Image Credit: ANNA KOORIS/Netflix © 2024
Netflix’s new medical drama PULSE takes the genre to a place that feels refreshing and exciting. Filled with an exceptionally talented ensemble cast of complex and endearing characters, PULSE takes viewers through an intertwining narrative that’ll have you reaching for the clicker to play the next episode the second the credits start rolling.
Viewers should prepare for an emotional ride through countless well-written story arcs, like the questionable behavior of Dr. Tom Cole (Jack Bannon), the weight of consequential decision making by head of surgery Dr. Natalie Cruz (Justina Machado), the unlikely friendship blossoming between Dr. Camila Perez (Daniela Nieves) and Dr. Sophie Chan (Chelsea Muirhead), and a good ol’ fashioned love triangle between Dr. Danielle Simms (Willa Fitzgerald), Dr. Xander Phillips (Colin Woodell), and Dr. Sam Elijah (Jessie T. Usher) that’ll leave viewers wanting more.
The dynamic between Dr. Danielle Simms and her sister, Dr. Harper Simms (Jessy Yates), is like a two way mirror; one sees her sister so clearly but the other sees their own regrets reflected back at them, from their difficult upbringing leading to a complicated sisterhood, all through Harper being the “bag girl” in medical school to working in the same ER as her chief resident sister who is caught up in the politics of making an accusation against a senior colleague from a powerful family.
Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Jessy Yates is an actor, writer, and advocate. She has cerebral palsy and, like Harper, uses a wheelchair. She is a graduate of the Acting Class of 2022 at Yale School of Drama, where she was the first wheelchair using student in the school’s history. She is a fervent advocate for disability justice and disability representation in media. Yates shared her thoughts about playing disabled emergency medicine resident Harper Simms with Disability Belongs™’ Aaron Potter, a fellow actor who is currently co-starring in the limited television series Good American Family for Hulu & ABC.
Yates acknowledged that her character “doesn’t get the luxury of messing up the way her peers do” and spoke about the role of medical ableism, which has “life and death consequences.”
“I think a lot of ableism comes from a fear of the unknown,” Yates said in an interview with Disability Belongs™. “So much of medicine is geared toward cure, so there’s not much space for the gray area of disability. Being disabled requires being in conversation with medicine, but not always dictated by medicine. A provider can’t really get the full picture of the disability experience in an hour-long appointment geared towards fixing the problem. If providers only think about disabled people as people who are broken and need fixing, then it’s a slippery slope to the assumption that some lives hold less value.”
Yates shared that she found the PULSE set, which was a soundstage, to be accessible, including a wheelchair accessible trailer. The production team also “built a hydraulic lift so I could access the hair and makeup trailer, which was a first for me.”
“The other thing that production did was…they just asked me my preferences,” Yates said. “Instead of just assuming my access needs were the ADA-one-size-fits-none, they would just ask me what I needed. Production staff are so used to dealing with all sorts of needs and demands from actors, so I think it’s helpful to remember that, while we might feel like outliers, it ain’t so different or hard to accommodate!”
She also said that she felt comfortable making suggestions, as “the writers and producers were committed to authenticity from the very start.”
“As a disabled actor, I’ve gotten sort of used to putting out ableism-fires, but I never really needed to do that on this one,” she said. “When I was hired, I was pretty forthright about not wanting to gloss over Harper’s reality using TV magic. Why bother with representation if it’s not going to enrich the world of the show, complicate the character, and possibly show an audience something they’ve not seen before? Yes, ‘representation matters,’ but I think as a community we are craving a more in depth, nuanced representation. Patients *are* going to treat her differently. Her body *will* be a barrier sometimes. She has fears and insecurities that her disability contributed to. Letting those in let me use my full self, including my body, to create her. Those things also happen to make interesting TV; We were always on the same page about that. I love the balance that the show strikes this season – Harper’s disability definitely comes up, but it’s not really her main source of conflict. Which pretty much sums up my experience with a disability.”
Read the full Q&A below.
Aaron: When you had the opportunity to read for Dr. Simms for the first time, what was something you wanted to bring to this character?
