# Mary Kills People (2017)

> A single mother and emergency doctor secretly moonlights as an underground angel of death, helping terminally ill patients die on their own terms until her double life begins to unravel.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/60854

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 18
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, crime
- Created by: Tara Armstrong
- Network: Global TV
- Cast: Caroline Dhavernas, Jay Ryan, Richard Short, Lyriq Bent, Rachelle Lefevre, Greg Bryk, Grace Lynn Kung, Katie Douglas
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6236572/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: tense, morally uneasy, darkly humorous, emotional, gripping

## What critics say

Reviewers broadly praise the provocative premise and the lead performance, while the final season is rated lower.

## Synopsis

Mary Kills People (2017-2019) is a Canadian serialized crime drama created by Tara Armstrong for Global TV. Caroline Dhavernas stars as Dr. Mary Harris, a single mother and emergency physician who quietly moonlights as an underground angel of death, helping terminally ill patients who want to end their suffering on their own terms. Jay Ryan plays Joel Collins and Detective Ben Wesley, a figure whose pursuit adds pressure to Mary's secret, while Richard Short plays Desmond Bennett, a complication tied to her hidden work. Across three seasons of eighteen episodes, the engine is simple and gripping: Mary wants to keep her clinic shifts, her child, and her clients safe while her illicit business grows, and each season tightens the net around her. Each episode braids hospital shifts with the clandestine logistics of her side practice, from private consultations to careful arrangements that must stay invisible. The show is set in present-day Toronto, a contemporary Canadian city of hospitals, apartments, and back rooms. Its tone is tense and morally uneasy, with flashes of dark humor and emotional warmth, and its themes of mercy, consent, and guilt sit close to the surface. Fans of Dexter and Nurse Jackie will find resonance in its blend of professional routine and hidden criminality, and viewers of Breaking Bad will recognize its escalating moral peril.

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