The BEST episodes written by David Zabel

Orion in the Sky
star
8.45
263 votes

#1 - Orion in the Sky

ER - Season 8 - Episode 18

Mark serves his final day in the ER overseeing the first day of Gregory Pratt, a cocky yet eager new intern. Through observing his patients, he decides to forego chemotherapy, and spend his remaining days in peace. He also meets with his ex-wife, tells Weaver to live a little and leaves. Meanwhile, Abby plans to move back into her apartment when her landlord lets her know that Brian's moved out.

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Shelter
star
8.27
237 votes

#2 - Shelter

Detroit 1-8-7 - Season 1 - Episode 10

Two bodies are found in an abandoned shelter. Longford's father, to everyone's surprise is able to help with this investigation. Meanwhile, Fitch, Washington, Stone and Sanchez investigate the murder of a Latina.

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The Diabolical Plot
star
8.17
132 votes

#3 - The Diabolical Plot

Mercy Street - Season 1 - Episode 6

President Lincoln’s visit sets in motion a diabolical rebel plot and offers an opportunity to free James Sr. Dr. Foster uncovers a scheme to undermine him at the expense of his patients. Aurelia recovered from her surgery makes a bold decision.

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Meow
star
8.08
454 votes

#4 - Meow

Dark Angel - Season 1 - Episode 20

Max is in heat again, ready to jump at any men, even Normal! She hates her condition and is ashamed of it. Meanwhile, she is avoiding Logan at all cost and decides to cancel their anniversary dinner. After the day is over, she confronts the still-confused Logan about her condition and the two finally admit their feelings towards each other. Just as they are kissing, Zack interrupts with bad news about Tinga. They must go rescue her from a secret government facility.

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The Show Must Go On
star
7.95
154 votes

#5 - The Show Must Go On

ER - Season 11 - Episode 22

Carter's last day at County General is marked by the "surprise" party being thrown for him. Ray takes charge when a balcony collapses at a party that he's attending. With all of the attendings at Carter's party, he talks Abby into taking 4 trauma patients while the hospital is closed to trauma. Pratt briefly visits his dad. Alex doesn't know his dad is in jail and is upset when Sam won't let him visit him, so he steals her credit cards and hitches a ride out of town.

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Dungaree Justice (1)
star
7.89
296 votes

#6 - Dungaree Justice (1)

JAG - Season 4 - Episode 12

Harm and Mac are assigned to prosecute three sailors charged with the vicious beating of a man they say raped a fellow shipmate. The rape victim, Petty Officer Lopez, tells Mac that, after an evening of drinking with her three male shipmates, she found herself alone at the bar where they ditched her as part of an initiation into their team. The next morning when she awakened in her car, she realized that she had been raped. When the shipmates heard Lopez's story, they exacted revenge on the man they thought attacked her -- the bar owner. But as Harm and Mac wear down the testimony of the three sailors, a very different story about what happened that evening begins to emerge. This episode starts with tying up the loose end of Mac being charged in an Article 32 hearing for perjury (People vs. Mac). She is acquitted, thanks to fancy legal-speak from Harm - although she does not have to face a court-martial, she does end being sent up on an Admiral's Mast, which just might be worse.

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Foreign Affairs
star
7.84
155 votes

#7 - Foreign Affairs

ER - Season 9 - Episode 20

Kovac defies the rules to get a dying Croatian boy to Chicago in a race to save his life. Carter's sad family gathering is interrupted by Abby's mentally troubled brother Eric, who has left his voluntary care facility. Lewis and Chuck annul their marriage but choose to continue the relationship. Perez, a baseball player with a serious heart ailment, is treated on the eve of his pitching debut with the Chicago Cubs. Carter tries to prevent grieving gang member Curtis from seeking vengeance. A tormented Romano makes a dramatic decision about his mangled arm.

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Bloodline
star
7.83
162 votes

#8 - Bloodline

ER - Season 13 - Episode 1

The hospital staff copes with the immediate aftermath of the shootout. Weaver finds Abby unconscious and Kovač tied to a gurney. Abby's trauma puts her into pre-term labor, her baby is born two and a half months prematurely. When bleeding continues, Abby undergoes a hysterectomy. Jerry's heart was nicked by a bullet and he has to have surgery, which Dubenko and Neela perform successfully. After a rough chase from local police, Steve and his partners decide to hide out. His partners want to leave Sam and Alex so Steve shoots them. He later rapes Sam and falls asleep, Sam goes to leave with Alex but then goes back, picks up Steve's gun and shoots him.

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Quo Vadis?
star
7.82
256 votes

#9 - Quo Vadis?

