In St. Denis Medical’s fourth episode, “Salamat You Too,” a group of nurses gather for a break, only to have their head nurse, Alex (Allison Tolman), interrupt with a firm-but-fair lecture about their recent defiance. Earlier, the self-dubbed “Filipino Mafia” resisted Alex’s decision to separate their close-knit group by simply ignoring her orders and staying together. Determined to reassert her authority, Alex marches to the dry-erase board and attempts to clarify her role as the boss—a seemingly simple declaration that spirals into a six-part explanation, complete with an impressively nonsensical acronym.
At first glance, the scene appears to center on Alex. Tolman is magnetic, commanding attention as she gesticulates wildly and delivers hilariously passive-aggressive instructions. Her comedic timing is pitch-perfect, and her portrayal of an exasperated leader trying to wrangle a team that barely takes her seriously feels all too relatable.
But even with Tolman firing on all cylinders, the funniest moments are happening in the periphery. One of the best starts even before the scene gets going: Matt (Mekki Leeper), the earnest, sheltered young nurse, tries a bite of the Filipino potluck dish and innocently asks, “This chicken is really spicy. What do you call it?” With a steely glare, Rene (Nico Santos) responds, “Costco rotisserie chicken.”
It’s such a simple, perfect exchange—and it works on so many levels. Later, when Alex is furiously writing “RESPECT” on the whiteboard, Matt is caught in the background, guzzling water as if he’s been served a dish straight out of Dante’s Inferno. The punchline hits regardless, but knowing Matt’s backstory—that he’s from a devout, insular community in rural Montana, where meals were likely as mild as an overcooked casserole—elevates it to a whole new level.
What I love about this moment, and so many others in St. Denis Medical, is how it refuses to settle for the obvious joke. It would’ve been easy to leave it at “white guy finds mild chicken spicy,” but the added depth of Matt’s character makes it land harder. As a viewer, I found myself laughing not just at the gag but at the subtle craftsmanship behind it. That’s a rare quality in modern sitcoms, where so many shows rely on surface-level humor that you can half-watch while scrolling through your phone. This layered approach to comedy is what makes St. Denis Medical such a standout. The laughs can’t all be front and center; sometimes, the best jokes are happening on the sidelines.
Take the same scene: After a quick cutaway to the episode’s other storylines, we return to find Alex has scribbled three additional rules on the board. Two redundantly reiterate her authority, while the third simply reads, “Have fun.” It’s such a small, silly detail, but it got a chuckle out of me—partly because it’s exactly the kind of awkward corporate messaging you’d find in a real workplace, and partly because it’s delivered with such earnest absurdity.
Meanwhile, another subplot follows Joyce (Wendi McClendon-Covey), the hospital’s perpetually unimpressed executive director, as she tries to name a new Featured Employee. Her search turns up nothing but “turds”: a nurse popping her own pimple, a janitor smoking in the hallway, and a doctor eating yogurt with his fingers. None of these characters even have lines, yet their brief appearances are comedy gold thanks to the editing and Joyce’s perfectly disgusted reactions.
And then there’s David Alan Grier, whose cantankerous character delivers one of the episode’s best lines during a petty argument. After an exchange that includes the gloriously pedantic “I was the victim of your note” versus “You were the recipient of my note,” Grier caps it off with a hilariously begrudging, “I. Like. YOU.” It’s the kind of sharp, character-driven dialogue that makes me want to rewatch the episode just to catch every nuance I might’ve missed.
What’s remarkable is that this is only the show’s fourth episode, yet it already feels fully realized. Characters are clicking, the humor is layered, and the writers clearly have a firm grasp on the fundamentals of great comedy. Watching St. Denis Medical, I can’t help but feel optimistic about its potential. As someone who’s binged countless sitcoms—some great, many mediocre—I know how hard it is to strike this balance so early in a series’ run.
More than anything, though, I’m struck by how much heart the show has. Beneath the sharp jokes and chaotic workplace antics, there’s a genuine appreciation for the overworked, underappreciated people who keep hospitals running. The humor never feels mean-spirited or cynical; instead, it feels like a tribute to the resilience and camaraderie of people just trying to get through the day.
What did you think?
Loved it
Hated it
So/So
Comments