This Is Going to Hurt: Everything we know about the medical drama

Series is adapted from Adam Kay’s bestselling 2017 memoir, which has been described as a ‘love letter to the NHS’

Ben Whishaw stars in This Is Going to Hurt, a new seven-part drama airing now on AMC after originally showing on BBC One in the UK earlier this year.

The series is created by comedian and former doctor Adam Kay and based on his bestselling 2017 memoir of the same name.

Set in an NHS hospital, This is Going to Hurt takes a look at the toll that the job takes on a young healthcare worker, played by Whishaw.

Here’s a rundown on everything we know about This is Going to Hurt...

When is it released?

The first in the seven episode limited series debuted Thursday 2 June on AMC. There will be one new episode dropping every Thursday until 14 July. The series originally aired in the UK on BBC One in February, with episodes available to stream on BBC iPlayer,

What’s the premise?

The series is based on the 2017 memoir This is Going to Hurt, which followed medic Adam Kay’s journey through the ranks of the NHS.

Kay has described the novel as “a love letter to the NHS”, that uses humour to “tell the story of what it’s like to be a junior doctor”.

The series dramatises the events of the book, beginning in 2006, with Kay (Whishaw) starting as an acting registrar in a London hospital’s obstetrics and gynaecology department (apparently otherwise known as “brats and twats”).

Shruti (Ambika Mod) and Adam (Ben Wishaw) in ‘This Is Going To Hurt' (BBC/Sister/AMC/Anika Molnar)

Much like the book, the series strives to be candid in its depiction of the UK’s national health service, revealing the effects of budget cuts, staff shortages, and outside factors such as the racism faced by some healthcare workers – all while celebrating the work and dedication of NHS staff.

The series is also part character study, focusing on the fictional Kay’s personal life and relationships at work.

Who’s in the cast?

Ben Whishaw (who played Q in the James Bond franchise and has also starred in the Paddington films) plays Adam Kay, the beleaguered but not wholly sympathetic protagonist.

Ben Wishaw as Adam in ‘This Is Going To Hurt' (BBC/Sister/AMC/Anika Molnar)

Also in the cast are Ambika Mod (Trying), Dame Harriet Walter (Succession), Alex Jennings (The Crown), Kadiff Kirwan (Fleabag), Ashley McGuire (This Country), Rory Fleck Byrne (The Foreigner) and Michele Austin (EastEnders).

The series is written by Kay, and directed by Lucy Forbes and Tom Kingsley.

Who is Adam Kay?

After joining the NHS as a junior doctor in 2004, Kay quit the profession in 2010 to become a writer and comedian.

He has written for series including Mrs Brown’s Boys and Mitchell and Webb, appeared on several UK comedy panel shows, and is a successful stand-up comedian.

The real Adam Kay, photographed in 2018 (Getty Images)

Kay has also enjoyed a career in music as one half of the Amateur Transplants. The band (now comprised solely of Kay) are known for their 2005 parody single “London Underground”.