Atlanta-shot ‘Red Band Society’ features sick teens but seeks balance

Fox clearly has high hopes for its fall drama “Red Band Society,” which features Octavia Spencer (“The Help”), Dave Annable (“Brothers & Sisters”) and a cast of mostly unknown kids in a pediatric ward.

The network sent the cast to several major cities across the country over the summer, where they aired screenings of the pilot in theaters and local children’s hospitals, including Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in July. Fox set up a social media campaign that made the pilot available online for more than a week in August after raising $100,000 for five health charities.

Fox hopes word of mouth will carry the show forward because the premise of kids with chronic and potentially deadly illnesses could turn viewers off. The pilot episode debuted on TV on Wednesday. Set in Los Angeles, the show is shot in Atlanta thanks to tax credits.

The producers tried mightily in the first episode to balance schmaltz, humor and typical teen relationship drama.

“We’re walking that thin line of dramedy,” Spencer said after the Atlanta screening in July. She plays a tough but caring nurse in the ward.

The show itself features various tropes: the mean girl who has a heart issue, a brooding teen with long-term cancer, a rebellious dude with cystic fibrosis, a sweet artistic type with an eating disorder and a boy who talks his way into treatment for cancer and may lose his leg.

Zoe Levin, who plays the mean girl cheerleader, said after the screening that despite it all, “these are just normal kids. They’re in an unfortunate situation. They’re making the best of the situation. The hospital isn’t as depressing as people think. There’s a lot of light and happiness and hope. We hope we shine some light on it.”

“This is about life,” said Ciara Bravo, who plays Emma, the girl with the eating disorder, “not about death.”

In other words, characters won’t be dropping like an episode of “The Walking Dead.”

For eagle-eyed viewers from Atlanta, many scenes of the sun-dappled hospital are actually the High Museum in Midtown Atlanta.

But much of the expansive set is actually at EUE Screen Gems near Lakewood Amphitheatre, which was home base for the upcoming “Hunger Games: Mockingjay.” There are multiple rooms for the kids, a circular nurse’s station, a doctor’s lounge, a kids’ room and a cafeteria. Spencer said every time she enters the set, she gets lost because there’s always something new added on.