'The Resident' star Ian Anthony Dale hopes medical drama will be renewed for Season 7
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: FOX's 'The Resident' is a medical drama that centers on the lives and responsibilities of staffers at the fictional Chastain Park Memorial Hospital while also shedding light on the real-life bureaucratic procedures in the healthcare industry.
Amy Holden Jones, the show's co-creator, asserted that the Season 6 finale was written in such a manner that viewers could say goodbye to their favorite characters on the last episode, titled 'All Hands on Deck'. Actor Ian Anthony Dale, who plays Dr James Yamanda on the show, told TV Insider in January that they were cautiously optimistic the show will be renewed for a seventh season.
READ MORE
'How I Met Your Father' Season 2: Showrunner Elizabeth Berger spills the beans on Jess and Sophie
'Unicorn: Warriors Eternal': Release date and how to watch the Adult Swim animated fantasy
Ian Anthony Dale is keeping his fingers crossed
When asked about his character, Dale stated that he had a great time working on the show and that he knew from the first conversation with Jones that his character was going to be some sort of "resident playboy, free agent" and that as the series progressed, there were going to be numerous potential love interests for the character.
The actor reportedly said, “The cast was extremely welcoming and so kind. I felt very comfortable there and it was a character and a job that I thoroughly enjoyed getting to experience and I’m holding out hope that they put the sets back up and give it another go for one more season, but fingers crossed," adding that just like the audience, he would also love to explore the story between James and Cade (Kaley Ronayne), as their relationship seemed to have potential. He believed that the audience would like to know more about them.
Ian Anthony Dale tones down Dr James Yamada's prickly characteristics
During the interview, Dale discussed that he watched a few episodes of 'The Resident' before joining the cast and noticed that all of the characters were likeable, but James came across as immensely cocky, which made him wonder how the audience could like a character like that. "I did my due diligence in watching about five episodes of the show, and one thing that was abundantly clear to me was that all the characters were extremely likable. And I was like, I don’t know if I can come onto the show and be prickly and mean because how is the audience ever going to someone like that and how will a character that ever have any real chance for staying in power?" he said.
He added, "And so I sort of made this decision to, let me present something that is sort of constructed on extreme confidence, but try to dial back any sort of prickly, douche-y characteristics about him. It seemed to work and I was so pleased that Andrew and Amy responded to the choices that I made. And yeah, it led to me getting to have a lot of fun with that group over the course of the last half of the season."
The actor stated that if 'The Resident' returns for Season 7, he would like to be more active in the show's medical aspects, particularly considering how the creators have the precise discipline for a character and then find an artistic way to incorporate them into more medical storylines. Dale said, “I’d be happy to put the lab coat back on — or take it back off, in the case of my character in his many relationships. But yeah, it’s a show that I enjoyed very much.”
