''Maternal'' is a British medical drama television drama series created by Jacqui Honess-Martin. The series began broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

on 16 January 2023, as well as on ITVX. The show was cancelled after one season.

Plot

Following the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, three female doctors return to frontline medicine after their maternity leave.

Cast

Parminder Nagra Parminder Kaur Nagra (born 5 October 1975) is a British actress of Indian Punjabi descent and Sikh heritage. She is known for portraying Jess Bhamra in the film ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002) and Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the NBC medical drama s ...

as Dr. Maryam Afridi * Lara Pulver as Dr. Catherine MacDiarmid * Lisa McGrillis as Dr. Helen Cavendish *

Raza Jaffrey Raza Jaffrey (born 28 May 1973) is a British actor and singer, who starred as Neal Hudson on the CBS TV medical drama '' Code Black''. He is best known for playing Zafar Younis on the BBC One spy drama series '' Spooks''. In 2014, he played ...

as Dr. Jack Oliviera * Oliver Chris as Dr. Guy Cavendish * Abhin Galeya as Raz Farooqui * Julie Graham as Dr. Susan Fisher *

Alexander Karim Alexander Ally Karim (born 26 May 1976) is a Swedish actor and writer. He made waves as Frank Nordling on TV3's ''Advokaten'', as he was the first Black actor to play a lead character in a primetime drama in Sweden. Background Karim was born Alex ...

as Lars Nordstrom

Production

The series was inspired by real surgeon Zoe Barber, who works at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant. The series was playwright Jacqui Honess-Martin's television debut.

Episodes

All episodes were made available on ITVX on 16 January 2023, prior to their linear broadcast.

Reception

The series received positive reviews from critics. Isobel Lewis from '' The Independent'' gave the first episode four out of five stars, praising the acting, dialogue and topicality of the drama. Lucy Mangan of '' The Guardian'' awarded the first episode four stars out of five, praising the depth of the three lead characters, and remarked that it had 'grit in the storytelling oyster that produces something rather wonderful'. Anita Singh in '' The Telegraph'' also gave it four stars out of five, proclaiming it as superior to another recent medical drama, ''

This Is Going to Hurt ''This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor'' is a nonfiction book by the British comedy writer Adam Kay, published in 2017 by Picador. It is a collection of diary entries written by Kay during his medical training from 2004 to 2 ...

''. In a more mixed review, Carol Midgley in '' The Times'' gave it three stars, finding the show reliant on cliches.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 21636214 2023 British television series debuts 2023 British television series endings 2020s British medical television series 2020s British television miniseries 2020s British workplace drama television series British English-language television shows ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios Television shows set in England