kind of person who thinks he’s the smartest one in the room but knows, down deep, he isn’t.

Running just seven episodes, “This is Going to Hurt” is as addictive as anything a doctor could prescribe. It captures your attention in the first episode and never wants to let go.

“This is Going to Hurt” is now airing on AMC+.