Five Days At Memorial Trailer: A Harrowing Look At The Aftermath Of Hurricane Katrina

Today brings with it a brand new trailer for "Five Days at Memorial" from Apple TV+. The limited series is based on actual events and adapted from the book of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Sheri Fink, which was originally published in 2013. That's not where the big names end though as the series hails from Academy Award winner John Ridley ("12 Years a Slave," "American Crime") and Emmy Award winner Carlton Cuse ("Lost" "Bates Motel"), who produce, write, and direct the series. The show takes place in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the awful situation a hospital in the area found itself in. Brace yourselves because this one looks like it's going to be really heavy.

The trailer opens by showing the devastation that Katrina caused back in 2005. So far removed from the terrible natural disaster, it is at times easy to forget just how bad it all was. We then focus on a hospital where a great many patients are suffering and there is little hope that things will improve in the short term. Flooding, lack of power, staff, and resources cause another perfect storm inside those walls and, as a very high body count is uncovered, a harrowing mystery begins to unfold. It appears as though the staff on hand had to make some terrible choices. The trailer doesn't outright say what happened but it strongly hints that some medical professionals had to make a choice between letting people suffer slowly or putting them out of their misery. A logline for the show reads as follows:

"Five Days at Memorial" chronicles the impact of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath on a local hospital. When the floodwaters rose, power failed, and heat soared, exhausted caregivers at a New Orleans hospital were forced to make decisions that would follow them for years to come.

The stacked ensemble cast is led by Vera Farmiga ("The Conjuring"), Cornelius Smith Jr. ("Scandal"), and Cherry Jones ("The Eyes of Tammy Faye"). The cast also includes Robert Pine ("CHiPs"), Julie Ann Emery ("Better Call Saul"), Adepero Oduye ("The Falcon and the Winter Soldier"), Molly Hager ("Happyish"), Michael Gaston ("The Leftovers"), and W. Earl Brown ("Preacher"). Wendey Stanzler ("For All Mankind," "Dispatches From Elsewhere") also directs the show alongside Ridley and Cuse.

"Five Days at Memorial" premieres August 12 on Apple TV+ with the first three episodes. New episodes will then follow every Friday thereafter through September 16.