The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy is a Science fiction black comedy animated series releasing on Prime Video on February 23, 2024. Produced by Amazon MGM Studios, with animation by Titmouse Studios, the series was written and created by Cirocco Dunlap. It consists of 8 episodes with a runtime of 25-30 minutes.
The voice cast of the series includes Stephanie Hsu as Dr Sleech, Keke Palmer as Dr Klak, Kieran Culkin as Dr Plowp, Sam Smith as Dr Azel, Maya Rudolph as Dr Vlam, Natasha Lyonne as Nurse Tup, Lennon Parham, Andrew Dismukes and others.
In The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy, experience the incredible journey of two alien best friends, Dr Sleech and Dr Klak, who are renowned surgeons across the universe. Witness as they take on challenges such as anxiety-eating parasites, illegal time loops, and deep-space STIs with their unparalleled expertise. Brace yourself for an adventure that will take you to the farthest corners of the galaxy.
The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy Review
If you wish to see another doctor pair in a medical drama like Meredith and Cristina from Grey’s Anatomy, Sleech and Klak might become your second favourite. Just make them otherworldly, dealing with gnarly diseases and futuristic technology that decreases the chances of the patient dying on the table to nill, but 100 per cent chances of them getting exploded like a balloon filled with slime.
Dr Sleech is your ever-perfect, adventurous and borderline narcissist character whose only aversion is getting vulnerable and emotions. Despite thinking of everyone as inferior to her, she has found her person in Dr Klak, whose whole personality is that she has anxiety. It overrides everything about her, even making her the face of anxiety, all because of her experimentative mother. You can imagine Klak’s mother akin to Leonard Hofstadter’s mother (from The Big Bang Theory), but take it up a notch as she decides curing her daughter’s anxiety as her life purpose and even make money & fame off of it.
Together the two dysfunctional twisted surgeons take on new cases like finding a cure for anxiety-eating parasites or trying to fix illegal time loops and even deep-space STIs – that make one look like the person they contacted it from. With every new case, they hone their excellent skills while breaking many ethical codes (cue House MD) but also deal with some personal issues, urging them to grow as a person or alien, in this case.
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Among the duo, Klak is more like the main character of the show, as her diligent pursuit to cure her anxiety takes up the majority. Her character is a projection of a troubled childhood, growing up to be an underconfident, anxiety-ridden individual, whose mind could flip in extreme situations. Meanwhile, through Sleech, we witness an emotionally unavailable individual who would run out the door, as soon as any emotion creeps up in her ‘no-strings-attached’ relationships.
Through these extraterrestrial creatures, the show explores some of the deep and complex topics in a bite-size, entertaining way. In many ways, it comments on the current state of our society where capitalism takes precedence over humanity. By using a fictional corporation named ‘Uniyum’ which is omnipresent through its products and media channels, it shows how even the alien world has to comply with money-minded corporations to run their business, even a hospital. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration if real-life patients had to hear a corporate jingle mid-surgery or were forced to purchase only sponsor’s products for surgeries, as portrayed in the show.
Overall, it’s an introspective and intriguing animated show to watch. There’s a perfect mix of sci-fi elements with some action, medical drama and self-exploration, all while dealing with some existential dread. The characters are relatable despite the species-al differences and every episode brings an engaging scenario making you binge-watch in one sitting.
Rating: 4/5
The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy will be available for streaming on Prime Video.
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