Jessy: Harper has definitely grown from the initial audition to the last episode. I think it’s every actor’s dream to get the time and willing collaborators that allow you to deepen and evolve a character. Over time, she’s gotten wittier, a little edgier, and slightly messier – but the thing that has been at her core since my first audition has been her intense professionalism mixed with a profound sense of empathy. She’s a disabled emergency medicine resident, so she doesn’t get the luxury of messing up the way her peers do. I knew she couldn’t show any doubt in her skills to her coworkers (except for in front of Danny). I knew she needed the reality of having to be twice as good to go half as far to weigh on her. And yet, she’s been there. She knows how scary and confusing being in the ER can be. So, keeping her warmth was really important.
Aaron: How did you research your role? Do you have any experience with complex medical procedures to know where to put your hands and what to pick up next? Is there a doctor on set who guides the actors?
Jessy: Until shooting, I had no experience with performing medical procedures (thank god). I went to theatre school…twice!
Luckily no one expected any medical know-how from us, and we were given several days of Dr Bootcamp. Beyond that, I was lucky enough to then get to go to Mayo Clinic and shadow an EM (Emergency Medicine) Attending who uses a chair. He and I worked out the basics of how to adapt things like intubations and physical assessments. I wanted to be as honest as possible about how Harper would do the medicine instead of relying on TV magic to solve access questions. A lot of what we worked out made it into the show in subtle ways, like shifting a patient onto my lap to intubate, always having a nurse or tech lower the tables and computers, and acknowledging that we are likely never going to see Harper give CPR.
To prepare for specific procedures, we would rehearse a rough shape of the specific procedure a day or two before shooting with at least one of our on-set medical advisors. One of the executive producers is a former EM physician and we had two incredible nurses who led us in all things Medicine. One of the three was present anytime we were dealing with any of the actual medicine. After rehearsal, I would cram for the shoot by watching videos of the procedures on repeat – it’s amazing what is on YouTube. Want to watch a canthotomy? A splenectomy? You got it! I think it’s safe to say it solved any squeamishness I might’ve had coming in. And finally, I have to shout out to our background actors, many of whom worked in medicine. They saved me from humiliation many times if I forgot a step or how to hold a tool. If any of us look like an expert, it’s because of them.
Aaron: What was your favorite scene to shoot or your most memorable day on set and why?
Jessy: I really loved the stress of the medicine, so I loved (and sometimes feared) the days I had to shoot a procedure, because it felt like the biggest challenge for me, but also where Harper thrived and felt in control.
Aaron: Disabled people are represented on medical shows in a variety of ways, but we see too few disabled doctors on our TV screens. Why is it important that the public – both disabled and nondisabled – see disabled people in positions of power, like medical professionals?
Jessy: Medical ableism can and does have life and death consequences. I think a lot of ableism comes from a fear of the unknown. Years of textbook training can be upended when confronted with people, complex and nuanced as we are. Expanding what young professionals are exposed to can change the standard of care. So much of medicine is geared toward cure, so there’s not much space for the gray area of disability. Being disabled requires being in conversation with medicine, but not always dictated by medicine. A provider can’t really get the full picture of the disability experience in an hour-long appointment geared towards fixing the problem. If providers only think about disabled people as people who are broken and need fixing, then it’s a slippery slope to the assumption that some lives hold less value.
Aaron: Authentic representation is so important. What does it mean to you to be able to represent all the people out there who see themselves in Dr. Harper Simms?
Jessy: I just feel really honored to be a conduit. I know what it’s like to believe a certain type of life isn’t possible, because you’ve never seen it reflected in the world. There’s been times in my life where the loneliness of that invisibility has nearly crushed me. If Harper makes one person feel seen and valued…then, wow. It makes the (sometimes) slog of a career as an actor worth it.
Aaron: I recently got to play a character that shared my disability, and it felt very delicate to me, like something I want to take care of and do right by. I really wanted to be a good representation of what is part of my identity but also my character’s identity as well. Since everyone’s relationship with their own disability is different, I felt I had to separate my relationship with my disability to that of my character’s, even though we have the same disability. How did you approach the way Dr. Harper Simms thinks of herself?
