*Spoilers*

“The Resident” is a medical drama with six seasons that aired on Fox and is now available to stream on Netflix. But why only six seasons? This is a question I wonder about — why was it canceled? The show was very widely liked and successful.

Compared to other medical dramas, “The Resident” had a nice balance of romance and insight into the characters’ personal lives while having interesting medical cases in addition to the simplest ones that most medical shows forget about. It showcased a variety of characters and insight into what it actually meant to be an intern, as seen with Dr. Devon Pravesh (Manish Dayal), Dr. Conrad Hawkins (Matt Czuchry)and other interns: how many make mistakes, how interns are actually broke and live at the hospital, how draining it can be on relationships. 

I liked how “The Resident” showed how every doctor has their flaws and everyone messes up. I also liked how they showed the heartbreaking story lines that are a reality in the healthcare system. For example, there is a mother who dies due to a malpractice after child birth, and AJ’s mom’s experience on hospice. I never felt like any cases were two far-fetched or the acting was too dramatized. I liked how they showed how unserious doctors can be sometimes. 

Now why was it canceled? A theory I have is less people watching the show after Conrad’s wife Nic (Emily VanCamp) passed away. My mom and I stopped watching the show after that for a long time. That was one of the most heartbreaking parts about the whole show. Next, the last season is very different from the other ones. The season introduces new characters and goes more in depth about others. This is the season that Conrad gets into relationships. He first gets into a relationship with the new ER doctor Cade (Kaley Ronayne), then gets involved with Nic’s best friend Billie (Jessica Lucas) who is a neurosurgeon. This is hard to watch because it’s not the same spark that Nic and Conrad had. 

Even with six seasons, they could have still continued it on. The last episode sets up so many more storylines. Like Devon and Devi’s engagement and Devi (Anuja Joshi) becoming an attending physician. Will they have kids? Conrad and Billie saying I love you, what does that future bring? Randolph’s MS worsening, what does that bring about? Padma and AJ, could they get together, how does Padma further cope with her postpartum depression?

There are plenty of possible story lines. So why cancel a perfectly good show?