Krank Berlin, anglicised as Berlin ER for its Apple TV+ debut, has a challenge on its hands with a hospital show, perhaps the most tried-and-tested form of TV drama. However, Apple have promised a hospital drama like no other, and with this one, it seems they’ve delivered.

The opening scene plunges us into the chaos (and the originality) straight away, with an extremely drugged-up hooded figure staggering through the city and bothering passersby – blurred lighting and hectic camerawork putting us in his POV. He winds up at a hospital abuzz with chaos, only for one of the medical staff to recognise him as he reaches for a syringe to assist a patient. Turns out this is no patient but Dr Ben Weber (Slavko Popadic), one of the doctors. So far, so good.

Set in Berlin’s busiest emergency room, Krank Berlin follows staff member/new boss Dr Parker (Haley Louise Jones) on her first day at work, having moved from Munich following a personal crisis. She’s played brilliantly by Jones, who channels multiple emotions into a single look from this character as we sense a deep backstory waiting to unfold. Through her eyes, we’re introduced to the cast of characters – medical staff of varying levels of competence with no intention of making her life any easier. Conflict between the staff and patients is consistently rife.

There’s a tension throughout that never really lets up – the ER is chaotic, overcrowded and intense. In one scene, Dr Parker retreats to a locker room to scream into a tissue, and it feels like a welcome respite. The filming style accentuates this: the use of shaky-cam, close-ups and gritty colour grading put you on edge for the duration – gone are the squeaky-clean corridors and Steadicams of your average hospital show. To set up a key plot point before an influx of emergency patients arrive, the camera ascending to the hospital rooftop, circulating the building and then plunging back down towards an ambulance arriving with wounded intake. You don’t see that on Holby City.

It’s powerful, tense and not for the faint-hearted, and there’s an interesting dynamic between Dr Parker and Dr Weber you can’t wait to see develop as the series progresses. If the aim was to push for originality and convince audiences there’s still life in depicting the hospital setting on TV, then mission accomplished!

Berlin ER is streaming on Apple TV+ from 26 February: tv.apple.com/berlinER