

57 minSeason 1 • Episode 8
LatestChad Berger's days as a doctor are coming to an end, but he is determined to see through a complex set of paired kidney exchange transplants. Will he be able to do so, or will his own condition get to him?
When successful high-flier Frankie Bell is brought crashing to earth by chronic kidney failure she targets an alternate future. Eight years on she is in her second year as a practicing doctor starting her first day in a Renal rotation. Driven to use her second chance to save others, Frankie must confront an ailing health system, and face her toughest challenge - learning to let go.
Acting
Claire van der Boom's controlled ferocity masks deep fragility
Writing
Medical accuracy without melodrama—rare and brutal
Production
Australian healthcare setting feels refreshingly unglamorous
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Claire van der Boom spent weeks shadowing real renal units, even witnessing transplant surgeries to capture Frankie's specific physicality.
Pulse was quietly cancelled after one season despite critical praise, making its unresolved tension about systemic failure accidentally meta.