Mercy Street: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Based on real events, Mercy Street takes viewers beyond the battlefield and into the lives of Americans on the Civil War home front as they face the unprecedented challenges of one of the most turbulent times in our nation's history.

Set in Virginia in the spring of 1862, the series follows the lives of two volunteer nurses on opposite sides of the conflict; Mary Phinney, a staunch New England abolitionist, and Emma Green, a naive young Confederate belle. The two collide at Mansion House, the Green family's luxury hotel that has been taken over and transformed into a Union Army Hospital in Alexandria, a border town between North and South and the longest-occupied Confederate city of the war. Ruled under martial law, Alexandria is now the melting pot of the region, filled with soldiers, civilians, female volunteers, doctors, wounded fighting men from both sides, runaway slaves, prostitutes, speculators and spies.

The intersection of North and South within the confines of a small occupied town creates a rich world that is chaotic, conflicted, corrupt, dynamic and even hopeful — a cauldron within which these characters strive, fight, love, laugh, betray, sacrifice and, at times, act like scoundrels. This series is not about battles and glory, it's about the drama and unexpected humor of everyday life behind the front lines. It's a fresh twist on an iconic story, one that resonates with larger themes we still struggle with today.

Series details

• Title: Mercy Street
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Drama, War
• Premiere date: 2016-01-17
• Final broadcast date listed: 2017-03-05
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: PBS
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 7.6/10
• TVMaze ID: 2758

Cast and credited roles

• Hannah James — Emma Green
• Josh Radnor — Dr. Jedediah Foster
• McKinley Belcher III — Samuel Diggs
• Norbert Leo Butz — Dr. Byron Hale
• AnnaSophia Robb — Alice Green
• Brad Koed — James Green, Jr.
• Donna Murphy — Jane Green
• Gary Cole — James Green, Sr.
• Luke Macfarlane — Chaplain Henry Hopkins
• Suzanne Bertish — Matron Brannan
• Tara Summers — Anne Hastings
• L. Scott Caldwell — Belinda Gibson

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2016-01-17; final listed air date 2016-02-21; episode order: 6.
• Season 2: premiered 2017-01-22; final listed air date 2017-03-05; episode order: 6.

Source and licence

Adapted from Mercy Street on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.