St. Denis Medical's Wendi McLendon-Covey on “Dead On” Hospital Administrator Character
Why St. Denis Medical star Wendi McLendon-Covey's portrayal of hospital administration is spot-on.
St. Denis Medical star Wendi McLendon-Covey has played a vast array of characters in her career thus far. From an unhinged police officer in Reno911! to a controlling 80s American housewife in The Goldbergs, she is always taking on ambitious roles.
In the NBC mockumentary, she plays Joyce Henderson, the happy go-luck executive director of the Oregon hospital. The administrator oversees each department whilst maintaining the needs of the rag-tag crew, which includes the egotistical surgeon Dr. Bruce (Josh Lawson) and the ever-so clumsy nurse Matt (Mekki Leeper).
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And even though the comedic actress doesn’t have any experience working in an actual hospital, according to fans, she’s been giving a very believable performance.
St. Denis Medical’s Wendi McLendon-Covey on the show's accuracy
McLendon-Covey recently revealed in an interview that she’s been receiving glowing reviews from healthcare professionals on how she’s portraying the head of staff.
“I do get DMs from people who say, ‘the way you play the administration is dead on,’” she said during a recent appearance on The Daily Show. "Not to pat my own back there, but the very thought that you have to keep people motivated when you don’t even believe what you’re saying anymore, and I’ve had to work for people like that. And so, what do you do? You change your physicality. And maybe you might throw a fake judo move or whatever to just kind of get a smile on someone’s face, and all they want to do is flip you the bird."
The actress went on to explain that even Joyce’s fashion sense, especially the loud brooches she pins to her jacket lapel, adds an element to her personality.
“I love it for her because she is just... It's that false optimism, you know, of ‘hey, you guys, we’re having a pizza party,’” she continued. “Like, we’re adults. Who cares? Get that hummingbird out of my face, you know. Sometimes you just need a hummingbird, you know? There are some days it softens a lot of blows.”
Catch new episodes of St. Denis Medical when they premiere on Tuesday on NBC at 8/7c. Episodes are available to stream on Peacock the next day.
