Absolutely — here is the full multi-season blueprint for a raw, unfiltered, emotionally gripping medical drama series called COUNTY, centered in the Cook County Hospital Emergency Department.
This series is mature, multicultural, authentic, and unrelentingly human — exploring not just the medicine, but the trauma, triumph, and redemption found on the frontlines of America’s most underfunded, overburdened hospital. It’s a character drama with surgical intensity, social commentary, and fierce community heart.
Series Title: COUNTY
Tagline:
“Some wounds don’t heal. But some people still do.”
Format & Platform:
• Genre: Medical Drama / Character Drama
• Episodes: 10–12 per season, 5 full seasons (extendable to 10)
• Runtime: 55–60 minutes per episode
• Style: Raw, urgent, handheld, emotionally immediate — think The Bear meets ER meets The Wire
• Network Target: HBO, FX, Netflix (TV-MA rating)
• Language: English with bilingual realism (Spanish, Urdu, Korean, Polish, etc.)
Thematic Pillars:
• Public healthcare vs. private privilege
• Redemption through service
• Moral injury & burnout
• Race, class, and systemic inequality
• Found family and community
• The blurred line between survival and healing
SETTING: COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL – ER UNIT
A historic, underfunded hospital on Chicago’s West Side. Staffed by misfits, heroes, and broken geniuses. It’s noisy, chaotic, understaffed, and life-or-death every hour. Ambulances scream in every 10 minutes. Trauma bays are always full. Gunshot wounds and asthma attacks sit side by side. It’s a war zone of compassion — and no one leaves unchanged.
CORE ENSEMBLE CAST:
DR. MAYA RAZA (ER CHIEF, 42)
Pakistani-American, daughter of immigrants, top of her class at Stanford, and now the youngest ER chief in Cook County history. Brilliant, unflinching, emotionally walled off. She’s trying to fix a system that’s breaking her from the inside.
DR. LUIS ORTIZ (TRAUMA SURGEON, 36)
Puerto Rican, raised in Little Village, ex-gang affiliate, now a trauma legend. Tattooed, volatile, deeply loyal. He loses more sleep over the ones he couldn’t save than anyone knows.
NURSE BRENDA “B” GIBSON (CHARGE NURSE, 53)
Black, South Side Chicago native, tough as nails with a golden soul. She’s the glue of the ER and the no-bullshit mother figure to the staff. Knows everyone, sees everything.
DR. LEONARD “LEO” ZHANG (INTERN, 28)
Chinese-American, queer, Ivy League grad, entering medicine with dreams of control and justice — only to find chaos and moral fog. He’s fragile, brilliant, and cracking.
DR. ANIYAH JONES (PSYCH LIAISON, 34)
Black psychiatrist embedded in the ER. Wry, graceful, with lived experience in trauma and depression. She connects to patients in ways medicine can’t — and hides her own scars.
PARAMEDIC YUSUF KHAN (35)
Afghan-American, veteran, field medic in two wars. Quiet, fast-thinking, operates on instinct. He’s running from his past, and hiding it behind the wheel of an ambulance.
RACHEL “RAE” DOMINGUEZ (SOCIAL WORKER, 29)
Mexican-American, case manager and community advocate. Fierce, overwhelmed, trying to plug holes in a sinking system. She’s fighting for everyone — except herself.
SEASON-BY-SEASON ARC:
SEASON 1: “TRIAGE”
Theme: Crisis mode. No time to look back. Just survive.
• ER is overwhelmed with gun violence victims, COVID aftermath, and rising mental health breakdowns.
• Dr. Raza tries to enforce stability, but loses control of her staff — and her own health.
• Ortiz performs a miracle surgery, but is sued for it.
• Nurse B loses a patient she helped raise — triggering a grief spiral.
• Leo panics and freezes during his first code blue.
• Yusuf breaks protocol to save a mother — and gets investigated.
• Rae’s client overdoses in the ER lobby.
Finale:
A mass casualty shooting at a block party floods the ER. Maya sacrifices her shot at a private sector job to stay. The team finally gels — not because they’re perfect, but because they showed up.
