Luke Kirby & the Dr. Death Cast Review Their Medical Knowledge After Filming the Peacock Drama

Audiences tuning into Dr. Death season two on Peacock can expect to be versed in some advanced medical jargon after watching the true crime drama. Based on the hit podcast of the same name, Dr. Death’s second season focuses on a different story than the first, which starred Joshua Jackson and Alec Baldwin.

This season retells the true story of Dr. Paolo Macchiarini, an Italian thoracic surgeon who performed fatal trachea transplants on patients without sufficient research. Played by Edgar Ramirez, Macchiarini deceives not only his colleagues but NBC journalist Benita Alexander (Mandy Moore) who he defrauds into a relationship.

In addition to chatting with Ramirez and Moore about the show, SheKnows caught up with Luke Kirby, Ashley Madekwe and Gustaf Hammarsten, who play Macchiarini’s colleagues, to discuss their experience filming the show.

VIDEO: @TheMandyMoore tells us about #DrDeath working with Edgar Ramirez & why this role is the total opposite of #ThisIsUs! 🖊 @AliceMKelly1https://t.co/QmzOIQYrXc

— SheKnows (@SheKnows) December 22, 2023

If you’re a fan of Grey’s Anatomy, or any other hit medical drama, you’ve probably picked up a few key phrases in your viewing. Dr. Death ramps that up due to the plots focus on regenerative science. Carrying that plot is Kirby, Madekwe and Hammarsten. So, how do the actors rate their medical knowledge now?

“Well I’m a type A overachiever so I feel like I would pass with flying colors,” Madekwe jokes. Hammarsten, on the other hand is at a disadvantage. “I’m extremely Swedish so I’d have lots of problems,” he told us.

“I don’t think they’d let me through the door,” Kirby quips. “And they’d be right.”

The characters played by the trio are based on a cohort of real-life whistleblowers who worked closely with Macchiarini before eventually bringing down his scheme and bringing his malpractice to light. With a podcast and many other source materials to go off, the stars had plenty of research material at their disposal.

“I listened to the podcast beforehand,” Madekwe told us, adding that she is currently listening to season four. “I was a big fan of season one of the TV show. So I was definitely aware of the story of Macchiarini.”

Hammarsten had the advantage of being from Sweden, where many of Macchiarini’s surgeries took place. “I knew about this guy because I was there firsthand. I’d been at this hospital. I knew who he was, before I listened to the podcast, which I did after I got this job.”

While drawing from the podcast, the show cleverly weaves between the medical storyline and Macchiarini’s disturbing deceit in his own personal life, preying on an intelligent journalist and leading her into a romance based on lies.

“What I loved most about this season is the mix of the medical true crime element, and then also the salacious, juicy love story element,” Madekwe explains. “He was he was scamming in his professional life and scamming and his personal. A scammer.” Kirby wonders, “How did he sleep?”

But sleep he did. Ramirez deftly portrays Macchiarini’s ability to spin lie after lie and come out unscathed. Yet, within from the cunning deception, is a tragic story of loss and manipulation that is told with heart and great empathy for the surgeon’s victims.

Season two of Dr. Death is streaming on Peacock now.