''In a Heartbeat'' is a television series inspired by real life EMT squads whose staff consists of high school students in

Darien, Connecticut Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It has the youngest population of any ...

. The series follows the lives of several teenagers who volunteer as part-time EMTs while going to school and trying to maintain their lives as normal teenagers. In Canada, the series was aired on Family Channel while in the United States it was aired on the Disney Channel. The series is fact-based, as there are teenage volunteer EMTs in service all across the United States.

Synopsis

The EMT squad is made up of Hank Beecham (Danso Gordon) who manages playing football with the high school team as well as being the EMT-Intermediate of the group; Val Lanier (

Reagan Pasternak Reagan Jae Pasternak (born March 8, 1977) is a Canadian actress known for her role as Julianne in the TV series ''Being Erica''. Biography Pasternak was born in Toronto, Ontario. She is the youngest of four. She has two older sisters and an olde ...

) who is noted for being an excellent student and cheerleader; Tyler Connell ( Shawn Ashmore), a football player and Hank's best friend; and Jamie Waite (

Christopher Ralph Christopher Douglas Ralph (born May 13, 1977) is a Canadian actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Tobias in the 1998 TV series ''Animorphs ''Animorphs'' is a science fantasy series of children's books written by Katherine Applega ...

), the newest member of the squad initially there not by his own choice but as a result of a new program to help troubled teens get their life together by becoming EMTs. Other characters in the series are Brooke Lanier (

Lauren Collins Lauren Felice Collins (born August 29, 1986) is a Canadian actress, best known for portraying Paige Michalchuk on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. She has also had supporting roles in the films '' Take the Lead'' (2006) and ''Charlie Bartlett ...

), Val's twelve-year-old sister who volunteers with the squad after school and whose main job consists of managing the paperwork; and Caitie Roth (Jackie Rosenbaum), Val's best friend, a goth who is known for her dark clothes and purple-streaked hair.

Cast

* Danso Gordon as Hank Beecham *

as Val Lanier * Shawn Ashmore as Tyler Connell *

as Jamie Waite *

as Brooke Lanier * Jackie Rosenbaum as Caitie Roth

Episodes

Reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''s Laura Fries reviewed the show favorably, remarking that "Disney's original high school drama series "In a Heartbeat" has characters every bit as appealing as anything you'd find on the WB, only a heck of a lot smarter." Lynne Heffley of ''Los Angeles Times'' described the show as "surprisingly watchable".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:In a Heartbeat (Tv series) 2000s American teen drama television series 2000 American television series debuts 2001 American television series endings 2000s Canadian teen drama television series 2000 Canadian television series debuts 2001 Canadian television series endings Television series by Disney Television shows set in Connecticut Disney Channel original programming American teen drama television series Canadian teen drama television series Television series about teenagers Fictional hospitals Television shows filmed in Toronto Television series by Alliance Atlantis Television series by Corus Entertainment Television series by Entertainment One English-language television shows