Laurie's Chance is more psychological thriller than medical drama

The new Hulu original show Chance sees Hugh Laurie return to screens in good form. Laurie seems at ease in his new role as Dr. Eldon Chance, a consultant neuro-psychiatrist, who seeks to help people with neurological trauma find the best treatment for their resulting psychological issues. As much as I loved the flamboyant and ostentatious grand standing of House, an older calmer Laurie allows him to  portray a little more nuance in his milder mannered, quietly troubled character. Only getting glimpses into his patients lives makes his role particularly lonely and unrewarding, yet as circumstances force him to become more involved we see the him slowly driven by conscience and dire circumstance to live life again. As he sees the people he refers being failed by the system he slowly becomes more involved, part PI, part medicine man. Having failed a patient before who we see in flashbacks, Chance is driven not to make the same mistake when he sees another woman in an impossible circumstance, as he says to a fellow disenfranchised colleague "We either do something, or we don't, it's simple!"

Of course Laurie's gorgeous voice makes him perfect for these philosophical questionings and in a neo-noir style he narrates the cases, setting the scene and tension for each episode at the begining. The city is well shot in to match this style too, deep tones and lighting help give the atmosphere a real edge, there's a David Lynch-esque quality to the production. The at once vulnerable and inemitable femme fatale character is acted well and keeps the good Doctor on his toes, constantly questioning the reality of the events presented to him. While his family commitments keep him anchored, moving between the worlds of insanity, criminality and keeping up appearances makes for compelling viewing.


Though the show has opened to tepid audience and critical reception I think given a chance to develop, this could turn into a truly moving piece of television story telling. An exploration of the human condition that avoids pretention or sensationalism.