The thin line between television and real life continues to blur amid the coronavirus pandemic — now in more ways than one. Medical dramas filmed around the country are donating their supplies to real-life hospitals amid COVID-19, including ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19, and The Good Doctor, NBC’s Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D. and New Amsterdam, FX’s Pose, and FOX’s The Resident.
The series have taken to offering medical supply props including gowns, gloves, masks, and other pertinent items. Ryan Murhpy, creator of Pose, posted to Instagram regarding their donation. The series, which films in New York City, gifted the local Mount Sinai hospital all prop supplies from production, which was forced to disband last week.
Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 have taken to doing the same. “We were lucky enough to have about 300 of the coveted N95 masks which we donated to our local fire station,” said Krista Vernoff, executive producer of both series, in a statement to Good Morning America. “At Grey’s Anatomy, we have a back-stock of gowns and gloves which we are donating as well. We are all overwhelmed with gratitude for our healthcare workers during this incredibly difficult time, and in addition to these donations, we are doing our part to help them by staying home.”
The Resident, a FOX medical drama that films in Atlanta, donated prop supplies to the nearby Grady Hospital last week. Dr. Karen L. Law, program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Emory University, which works closely with Grady, took to Instagram to display her gratitude. “Thank you for this incredibly generous donation of #PPE from your set, including gowns, masks, gloves, and all the things our healthcare workers need to provide safe care for our community during #COVID19,” Law wrote in the post. “Yesterday, I had a serious discussion with the residents about how, though supplies are low, a magical shipment of masks is unlikely to arrive. And yet, a magical shipment of masks DID arrive, in the form of this very generous gesture.”
Despite not being a medical drama, Filthy Rich, an upcoming FOX satirical dramedy, will donate cleaning supplies and food pallets to local New Orleans hospitals in need. Additionally, The Good Doctor, which films in Vancouver, is currently in works with the local provincial government to decide which supplies are most in need currently in the area.