''Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures'' is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

collection by Vincent Lam, published in 2006. The book, inspired by Lam's own experiences in medical school and as a professional physician, is a volume of interconnected short stories about the lives and relationships of Fitzgerald, Ming, Chen and Sri, four young medical students in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. ''Bloodletting'' won the 2006

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried competition be ...

Television adaptation

On November 10, 2006, Canadian production company

Shaftesbury Films Shaftesbury Films is a film, television and digital media production company founded by Christina Jennings in 1987. It is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background Shaftesbury is a creator and producer of original content for television an ...

announced a deal with Lam to adapt the book into an eight-episode television series. According to TMN spokesperson Michelle Marion, "'' ER'' is a medical drama for conventional television. ''Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures'' is a medical drama for pay television." The series went into production in 2009, and debuted in January 2010 on

The Movie Network Crave (formerly The Movie Network or TMN) is a Canadian premium television network and streaming service owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. Launched in 1983 as the national service First Choice, early difficulties and a subsequent ...

and

Movie Central Movie Central (occasionally abbreviated as "MC", mostly in program guides) was a Canadian English language Category A premium cable and satellite television channel that was owned by Corus Entertainment. Movie Central was designated to operat ...

's multiplex service,

HBO Canada HBO (previously known as HBO Canada, and still referred to as such on social media) is a Canadian premium television network from Crave (formerly The Movie Network), which is owned by Bell Media. The channel is primarily devoted to original pro ...

. The show's cast includes

Shawn Ashmore Shawn Robert Ashmore (born October 7, 1979) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Bobby Drake / Iceman in the ''X-Men'' film series, Jake Berenson in the television series ''Animorphs'', Agent Mike Weston in the television drama se ...

as Fitz,

Mayko Nguyen Mayko Nguyen is a Canadian actress of Vietnamese descent. She was born on April 19, 1980 in Vancouver, Canada. She has appeared in ''ReGenesis'', ''Rookie Blue'', ''Killjoys'', and '' Hudson and Rex''. Career Nguyen has had lead and recurring r ...

as Ming, Keon Mohajeri as Sri,

Byron Mann Byron Mann is a Hong Kong-American actor of film and television. His best-known roles include Ryu in '' Street Fighter'', Silver Lion in '' The Man with the Iron Fists'', Wing Chau in ''The Big Short'', Admiral Augusto Nguyen on ''The Expanse'' ...

as Chen, and Terra Vnesa as Sienna.

Jason Sherman Jason Sherman (born July 28, 1962 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter. After graduating from the creative writing program at York University in 1985, Sherman co-founded What Publishing with Kevin Connolly, which prod ...

wrote the teleplay.HBO Canada presents the Canadian original series Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures, a television adaption of Vincent Lam's award-winning book

CNW Group CNW Group Ltd., also called Canada Newswire and CNW, is a commercial press release service owned by Cision. Cision Distribution services in Canada are powered by Canada Newswire. The service is offered stand-alone or as part of its flagshiCision ...

, November 18, 2009. Guest stars include

Tatiana Maslany Tatiana Gabriele Maslany ( ; born September 22, 1985) is a Canadian actress. She rose to prominence for playing multiple characters in the science fiction thriller television series ''Orphan Black'' (2013–2017), which won her a Primetime Emmy ...

Zoie Palmer Zoie Palmer is a Canadian actress best known for her roles as Dr. Lauren Lewis in the Showcase supernatural drama ''Lost Girl'' and as the Android in the SyFy science fiction series ''Dark Matter''. Early life Palmer was born in Camborne in Co ...

Joe Cobden Joe Cobden (born October 7, 1978 in Halifax, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. Joe started performing at age 10 as a street vaudevillian, touring festivals worldwide. In 1996, at age 17, Joe enrolled at Concordia University’s Theat ...

and William Ellis.

International broadcasts

References

External links

''Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures''
at

. 2006 short story collections Canadian short story collections Television series by Shaftesbury Films 2010 Canadian television series debuts 2010 Canadian television series endings 2010s Canadian drama television series 2010s Canadian medical television series Television shows set in Toronto Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning works Crave original programming Doubleday (publisher) books Asian-Canadian literature {{2000s-story-collection-stub