Plot Synopsis

This half-hour scripted comedy follows the overworked nurses and doctor at a women's extended-care facility of a hospital in Southern California, where they struggle with the darkly comic realities of caring for the elderly in an overwhelmed healthcare system. At the Billy Barnes Extended Care Unit of Mt. Palms Hospital in Long Beach, CA, the staff attends to the needs of female patients who are often getting on in years, while dealing with the challenges of a health-care bureaucracy in need of an overhaul. Even as they attempt to serve their charges under less-than-ideal circumstances, the lives of this ragtag crew are complicated by conflicting agendas -- both professional and personal. The staff includes: Dr. Jenna James, who once hoped to become a medical-research star, but has instead been sentenced to purgatory at the facility; Nurse Dawn, whose personal shortcomings and obsession with finding a boyfriend undermine her need to excel in her job; Nurse DiDi, whose easy rapport with patients should be an example to her superiors, but isn't; and Patsy De La Serda, a reform-minded supervising nurse of ambiguous sexuality. Guests stars include Molly Shannon, Daniel Stern, Harry Dean Stanton, June Squibb and Irma P. Hall. GETTING ON returned for its six-episode second season on Sunday, November 9, 2014 at 10:30pm ET/PT on HBO. Season 2 finds Dr. James on a research binge, measuring anal-genital distances of her geriatric population, as well as of lab rats, while promoting the ward's hospice program to bring in extra cash. Facing new responsibilities and added stress, Nurse Didi wants a raise, which ultimately sweeps her up into Dr. James' mad, mad research world. Nurse Dawn is spinning ever onward toward being the best not-so-good nurse in the history of television as she continues to try and bag co-worker Patsy. Meanwhile, Patsy has a new lean, green program to save money and make the ward more energy-efficient, which is driving everyone crazy. Season 2 guest stars include Betty Buckley, Jayma Mays, Carrie Preston, Alia Shawkat, and Jean Smart. The six-episode third and final season of GETTING ON premiered on Sunday, November 8, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT on HBO. Beginning eight months after the conclusion of Season 2, Season 3 finds Dr. James determined to put the corporate-hospice scandal behind her, and pushing her research ambitions further than ever before. Nurse DiDi emerges as a union leader amidst a family drama that finds its way onto the ward. Newly married Nurse Dawn struggles to make sense of her new responsibilities and uncertain future, continuing to circle the orbit of male Supervising Nurse Patsy, who's looking to embrace a new lifestyle. These personal stories play out against the backdrop of Billy Barnes' threatened demise and the fight to keep the ward (and hospital) alive. New guest stars on the third season include Rhea Perlman, Frances Conroy, Grant Bowler, Rita Moreno, Kristen Johnston, Jonathan Silverman, and musician Janis Ian, as well Vicky Pepperdine and Joanna Scanlan, stars of the original British show on which the HBO series is based, who make a special appearance in the fourth episode of the season. Returning guest stars include: Jayma Mays, Mary Kay Place, June Squibb, Harry Dean Stanton and Daniel Stern.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Sunday, December 13, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT, HBO premiered the series finale of GETTING ON. In the series ender, "Reduced to Eating Boiled Magazines and Book Paste," the staff attempts to stave off the closure of Billy Barnes, and DiDi takes to the picket lines in a last-ditch effort. Jenna tries to weasel her way out of a hastily made offer. Patsy is intrigued by Margueritte's revelation during a secret-sharing session. After a ruse is exposed, Dawn inadvertently sets in motion a chaotic chain of events that seals the fate of the ward.