‘The Night Shift’: Jennifer Beals on Playing an Army Surgeon

Aubry D'Arminio June 1, 2016, 12:33 pm

The Night Shift - Jennfier Beals as Syd Jennings and Brendan Fehr as Drew Alister — Ursula Coyote/NBC

THE NIGHT SHIFT -- "The Times They Are-A-Changin" Episode 301 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jennfier Beals as Syd Jennings, Brendan Fehr as Drew Alister -- (Photo by: Ursula Coyote/NBC)

“I love learning about medical procedures,” says actress Jennifer Beals, who got to “perform” quite a few while filming her six-episode arc as supersurgeon Dr. Syd Jennings on NBC’s The Night Shift (premiering June 1). Jennings is an Army doctor who befriends Brendan Fehr’s Dr. Alister while serving in Afghanistan.

“He’s her moral compass,” Beals says. The pair then keep in touch while adjusting to life back in the States. “Syd’s been deployed three times and has distinguished herself out in the field,” Beals says. “But when she’s home, she’s expected to automatically inhabit a stereotypical feminine role, presumably ignoring the rigors and memories of war.”

The Night Shift, Season Premiere, Wednesday, June 1, 10/9c, NBC.