Paramedics (TV show)

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Paramedics was a medical-based television reality show that formerly ran on TLC from 1999 to 2001 and now runs infrequently on Discovery Health Channel. A spin-off of Trauma: Life in the E.R., Paramedics follows the activities of teams of EMTs and paramedics around the U.S. in a number of large urban centers. The series was never as successful ratingswise in its original run on TLC as its parent show Trauma, but it has found a home on Discovery Health Channel, serving in a four-show rotation in the 1800-2000 EST5EDT time block with Code Blue: New Orleans, Code Blue: Savannah, and Trauma: Life in the ER.

The show had no regular cast^[1]; every week featured a different city and a different group of paramedics. Actor Michael McGlone narrated the series. Composer Chuck Hammer scored the series.

The excitement as well as the mundanity of being a paramedic is evident, as many different cases ranging from life-and-death to broken wrists to false calls are all undiscriminatingly presented. This works to provide a realistic look at the job of a paramedic. The show differs from Trauma: Life in the E.R. in that it doesn't show surgeries and hospital discharges, but rather focuses on the importance of a paramedic's immediate care and social skills in dealing with a variety of (often resistant and combative) people.

3 of the 4 producers of the show, including Neil A. Cohen, also produced Trauma: Life in the E.R., and many of the cities featured in the series overlapped with the location settings for episodes of Trauma: Life in the E.R. shot during the same time frame. Paramedics was produced by Discovery Channel Pictures and distributed by The Discovery Channel.