Get Into the Action with COMBAT HOSPITAL & ROOKIE BLUE This Summer

A press junket was recently held by Disney where NiceGirlsTV had the opportunity to join in a roundtable interview with talent from the upcoming slate of returning and new television shows at ABC, ABC Family Channel and Disney. Among the guests at the junket for ABC were cast members Michelle Borth and Elias Koteas of the new drama Combat Hospital plus Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith from the Canadian series Rookie Blue, which dominated the ratings on the network last summer.

Michelle Borth and Elias Koteas from Combat Hospital Photo By: Tiffany Vogt

First up were Michelle Borth and Elias Koteas from the new medical drama Combat Hospital, which will debut on Tuesday, June 21 at 10 PM. Michelle explained that she plays Dr. Rebecca Kincaid, a “trauma surgeon and newly appointed Major in the Canadian forces” stationed in Afghanistan in 2006 while Elias portrays Dr. Xavier Marks, who is in charge of the medical station where doctors from the United States, Canada and other countries all work in crucial positions in a war zone hospital.

Needless to say, due to the nature of their characters’ positions, the actors had to become at least somewhat knowledgeable about surgery with Michelle explaining that the research she did for the role included “a ton of medical research more so than military research.” She continued with “you would be surprised how much you can learn on you tube; any surgery (that exists) can be found (there).” She also explained that they have a medical military consultant who is “the most valuable resource” they could have on set.

When asked what drew them to their roles, Michelle said that she “wanted to play a strong, independent, intelligent yet tragically flawed woman,” while Elias said “I didn’t really know what I was looking for, but when the script came in front of me it was the best written thing in my life at the time.”

They then both gave little teases into what will be seen during the show’s initial run with Michelle explaining that “the story is already established and the viewers will see the hospital from the point of view of her character Rebecca and Dr. Bobby Trang (played by actor Terry Chen). You will see how they adjust to life in a war zone and all the struggles and conflicts that arise as they learn the hard way.” Elias then said that viewers will see the difficulty his character has because “he is in a leadership role, he can’t be friends with his medical team, as there has to be a line of separation, making it lonely for him and the stress level (is) very high.”

And while you would think that the doctors at this war zone hospital would be a bit of adrenaline junkies, both Michelle and Elias agreed that it will be the viewers who will have more of the adrenaline junkie aspect, watching all the action depicted in the episodes, as the doctors, because of the situations for which they are placed in on a daily basis, have to keep calm in spite of all that is going around them because they are holding the lives of their patients in their hands.

To see all the action on Combat Hospital, make sure to tune in to ABC on June 21 at 10 PM.

Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith from Rookie Blue Photo By: Tiffany Vogt

Then on Thursday, June 23, Rookie Blue will return for its second season on ABC at 10 PM, finding Officer Andy McNally (Missy Peregrym) and the rest of her fellow rookies, including Officer Dov Epstein (Gregory Smith) no longer needing their training officers and are permitted to partner with each other when on patrol. “They are the first people on the scene and they just aren’t following (their TO’s) anymore” explains Missy.

She further teased that Andy and Luke (Det. Luke Callaghan, played by Eric Johnson) are now living together but their situation will become strained when Luke’s ex-girlfriend/partner comes to work with them, which will, according to Missy, “make things difficult, putting a strain on their relationship” and there is still Officer Sam Swarek (Ben Bass), as “he isn’t Andy’s training officer anymore so they could date without any ramifications; that boundary is gone now, but she made the decision to be Luke”.

When talk quickly turned to the surprise success of the show last summer, Gregory joked that the ratings “exceeded our wildest expectations; in fact, we were all really nervous to see how it would do and no one had any idea it would do that well”. He further explained that one of the producers told them “don’t get excited (about the high ratings) as there must be some kind of mistake”.

The subject then turned to personal training since, after all, they do play police officers and Gregory joked that he trains “just to keep up with Missy”. But, they both explained they participated in boot camp before the start of season one and then did ride-alongs between season one and season two.

When asked what was their favorite thing about their characters, Gregory stated he likes “Dov’s misguided enthusiasm” and revealed that the viewers will get so see more of a “personal side to him this season,” which will help the viewers to understand “why he is the way he is”. And, Missy said she is “very satisfied with where the writers have taken her character”.

To find out what happens with the rookies, make sure to tune in to Rookie Blue on ABC on June 23 at 10 PM.