Watching This Is Going to Hurt felt uncomfortably personal for me. I went in expecting another sharply written British drama with dark humor, but what I found hit much harder—it’s a series that made me laugh at its absurdities, then left me hollowed out by its honesty.
As someone who has seen friends struggle in high-pressure jobs, I could feel the exhaustion seeping out of Adam’s sleepless eyes, the way Shruti’s optimism slowly collapsed under the weight of the NHS. It’s not just a medical drama; it’s a painfully real portrait of how a “calling” can both sustain and destroy you, and how the system that shapes you can also be the one to break you.
This Is Going to Hurt Official Trailer
This Is Going to Hurt Summary | |
|---|---|
| Title: | This Is Going to Hurt |
| Series Info: | UK (2022) |
| Length: | 47 minutes |
| Total Episodes: | 7 Episodes |
| Genre: | Romance, Boy's love |
Plot
Adam Kay (Ben Whishaw) is a junior obstetrician-gynecologist working in the relentless chaos of the NHS. Days are consumed by overcrowded wards, endless night shifts, and impossible patient loads. Among his colleagues is Shruti (Ambika Mod), a bright and eager trainee learning the harsh realities of the job.
Outside the hospital, Adam has been in a long-term relationship with his boyfriend Harry (Rory Fleck Byrne), yet he has never come out to his parents—let alone introduced Harry to them. A misdiagnosis leading to a premature birth becomes the noose tightening around Adam’s neck, testing his resilience and pushing him toward burnout.
Across seven episodes, the series intertwines personal crises with systemic critique, exposing the NHS’s chronic underfunding, the mental health toll on its workers, and the quiet tragedies that rarely make the headlines.
This Is Going to Hurt Cast
Charactor
A junior obstetrician-gynecologist juggling medical crises, personal insecurity, and a strained relationship.
Ben Whishaw
Ben Whishaw, an acclaimed British actor (A Very English Scandal, Paddington), brings sharp wit and quiet vulnerability to Adam, making him infuriating yet deeply human.
A bright trainee doctor whose journey from eager newcomer to disillusioned professional forms the series’ most heartbreaking arc.
Ambika Mod
Ambika Mod delivers a breakout performance, grounding Shruti’s decline in both personal and systemic pressures.
Adam’s long-term boyfriend, patient and perceptive, yet unwilling to ignore Adam’s deeper flaws.
Rory Fleck Byrne
Rory Fleck Byrne (Harlots, Vampire Academy) infuses Harry with warmth and understated strength, making him a moral counterweight to Adam.
This Is Going to Hurt Review
Review
Story – 4.9/5
This Is Going to Hurt captures a truth rarely dramatized with such precision: in medicine, the hurt cuts both ways. Patients may face one or two major health crises in their lives; doctors live through them daily for decades. The very thing that brings them joy—saving lives—also becomes the source of their deepest pain when things go wrong.
Adam’s arc is not a redemption fairy tale but a portrait of a flawed human navigating a flawed system. His “I’m fine” mantra masks deep insecurity, arrogance, and self-doubt. Shruti’s journey, by contrast, is the most devastating: she grows into a capable doctor only to be crushed by the same system that trained her. The show’s refusal to handwave her tragedy into a “lesson learned” makes it all the more haunting.
The writing excels at showing how systemic failings—understaffing, budget cuts, bureaucratic indifference—harm both patients and doctors, while also diving into the intimate relationships that fracture under pressure.
Acting – 5/5
Ben Whishaw delivers one of his finest performances as Adam—acerbic, cynical, and painfully human. He nails the balance between gallows humor and emotional collapse, making Adam both frustrating and deeply sympathetic.
Ambika Mod is revelatory as Shruti, capturing the optimism of a newcomer and the hollowed-out despair of someone consumed by her profession. Rory Fleck Byrne brings quiet warmth and patience to Harry, the boyfriend who sees Adam clearly but refuses to enable his self-destruction.
The supporting cast—Michele Austin as the seasoned midwife Tracy, Harriet Walter as Adam’s icy mother—adds layers of realism, grounding the show in a lived-in world.
Chemistry – 4.8/5
The emotional center lies in Adam and Harry’s fragile relationship. Their intimacy feels authentic: the small moments of warmth, the unspoken tensions, and the ultimate recognition that love alone cannot resolve deep-seated personal flaws.
Equally powerful is Adam’s reluctant mentorship of Shruti. Their dynamic shifts from teacher-student to something closer to equals, yet Adam’s inability to truly connect leaves Shruti tragically isolated.
Production – 4.9/5
The series’ production design captures the grimy, fluorescent-lit reality of NHS hospitals. Narrow corridors, cluttered workstations, and the omnipresent smell of antiseptic are almost tangible. In contrast, the private hospital scenes gleam with sterile luxury—underscoring the class divide in healthcare access.
The soundtrack is a masterstroke: The Libertines’ Music When the Lights Go Out setting the tone for Adam and Harry’s warmth; a mournful cover of Bowie’s Let’s Dance contrasting triumph with melancholy; Pulp’s Born to Cry underscoring Adam’s lowest point. Each choice is deliberate, adding narrative depth.
Ending – 4.6/5
The final episode offers personal hope but little systemic resolution. Adam survives—both literally and spiritually—emerging renewed after a symbolic lake plunge and an unexpectedly clean-handed delivery. It’s comforting, but perhaps too easy, especially when set against Shruti’s fate.
This pivot from systemic outrage to individual healing feels like a retreat into a neoliberal compromise. The NHS remains unchanged; the cycle is unbroken. And yet, in Adam’s small victory, the show leaves us with the bittersweet truth: sometimes survival is the only win you get.
Best Scenes of This Is Going to Hurt
The Lake Plunge (Finale) – Adam strips down and jumps into a lake, a symbolic cleansing before returning to medicine on his own terms.
Shruti’s Mastery (Episode 6) – Shruti takes command during a high-pressure case, proving her skill even as her spirit crumbles.
Public vs. Private Hospital Contrast – A biting visual essay on healthcare inequality, from crowded NHS wards to the quiet luxury of private suites.
Pulp’s “Born to Cry” Montage – Adam’s professional humiliation and personal isolation distilled into one gut-punch sequence.
The First “I’m Fine” – The phrase that becomes Adam’s mask, perfectly encapsulating the series’ theme of hidden collapse.
This Is Going to Hurt Information
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