Trivia / Code Black

• Actor-Shared Background:
  • Boris Kodjoe's character, Will Campbell, has a teenage daughter with spina bifida. So does Kodjoe.
  • Like Emily Tyra, her portrayer, Noa Kean previously pursued a career in ballet.
  • According to Michael Seitzman, much of Rox Valenzuela's backstory was modeled on that of her actress, Moon Bloodgood.
• Adored by the Network: On some level, at least; the show was renewed for a shortened third season in 2017 despite relatively low (albeit consistent) ratings. Sources suggest that CBS execs were very happy with the show's quality and creativity and were thoroughly impressed with the pitch for season 3, which is why this show got renewed when similarly-performing shows did not.
• And Starring: Rob Lowe gets the "And" upon his debut in the second season premiere.
• Awesome, Dear Boy:
  • Jeff Hephner (Ed Harbert) just couldn't resist the chance to work with Marcia Gay Harden, apparently.
  • Rob Lowe (Ethan Willis) was already a fan of the show, but after being told "your character gets to jump thirty feet out of a helicopter into the Pacific to save a life in your first episode", he couldn't say yes fast enough.
• The Cast Showoff: In "Step Up", Rox joins in with her old high school dance team and gets to bust a move. Her actress, Moon Bloodgood, spent several years as a Laker Girl, and joined the team at seventeen. It shows.
• Dyeing for Your Art: According to one of the doctors on the documentary that inspired the show, the main cast have received enough medical training to qualify as EMTs (though they obviously haven't sat the exams).
• Executive Meddling: Responsible for the departure of Raza Jaffrey (Neal Hudson) and Bonnie Somerville (Christa Lorenson) as regulars after season one. Showrunner Michael Seitzman wasn't best pleased, but their fellow cast members and their most vocal fans weren't happy either.
• Fake American: Ben Hollingsworth, who plays Mario Savetti, is Canadian.
• Line to God: Showrunner Michael Seitzman is very active on Twitter and will often answer fan questions, as well as live-tweeting most episodes.
• Real Life Writes the Plot:
  • Dr Taylor was put on suspension because his actor, Kevin Dunn, couldn't do both this show and Veep at the same time, so they had to write him out.
  • Cole Guthrie was written out because Cress Williams had other commitments.
  • Fans really wanted Mike Leighton (Tommy Dewey) to become a regular in season 2, and so did Michael Seitzman himself, but Tommy Dewey is also involved with other projects so Mike remained a recurring character.
  • Seitzman also wanted to bring back Ed Harbert (Jeff Hephner) in a recurring capacity, but Hephner's commitment to Chicago Med made that impossible, so Harbert will instead be back when Hephner's schedule permits.
• What Could Have Been: Marcia Gay Harden was originally cast not as Leanne Rorish, but as Christa Lorenson, with Maggie Grace set to play the lead. When Grace dropped out before filming began, the Oscar-winning Harden was bumped up to take her place, and Bonnie Somerville joined the cast to take over Harden's original role^note The vestiges of this could be seen in the season 1 credits, where Luis Guzman got the "with" billing but no one followed him with the "and" billing — presumably because that was where Harden's name was supposed to go. When Rob Lowe joined the cast in season 2, he got the "and" billing. Though it's hard to imagine anyone other than Somerville playing the compassionate, open-hearted Christa and even harder to imagine someone who isn't Harden as the brilliant, immensely complex Leanne — and Harden's star power has been praised as an anchor of the show from day one — you still have to wonder what it might have looked like if Grace had stayed.
• Word of St. Paul: During a press event, Marcia Gay Harden addressed the cast changes that occurred in between Seasons One and Two (and the resulting fan displeasure) and said that she imagined Neal and Christa had gotten married and moved to a different hospital where they continue to help people.