SEASON 2: “BURNOUT”
Theme: What happens after adrenaline?
• Maya’s iron grip loosens; she finally opens up about her own family trauma and insomnia.
• Ortiz relapses into street violence after his brother is arrested.
• Leo begins a secret affair with a patient’s brother.
• B takes a medical leave — the ER nearly collapses without her.
• Yusuf is diagnosed with PTSD and avoids the psych eval.
• Aniyah forms a healing group for staff — but breaks down privately.
Finale:
A fire in a nearby apartment complex reveals institutional neglect. Rae organizes a protest inside the hospital. Maya chooses to back her, publicly — putting her job in jeopardy.
SEASON 3: “RECKONING”
Theme: We all carry ghosts.
• The hospital is facing budget cuts and media pressure.
• Ortiz is shot outside the ER trying to break up a fight. He survives — but loses full function in his dominant hand.
• Leo is outed at work and faces cultural pushback from home.
• Maya’s estranged father is admitted to her ER.
• Rae starts stealing meds for undocumented clients.
• B mentors a new crop of nurses, passing on her wisdom.
• A new hospital CEO (slick, corporate) arrives — and doesn’t like how things are run.
Finale:
A viral video of a patient’s death at County shakes the nation. Staff are blamed. Maya gives a public interview defending them all — and becomes both a target and a symbol.
SEASON 4: “BLOODLINES”
Theme: Legacy, betrayal, and what we inherit.
• A teenager Maya once treated returns as a med student.
• Ortiz becomes a surgical instructor — but can’t operate anymore.
• Leo applies to psych residency, questioning whether ER is for him.
• Rae faces prosecution for her activism.
• B considers retirement — but stays when her niece becomes a trauma patient.
• Yusuf’s estranged daughter arrives in his life.
• A serial attacker is targeting unhoused people — and they keep ending up at County.
Finale:
A hospital board vote to privatize County divides the team. Maya risks everything to stop it. The ER holds a vigil for a patient who died in police custody. The camera lingers on every face.
SEASON 5: “REDEMPTION”
Theme: Who we choose to be — even when we’re broken.
• County becomes a national case study in “medical resilience.”
• Ortiz mentors a teen gang member in a hospital diversion program.
• Leo opens a pop-up psych clinic in the ER.
• Rae is acquitted — and now runs a full community clinic out of a wing of the hospital.
• Yusuf starts writing a memoir.
• Maya loses her mother — and takes leave to travel for the first time in decades.
• B retires — and is given the hallway plaque she never wanted but fully earned.
Finale:
A blizzard locks down Chicago. The ER runs on candles, caffeine, and pure grit. Maya returns. Everyone steps up. A child is born in the trauma bay. Life continues. The city breathes.
EXTENDED SEASONS (6–10):
• Season 6: A new public health crisis — antibiotic resistance
• Season 7: Political backlash, protest medicine, immigration raids
• Season 8: A documentary crew arrives — reality vs. truth
• Season 9: County faces the threat of AI-based triage replacing frontline care
• Season 10: Final chapters — Maya trains her successor. The old ER gives way to a new wing. Flash-forward. The hospital lives on.
Visual & Sound Style:
• Camera: Handheld, up-close, almost documentary-style
• Editing: Fast when it needs to be, intimate when it matters
• Color: Muted, clinical — with occasional rich warm tones for emotional peaks
• Music: Minimalist score — piano, strings, ambient. Real Chicago soul, gospel, and indie tracks during endings
Tone:
• Raw, lived-in, emotional
• No easy answers
• Humor in the chaos
• Resilience in tragedy
• Love and community through the fire
Marketing/Promo Potential:
• Gritty trailers cut to real-life 911 calls and hospital soundscapes
• Companion short doc series on real Cook County ER staff
• Social media campaigns around medical equity, healthcare workers, and unsung heroes
• “This is COUNTY” posters with character portraits and quotes
• Final season teaser with Maya walking down an empty ER hallway at dawn
Let me know if you’d like a pilot script breakdown, opening montage, or character one-sheets for pitch presentation. This series is ready to save lives — and break hearts.
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