Episode #2: "If You're Going to San Francisco"

Debut: SUNDAY, DEC. 1 (10:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT)

Other HBO playdates: Dec. 1 (midnight), 2 (11:55 p.m.), 4 (midnight), 5 (8:00 p.m.), 6 (10:30 p.m.) and 11 (11:30 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Dec. 2 (9:30 p.m.), 7 (9:00 p.m.) and 8 (9:05 a.m.)

In the wake of Nurse Raymes' (Telma Hopkins) departure, Patsy De La Serda (Mel Rodriguez), a new (male) supervising nurse, joins the Billy Barnes staff with a customer-centric, "cruise-line based" agenda that he's convinced will improve ward ratings. Patsy soon learns that managing patients - especially highly uncooperative and feisty ones like Varla (June Squibb) - isn't necessarily improved through customer-service metrics. Nurse Dawn (Alex Borstein) and Patsy get off on the wrong foot, but it's soon evident that there is a special spark between them. Donna (Anne Jefferys), a more docile patient, wins DiDi's (Niecy Nash) affections and displays impressive karaoke skills.

Teleplay by Mark V. Olsen & Will Scheffer; directed by Howard Deutch.