Sick kids in a pediatric ward are almost guaranteed to be charming, heartwarming and occasionally break your heart with very little effort, and that seems to be the goal of the Steven Spielberg-produced “Red Band Society,” which will debut on FOX this fall. Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer stars as a cranky nurse who probably has a marshmallow center we haven't seen yet, or at least haven't seen in this trailer for the show.
This seems to be “The Breakfast Club” with a generous sprinkling of cancer, comas and heat problems. With Spencer on board, the bar is set high from an acting perspective, and the trailer suggests these kids won't let the saccharine level get too high. At least the series has a model from which to draw material. “Polseres Vermelles” is the Catalan television show on which “Red Band Society” is based, and it was inspired by real life — creator Albert Espinosa wrote the show about his childhood experiences as a hospital patient.
The series is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, Margaret Nagle (“Boardwalk Empire,” “The Good Lie”), Justin Falvey (“The Americans,” “Falling Skies”), Darryl Frank (“The Americans,” “Falling Skies”) and Sergio Aguero (“No Reservations,” “Y Tu Mama Tambien”). Nagle wrote the pilot and developed the project for American television. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (GLEE, “American Horror Story”) directed the pilot.