Red Band Society

Cast and characters

Octavia Spencer portrayed Dena Jackson, the strict and seemingly scary head nurse overseeing the pediatric facility. Dave Annable played Dr. Adam McAndrew, a handsome skilled surgeon working at the hospital and an ex-fiancé of Dr. Erin Grace. Ciara Bravo was Emma Chota, an intelligent patient with anorexia, who is also the girlfriend of Leo and the love interest of Jordi. Griffin Gluck played Charles "Charlie" Hutchison, a young comatose patient in the pediatrics ward who is also the narrator of the series.

Zoe Levin portrayed Kara Souders, a high school cheerleader with an enlarged heart who is at the bottom of the transplant recipient list due to her drug abuse. She is the love interest of Hunter. Rebecca Rittenhouse played Brittany Dobler, a new, ambitious, and cheerful nurse. She has a one-night stand with Dr. McAndrew.

Charlie Rowe portrayed Leo Roth, an amputee and former osteosarcoma patient who is undergoing rehabilitation. He is the creator and unofficial leader of the Red Band Society. He is in love with Emma and dated her, on and off. Nolan Sotillo played Jordi Palacios, a patient with Ewing sarcoma who is newly admitted to the pediatrics ward.

He has a crush on Emma. Astro portrayed Dashiell "Dash" Hosney, a patient with cystic fibrosis who tries to impress girls. He is best friends with Leo. Recurring cast included Wilson Cruz as nurse Kenji Gomez-Rejon; Daren Kagasoff as Hunter Cole, a leukemia survivor who now suffers from cirrhosis and is in need of a liver transplant, Kara's love interest; Thomas Ian Nicholas as Nick Hutchison, Charlie's father; Susan Park as Mandy Hutchison, Charlie's mother; Adrian Lester as Dr. Larry Naday, a famous British neurologist brought in to help Charlie who becomes the love interest of Dena; Mandy Moore as Dr. Erin Grace, McAndrew's ex-fiancée; Griffin Dunne as Ruben Garcia, an older hypochondria patient; Catalina Sandino Moreno as Eva Palacios, Jordi's mother; Andrea Parker as Sarah Souders, Kara's mother; Tricia O'Kelley as Daniella, Kara's step-mother and former nanny; Nicolas Bechtel as younger Jordi Palacios; Jes Macallan as Ashley Cole, Hunter's sister; Jessica Lu as Mae, Dash's online girlfriend who also has cystic fibrosis; Rebecca McFarland as Sylvia Roth, Leo's mother; John Allen Nelson as Jon Chota, Emma's father; Marin Hinkle as Caroline Chota, Emma's mother, whom Emma hasn't had a good relationship with since her diagnosis; and Bertila Damas as Alma Quintana Leon, Jordi's grandmother, whom he grew up with in Mexico.

Guest stars included Kennedy Brice as Finley Chota, Emma's little sister, and Bella Thorne as Delaney Shaw, a troubled teen pop star in the hospital for rehab who later almost has sex with Dash.

Development

A remake of Polseres vermelles, known in English as The Red Band Society, was originally developed for ABC in 2011 by Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman, but the network chose to not move forward after first production stages. In November 2013, Fox announced a new project to bring an adaptation of the Catalan television show in the United States held by Warm Springs and Boardwalk Empire writer Margaret Nagle. On January 17, 2014, the project received a pilot order, plus additional backup scripts. On May 6, 2014, Fox picked up the pilot with a series order for the 2014–15 season.

Broadcast

The series premiered on September 17, 2014. Based on the Catalan drama series Polseres vermelles, the series focuses on a group of teenagers living together as patients in a hospital's pediatric ward.

On November 26, 2014, it was confirmed the show would stop production after its original 13-episode order, and the show was pulled from the schedule after episode 10. On January 13, 2015, it was announced that the show was canceled, and the final three episodes of the series would air starting on January 31 and ending on February 7, 2015, with a two-hour finale. In Australia, the series premiered on August 26, 2015, on the Seven Network.