NBC Pulls 'Nurses' Episode Over Orthodox Jew Storyline Backlash

NBC has decided to pull an episode of their primetime drama, Nurses.

According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, the network will not air the episode in question in the future or on streaming networks.

The plot facing backlash involved an Orthodox Jew who refuses a bone graft from a potentially “Arab” or “woman” donor.

“The writers of this scene check all the boxes of ignorance and pernicious negative stereotypes right down to the name of the patient, Israel — payouts [sidelocks] and all,” a statement reads from the Simon Wiesenthal Center. “In one scene, NBC has insulted and demonized religious Jews and Judaism.”

The scene, which aired earlier this month, sees the young Orthodox Jew named Israel in a hospital bed, and his father is standing next to him. His father is insisting that “the Creator” will heel his shattered leg after an accident, while the nurse on call says that medicine is his best bet.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center carried on in their statement, “Orthodox Jews are targeted for violent hate crimes in the city of New York. Jews are [the] number one target of hate crimes in the U.S. This is no slip of the tongue. It was a vile, cheap attack masquerading as TV drama. What’s NBC going to do about it?”

Another organization, the B’nai Brith Canada, has called on action from NBC.

“The disturbing stereotypes present in this episode of Nurses are deeply damaging to Jews, especially Orthodox practitioners,” Michael Mostyn, chief executive officer of the organization, shared in his own statement. “We call on the producers to act responsibly and take accountability for this outrage.

THR says that NBC has responded to the backlash by pulling the episode from air, and all future airings. However, while they are in conversation with various Jewish groups, it has no plans to issue a statement condemning the episode.

Nurses centers on five medical professionals who are just starting their new jobs on the front lines at St. Mary’s, a busy downtown hospital. The series airs Tuesdays on NBC.

If you haven’t seen, check out the full line up of renewals and cancellations for 2021 on NBC here…