ER - Season 8 - Episode 9

Susan and Carter treat a newlywed couple where the wife may be allergic to her husband's semen. Carter later kisses Susan. Weaver asks firefighter Sandy Lopez out. Mark and Gallant treat members of a boxing family. Rachel's boyfriend is admitted with a broken ankle and tests positive for marijuana; she comes out clean though. Elizabeth tends to a comatose woman whose husband will only agree to a risky procedure to harvest her organs. Abby openly questions Nicole's pregnancy; Nicole confesses to Luka that she was faking it and that she plans to move to Montreal. Benton's custody trial for Reese is hampered by his long hours. Cleo's testimony doesn't go well either.

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Pathfinder
star
7.79
2084 votes

#10 - Pathfinder

Star Trek: Voyager - Season 6 - Episode 10

An obsessed Barclay tries to find a way to communicate with the starship Voyager with the use of an artificially generated micro-wormhole. He becomes so involved that he needs the help of Counsellor Troi to keep his grip on reality.

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The New Nurse
star
7.76
283 votes

#11 - The New Nurse

Mercy Street - Season 1 - Episode 1

New England nurse Mary Phinney navigates her first day in Mansion House, a hotel turned Union hospital in an occupied Southern town. Mansion House owner James Sr. struggles to preserve the family fortune as daughter Emma secretly searches for her beau.

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The Student
star
7.76
209 votes

#12 - The Student

ER - Season 10 - Episode 17

Carter sticks up for Neela when the other attendings doubt her future in the ER. Neela caves to the pressure and accidentally gives a patient the wrong medication without checking medical history. When Neela is confronted, Gallant takes the blame for her. Sam and Luka try to plan Alex's birthday party. Frank visits on his way to therapy. Chen's home nurse quits after her dad behaves poorly.

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Walk Like a Man
star
7.73
249 votes

#13 - Walk Like a Man

ER - Season 9 - Episode 4

Weaver makes a mistake on live television while demonstrating flu shots, inadvertently sticking two reporters with the same needle. In the bathroom later, Susan and Abby catch Weaver in a stall with a needle. Weaver confesses to Susan that she's taking hormones. Carter, assuming Susan knows already, tells her about Abby's drinking problem. Abby becomes nurse manager, and argues with Carter about her drinking. Luka flirts with a patient's mom and is caught emerging from a storage closet with her. Gallant has a rough day: Pratt butts in on a patient of his, and Stella Willis dies because Kayson didn't bother with thorough treatment.

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Abby Normal
star
7.72
213 votes

#14 - Abby Normal

ER - Season 10 - Episode 20

Still on her psych rotation, Abby treats a young mother who's having seizures caused by bad memories of her young son who died eight years earlier. Later, she takes her boards again. Weaver considers leaving town with Henry. Neela saves the life of one of her fellow researchers. Kem returns to Chicago, just in time for a Carter Foundation board meeting. Carter announces that the business will be switching focuses from arts & entertainment to medicine. His father and other board members are not pleased.

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Deux Amours
star
7.70
1188 votes

#15 - Deux Amours

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon - Season 1 - Episode 5

Daryl and Laurent travel to The Nest as Isabelle considers her options. Genet enacts her plan.

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Out of Africa
star
7.68
210 votes

#16 - Out of Africa

ER - Season 10 - Episode 5

Luka's first day back in the ER is a busy one. While working out the details of his return with Weaver, he mentions that he'll be returning to the Congo in two months. Lewis treats an alcoholic mom who sets herself on fire in front of her son, and an elderly architect who tried to commit suicide because he's going blind. Abby appears as a surgical consult; she's back in med school. Sam Taggart replaces her on the nursing staff. Dorset's wife calls while he's in surgery with Corday.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Missing
star
7.68
216 votes

#17 - Missing

ER - Season 10 - Episode 9

Gallant's sister is in town and Pratt hits it off with her. Nobody attends Romano's memorial service except for Corday. Alex steals a severed finger and later goes missing, turning up at County to see Luka. Neela treats two Amish kids who were injured on a sojourn into the city.

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Four Corners
star
7.67
255 votes

#18 - Four Corners

ER - Season 8 - Episode 1

Three weeks after the death of Derek Fossen, Greene faces interrogation at an M&M conference. However, Corday is the only one to suspect something wrong. Meanwhile, Carter's parents return to town for his grandfather's funeral, which Abby briefly attends. Abby has decisions to make; Luka wants her to move in with him. Weaver returns from an impromptu vacation, worried that Romano has outed her to the staff. Chen is the new chief resident. Benton deals with Cleo's meds and Jackie's problems adjusting to life after Jesse's death. The ER is filled with patients after a brawl at a talk show taping. Legaspi got a job in San Francisco.

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Nobody's Home/Unknown Soldier
star
7.67
352 votes

#19 - Nobody's Home/Unknown Soldier

Detroit 1-8-7 - Season 1 - Episode 3

When they investigate a woman's murder, Fitch, Washington, Longford and Mahajan stumble upon something much bigger; a murdered teenager is found along with his severely beaten father, a Vietnam veteran.

