With Three Rivers, creator Carol Barbee set out to make a unique and entertaining show with stories about people that viewers can relate to. To add to the authenticity and to honor the organ donation community, the series is committed to accuracy.

“I think that when you’re doing a show about this kind of subject matter that can change the way people live their lives or the way they approach healthcare, it’s important that we get it right,” Carol tells Donate Life.

To Alex O’Loughlin, choosing to do Three Rivers made perfect sense. “It challenges us and it looks at the human condition in a way that many shows haven’t,” he said in a recent interview.

What makes Three Rivers special? Here’s a look at some of the reviews:

Like the CBS crime shows, the series promises to spend a little less time with the professionals’ personal lives (no quickies in the janitor’s closet in either version of the first episode) and a little more time with the modern marvels of their craft and the weekly stories of a rotating roster of civilians.

And there are stories aplenty, not just with patients, but with the relatives of people on life support, who must deal with the dilemma of organ donation.

These medical shows aren’t brain surgery, but most of them are dead on arrival anyway. Three Rivers shows up at least with a healthy pulse. — The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 3, 2009

“Three Rivers” seems to trust the drama of its subject matter, the appeal of its characters and the talent of its cast enough to go gently into this Sunday night. And amid those storms and tempests and tantrums that plague so much of television, a center of calm stands out. — Los Angeles Times, October 2, 2009

The way these doctors and nurses deal with the families of transplant patients seems so realistic. Families often don’t want to hand over organs and recipients are often scared of receiving an organ from a stranger. The team tackles the fears, tears and raw emotion of each and every character as if they were born to do it. On Three Rivers, they were. — My Sentiment ExactLee, October 14, 2009

What makes it unique is that instead of just depending on the high-tech touch-screen computers and live-motion CAT scans and so on, they go the human route, bringing the lives of the donors and the lives of the recipients together, showing us that both sides are people and have stories to tell, even when they’re small stories. It’s possible that as the show goes on, there might be a need to get more sensationalist to find new stories to tell, but right now, it feels emotionally real, and that’s all a medical drama needs. Three Rivers feels clean, competent, straightforward– just the way we’d all like a transplant ward to feel– and that’s nice. Hugely complicated shows can be really good, but “ER” and “House” have already done that for medical dramas, and “Three Rivers” isn’t trying to be them, which is a relief. – Jacksonville TV Examiner, October 15, 2009

At a time when many medical dramas grace the airwaves, it is refreshing to see one without the graphic scenes common in most other such programs.  For those who enjoy watching talented and kind-hearted doctors work to save people, Three Rivers is a treasure, without the blood and gore which many cannot stomach.  Some may argue that graphic scenes focusing on the surgery are necessary to make the show more credible and more realistic, but these scenes can also alienate audiences.  In addition, Three Rivers truly focuses on the transplant and surgical team’s work.  Without the usual complex sexual backstories common to medical dramas, the teams appear more proficient and actually seem to enjoy their work rather than battered down by it.  It is also rewarding to experience the transplant process from the different angles of the organ donors and recipients.  Yet the lead character, Andy Yablonski, is perhaps arguably the best aspect of this show.  Compassionate, caring, and deeply gifted, Dr. Yablonski’s reassuring voice and masterful touch make us all yearn for a doctor with the same level of adroitness and sympathy. — Parents Television Council, October 2009

Three Rivers airs on Sundays on CBS at 9/8c.

[tags]alex o’loughlin, alex o’lachlan, three rivers, andy yablonski, carol barbee, donate life, organ donation[/tags]

We have enjoyed previous interviews with Three Rivers executive producer and creator Carol Barbee before, but for every fan of Three Rivers or Alex O’Loughlin, the in-depth piece that Donate Life America has published on Facebook is a must-read!

Although some of the articles we’ve read so far touch upon the origins of the show, Donate Life digs deeper. But then the organization has a vested interest in the success of the series. Alex and the talented cast will help spread the important message that by becoming an organ and tissue donor, you can save multiple lives and that the donor registry needs many more names to increase the chance of a match for intended recipients.

Here are some eye-opening quotes from Carol taken from the interview.

[Three Rivers] also spoke to a theme that I really like – we’re all one, we’re all taking caring of each other; the global community aspect of it.

It was so interesting and so moving. I also spent time at the Cleveland Clinic with their transplant team. My strategy was to drop myself in that world and let the story find me. And I found no shortage of drama on either side!

[My nephew] was incredibly lucky – many of the kids he was in the hospital with had died because they couldn’t find a match. That’s why you need as many people on the registry as possible so people can.

There’s comfort to be had knowing that some part of your loved one lives on – it never occurred to me that there was a psychological benefit for the donor family.

I’ve also found that the drama is more interesting when it’s real or based on something real. In fact, the writers get really upset about these myths and want to write episodes dispelling them; we’re actually doing an episode about the myth of EMTs not saving people b/c they’re a donor. What we’re basically trying to do is tell stories here and there that touch on these myths and dispel them.

This is a show to be entertaining, but there’s great human drama in there and we have a responsibility to get it right.

It’s a random act of faith – so shouldn’t we all be on the list to ensure that someone else is there to save our lives?

And if you’re still not convinced that you should tune in to Three Rivers, premiering October 4th at 9/8C on CBS, then maybe this will do the trick:

Our doctors are really hot – and who doesn’t like cute doctors?

Enjoy the interview by Donate Life America on Facebook!

[tags]alex o’loughlin, alex o’lachlan, three rivers, andy yablonski, carol barbee, cbs, donate life[/tags]