Five Days At Memorial is a Apple TV+ Mini Series based on the true story and drawn from the book (published under the same name) by Sheri Fink.
In New Orleans in 2005, the Memorial Medical Center is hit by Hurricane Katrina. Over five days, the situation becomes increasingly dire, leading Dr Anna Pou (Vera Farmiga), the incident commander Susan Mulderick (Cherry Jones), Dr Horace Baltz (Robert Pine), Butch Schafer (Michael Gaston), and Karen Wynn (Adepero Oduye) all trapped and forced to make difficult decisions.
It aired in August and September 2022.
Tropes
- 20 Minutes into the Past: Released in summer 2022, set in summer 2005.
- Crazy-Prepared: Deconstructed. Susan discovers that the hospital is prepared for events as relatively unlikely as an anthrax attack, but not for the possibility of an evacuation in event of a flood.
- Gossip Evolution: On day 2, a rumor goes around about a nurse being attacked by a dog, which becomes a story of a nurse being gang-raped by some kids, and then multiple nurses.
- Hope Spot: The hurricane actually passes through the hospital without causing too much damage. It's what happens afterwards that leads to so many deaths.
- No Help Is Coming: New Orleans is in such chaos that nobody can come to help the hospital, a fact that's repeated over and over by those outside, establishing that it's no better outside.
- Not Quite Saved Enough: Or so it proves with the hospital. They can survive the hurricane, but the failure to deploy government resources and emergency help leads to disaster.
- Self-Serving Memory: In the finale, accepting an award, Anna talks of how horrible it was at Memorial with FEMA calling back rescue boats, no helicopters and nothing else. Horace calls her out on how it wasn't FEMA who made the call, there were helicopters flying every night and "just because you remember things one way doesn't make them true."