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The Black Jet
star
7.65
378 votes

#20 - The Black Jet

JAG - Season 4 - Episode 10

Harm and Mac's original mission is to represent a Navy flier whose Stealth jet is thought to have crashed in Iran due to a mechanical failure. But when the pilot slips Harm a message indicating that the $80 million plane didn't crash and is hidden, the assignment becomes nearly impossible: get the pilot -- and the costly aircraft -- back to the U.S. without letting the Iranians know that the plane is intact.

C.R.E.A.M.
star
7.65
634 votes

#21 - C.R.E.A.M.

Dark Angel - Season 1 - Episode 4

Alina Herrero contacts Eyes Only and asks him to help her find out the truth about her father's disappearance years ago. Max breaks in to the police department to steal information about her father, who also happens to be Logan's mentor. At the same time, Sketchy loses the mob's money and has to return the full amount in 36 hours. Max uses her super skills to win the money through poker.

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Red
star
7.64
437 votes

#22 - Red

Dark Angel - Season 1 - Episode 10

The trouble starts when Logan recruits his favorite biker chick to protect a Federal witness with vital info on local corruption. But the operation hits a snag after Max realizes that the guy she's guarding is a face from the not-so-distant---and very painful---past, and that those who want him dead may have plans for her as well.

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Motor City Blues
star
7.63
208 votes

#23 - Motor City Blues

Detroit 1-8-7 - Season 1 - Episode 17

As the detectives embark on emotional shifts in their lives, a young graffiti artist is murdered; Fitch receives shocking news from his ex-wife.

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Damaged
star
7.62
185 votes

#24 - Damaged

ER - Season 11 - Episode 2

Carter suffers with insomnia and depression over his separation from Kem, and falls off the wagon. Luka tells Sam he loves her and invites her to move in with him. Neela's parents visit, confused by her choice to drop out of Michigan. The nurses freeze out Abby after a slip of the tongue to Haleh. Weaver advises Barnett to change his appearance. Abby treats a "damaged girl", a young Mexican woman kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery.

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Murmurs of the Heart
star
7.59
92 votes

#25 - Murmurs of the Heart

ER - Season 13 - Episode 14

Luka tries to extricate Pratt from a legal mess while Abby, confronted by a vengeful Ames, tries to reach him. Later, Luka finds himself in a tense confrontation with Ames, and Abby must act to protect her family. Neela and Gates rush to get Meg to the hospital. Sam’s new home is soon under threat from fire, but will everyone escape unscathed?

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The Providers
star
7.58
186 votes

#26 - The Providers

ER - Season 11 - Episode 12

Carter treats a 16-year-old girl who is suffering kidney failure after taking a new drug to control her seizures. The girl's urologist, the person who recommended the drug, is a former med student of Carter's. Everyone knows about Neela's crush on Luka; he tries to pass her off to Carter for the day. After Luka tells Neela that he didn't mean to mislead her, she has a brief talk with Sam about the situation. Abby and Jake work together on a number of sex-related cases. Jake wants to date Abby, but she turns him down because he's her med student.

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The Haversack
star
7.57
199 votes

#27 - The Haversack

Mercy Street - Season 1 - Episode 2

Confederate belle Emma nurses her wounded friend. Dr. Foster wrestles with his marriage and career as Mary tries to improve her patients’ lives with Samuel’s help. Aurelia submits to Silas’ advances in exchange for his help.

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Alouette
star
7.56
1347 votes

#28 - Alouette

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon - Season 1 - Episode 2

Daryl, Isabelle, Laurent and Sylvie face trouble on the road. Isabelle remembers the day the hungry ones appeared. Laurent struggles to fit in.

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Back in the World
star
7.55
154 votes

#29 - Back in the World

ER - Season 11 - Episode 17

Neela is surprised when she hears that Gallant came to the ER with the young Iraqi burn victim, but they later connect on a personal level. Sam's ex-husband Steve visits, and desk clerk Frank learns that he has been in prison in Colorado. Steve loots Sam and Kovač's apartment, but Kovač blocks him from leaving with Alex. Pratt treats a child whose gun went off in his pocket and learns that he received the gun from his mother, while being attracted to a young woman who runs an anti-violence program.

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Liar, Liar Pants on Fire
star
7.53
344 votes

#30 - Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

Red Band Society (US) - Season 1 - Episode 3

A visitor from Jordi's past throws the hospital into chaos; Dr. McAndrews unintentionally betrays a patient; Kara tests Nurse Jackson.

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L'âme Perdue
star
7.52
1515 votes

#31 - L'âme Perdue

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon - Season 1 - Episode 1

Daryl Dixon's arrival in France puts a young boy in danger.