Jessy: I love this question because this was something I thought about a lot. I was born disabled, and I’ve been out and proud about being a member of the disability community. I don’t think Harper identifies quite so hard with her disability. She was injured at 15, so her high school self-discovery phase would’ve mostly been spent in rehab. Then, she went immediately to get multiple STEM degrees from Harvard and straight into residency, so I don’t know that’s she’s even had time to have the *Disability Awakening* a lot of us have. While she isn’t ashamed of being disabled, I think she sees it more clinically than it being an identity that empowers her.
Aaron: I know you had the opportunity to work closely with the show to ensure Dr. Simms was authentically represented. Can you tell me a little bit about what that looked like, why that is so important and what that did for you as a performer with a disability on a set?
Jessy: The writers were in contact with two disabled physicians, Dr Allison Kessler and Dr. Daniel Grossman (who I shadowed at Mayo), before I ever came along. That made my job a lot easier. As a disabled actor, I’ve gotten sort of used to putting out ableism-fires, but I never really needed to do that on this one. The writers and producers were committed to authenticity from the very start, which made me feel comfortable collaborating and making suggestions. When I was hired, I was pretty forthright about not wanting to gloss over Harper’s reality using TV magic. Why bother with representation if it’s not going to enrich the world of the show, complicate the character, and possibly show an audience something they’ve not seen before? Yes, “representation matters,” but I think as a community we are craving a more in depth, nuanced representation. Patients *are* going to treat her differently. Her body *will* be a barrier sometimes. She has fears and insecurities that her disability contributed to. Letting those in let me use my full self, including my body, to create her. Those things also happen to make interesting TV; We were always on the same page about that. I love the balance that the show strikes this season – Harper’s disability definitely comes up, but it’s not really her main source of conflict. Which pretty much sums up my experience with a disability.
Aaron: In terms of accessibility, what did PULSE get right that other television sets should copy?
Jessy: It’s funny, I can hardly remember my experience with access, which is a good thing. Accessibility is one of those things you only notice when you don’t have it.
PULSE has the luxury of being primarily a soundstage show. A stage show, with a lot of other props on wheels – gurneys, wheelchairs, rolling medical equipment, so our set was about as accessible as they come. I was spoiled. On the lot, I had a wheelchair accessible trailer, and they built a hydraulic lift so I could access the hair and makeup trailer, which was a first for me. I’ve never been able to get into the hair and makeup trailer, which does not necessarily prohibit me from doing my job, but can be isolating. If I can recommend one thing, it would be that!
The other thing that production did was…they just asked me my preferences. Instead of just assuming my access needs were the ADA-one-size-fits-none, they would just ask me what I needed. Production staff are so used to dealing with all sorts of needs and demands from actors, so I think it’s helpful to remember that, while we might feel like outliers, it ain’t so different or hard to accommodate!
Aaron: Sometimes disabled actors are faced with scenes that aren’t particularly a good representation of a person with their disability. What advice would you give to actors with disabilities when it comes to navigating their characters and authentic storytelling?
Jessy: Ooof, this is a hard question. For better or worse, from the very beginning of my professional career, I’ve been really clear about what I will or will not audition for. Those boundaries have helped me retain some semblance of ownership over my artistry in a career that often feels so motored by others’ choices. It’s a really tricky situation when you’re already on the job. This is when I lean into all my training and try to think dramaturgically about a moment and start asking myself lots of questions. Sometimes a scene that feels ableist might actually be uncomfortable because the character is uncomfortable, or that the character has a different relationship with disability than I, the actor, do. Sometimes coming up against my own edges and vulnerabilities is where the true magic is. If it’s clear the creators are just unfamiliar with a particular element of disability and the vibe allows for conversation, then I bring it up. I do this by starting with an open-ended question at first – something like “Hey, can we talk about xyz moment? What were you thinking, because I might be missing something?” Then I root my suggestions of feedback in what is true for my character, as opposed to myself. Our job as actors is to defend our character, not be the unpaid disability consultant, so keeping the conversation open, inquisitive, and character-driven helps to keep these conversations about the work, rather than accidentally attacking a creator’s internal biases.
Aaron: And last question, do you think we’ll see Dr. Harper Simms’ battle it out for Chief Resident in the future?
Jessy: …maybe? but then again I don’t know if Harper really wants to put up with all that drama.
