In 2011, all the local media in Toruń reported that Paweł Małaszyński, Magdalena Różdżka, and a film crew, had arrived in Toruń. The filmmakers took over Centrum Targowe Park (The Commercial Centre) situated in Bydgoskie Przedmieście (Bydgoszcz Suburbs) and used this piece of visionary Polish architecture from the 1920s to transform it into the “Copernicus” Specialist Hospital, where Doctor Alicja Szymańska, the main protagonist in the series, has her workplace.
The heroine (played by Magdalena Różdżka) is a young, talented, and ambitious, surgeon. Her future seems planned in detail: she is to get married to her beloved Krzysztof (Piotr Polk) and then start a successful medical career in the capital. Quite unexpectedly, the whole plan goes awry, when the young doctor fails to be enrolled on her “dream” apprenticeship programme in transplantology in Warsaw, and learns that Krzystof had an entirely different idea for their future together. As a result, the young doctor abandons her life in Warsaw and goes to Toruń to work in the hospital managed by the experienced doctor Elżbiera Bosak (played by Danuta Stenka).
The world of Toruń in the series
There was virtually no place left where the film crew of Lekarze/Doctors would not come to set up their cameras, at least for a brief moment.
The film home of doctor Alicja was situated at ul. Łaziennej 10. The Boulevard by the Vistula River and its opposite bank Kępa Bazarowa were the favourite places for doctor Alicja’s jogging sessions in the morning. The doctor would also go running along the Józef Piłsudski Bridge. In the series, we often see a panorama of the Old Town seen from the side of Kępa Bazarowa. Among some of the most-important places in Toruń, there were also cafés and restaurants in Toruń (Róża i Zen, the Bulwar Hotel, Hotel 1231), and, naturally, Centrum Targowe Park.
Trivia
- The impact of the Lekarze TV series on the promotion and presence of the city in the media was of no small importance. Rankings related to the PR and Marketing sector gave Toruń second place in terms of the so-called “city-placement” effect.
- During filming, Magdalena Różdżka, the leading actress in the series, suffered a minor injury when she sprained her ankle jogging on a cobblestone street in Toruń.
- The wedding ceremony of the two main protagonists shown in the series took place inside the Gothic church in Kaszczorek – a district by the Vistula River, on the outskirts of Toruń.
- The hospital shown in the series is in reality Centrum Targowe Park, situated by Szosa Bydgoska 3, in Bydgoskie Przedmieście (Bydgoszcz Suburbs ).
- While filming series 4, the film expanded to include a spin-off series. The Player video web service released Lekarze nocą/Doctors by Night, an Internet comedy series focusing on two supporting characters in the series.
- Initially, the original series was to be entitled Szpital Alicji/Alice’s Hospital.
During filming, the producers decided to change it to Lekarze/Doctors. - The series was also successful in other countries – Lekarze/Doctors was sold to China, where it was broadcast via CCTV, the biggest local television station (with around one billion subscribers). The series has also been purchased by Spanish-speaking TV stations.
Information on the film
Lekarze / Doctors
Poland 2012-2014, TV series
Creators of the format: Dorota Chamczyk, Justyna Stefaniak, Andrzej Staszczyk
Directed by: Filip Zylber, Marcin Wrona, Jacek Filipiak, Bartek Konopka
Screenplay: Justyna Stefaniak, Andrzej Staszczyk, Marek Kreutz, Radosław Figura, Ewelina Chyrzyńska, Joanna Pawluśkiewicz
Music: Łukasz Targosz
Cinematography: Jan Holoubek, Tomasz Dobrowolski, Maciej Majchrzak
Produced by: TVN
Cast: Magdalena Różczka, Paweł Małaszyński, Jacek Koman, Danuta Stenka, Katarzyna Bujakiewicz, Agnieszka Więdłocha, Szymon Bobrowski, Marcin Perchuć, Borys Szyc, Olga Bołądź, and others.
Selected Awards
Nominations for the Telekamera Awards in 2013 and 2014.