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If Not Now
star
7.50
103 votes

#32 - If Not Now

ER - Season 12 - Episode 11

Abby and Kovač agonize over what to do about her unexpected pregnancy, with Abby eventually deciding to keep the baby despite her fears that it might be bipolar like her mother and brother. Neela and Kovač help a religious teenager weigh all her pregnancy options, but differ on what course she should take. Clemente's past is starting to catch up with him as police visit to investigate a missing person report on Jodie. Weaver falls on the ice and realizes she needs surgery.

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Local Hero/Overboard
star
7.50
447 votes

#33 - Local Hero/Overboard

Detroit 1-8-7 - Season 1 - Episode 2

A local football star is murdered; an unpopular groom disappears during a boisterous wedding reception on a boat.

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21 Guns
star
7.47
131 votes

#34 - 21 Guns

ER - Season 12 - Episode 22

It’s a seemingly ordinary day with the usual collection of patients. But soon, the day becomes anything but ordinary as two prisoners intent on escape come to the ER for treatment, along with a hidden conspirator. Luka discovers them and is injected with a paralytic and they force Sam to become a tool in their plan. Soon, gunshots ring out, a staff member’s life is in jeopardy. The medical staff rush to the aid of the injured and Abby collapses just outside a trauma room where Luka is tied to a gurney.

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Quintessence of Dust
star
7.45
120 votes

#35 - Quintessence of Dust

ER - Season 12 - Episode 14

An unexpected visitor -- Jodie's violent policeman husband Bobby, from whom she has filed for divorce -- puts Clemente in the middle of a domestic dispute that ends in Bobby shooting Jodie and Clemente. Kovač and Abby await important test results regarding their baby. Neela struggles with her surgical elective, and Ray tries to convince a homeless musician to accept help from his family. Jodie survives life-threatening surgery but is comatose, and her out-of-context remarks lead to Clemente being suspected in her shooting.

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Pilot
star
7.42
344 votes

#36 - Pilot

Betrayal - Season 1 - Episode 1

In this drama's opener, a photographer begins an affair with a lawyer for a powerful family, but their secret's in jeopardy when her ambitious husband is the prosecutor in a high-profile murder case in which her paramour is defending the prime suspect.

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Time of Death
star
7.39
157 votes

#37 - Time of Death

ER - Season 11 - Episode 6

The last 44 minutes of ex-con & alcoholic Charlie Metcalf's life are in the ER, as he slowly succumbs to end-stage liver failure.

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There Are No Angels Here
star
7.38
88 votes

#38 - There Are No Angels Here

ER - Season 12 - Episode 20

Pratt gets to work in Darfur, but soon finds his eyes opened to the need all around him. Debbie attempts to persuade Dakarai to seek treatment for his illness. Carter, Pratt and Dakarai find themselves in the middle of the conflict when a man and his pregnant wife arrive at the camp needing treatment, with trouble not far behind. Events force Pratt and Dakarai to make a dangerous journey.

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City of Mercy
star
7.33
150 votes

#39 - City of Mercy

ER - Season 13 - Episode 11

It's Christmas in the ER again. Luka and Abby as Rudolph and his elf, visit pediatrics, while Morris learns the meaning of Christmas when he plays Santa to a special girl. Ames takes action that creates tension between Luka and Abby, leading Luka to make a heartfelt confession. Teller returns, sending Gates and Ray on a mission, while Neela oversees an unusual kidney transplant case. Sam and Ben take a stand when a patient is dumped in an alley by Mercy Hospital. Morris, after getting a visit from one of his children, gets an offer he can't refuse, but somehow, does.

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A River in Egypt
star
7.33
193 votes

#40 - A River in Egypt

ER - Season 8 - Episode 12

Chen returns to the hospital with proof of Weaver's misplaced pager and demands her job back, threatening a lawsuit. Weaver doesn't like the idea, but Romano forces her to do it. As her colleagues watch, Sandy Lopez plants a kiss on Weaver, effectively outing her. Carter attempts to mediate between his bickering parents. Mark and Elizabeth's opinions on Rachel's future differ, but Mark decides to keep her in Chicago for the time being. Rachel likes that idea. Abby attempts to mediate between her fighting neighbors after Brian beats Joyce. Lewis treats a death row inmate who wants a DNR.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Out
star
7.31
461 votes

#41 - Out

Dark Angel - Season 1 - Episode 9

Tired of Logan's "all business" approach to their relationship, Max refuses to help with his latest case involving a medical supply smuggler. But when Logan gets double-crossed by his target, Max goes undercover as "Eyes Only" to rescue him from a certain death. Meanwhile, Normal is smitten with a woman with a secret.

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Somebody to Love
star
7.26
116 votes

#42 - Somebody to Love

ER - Season 13 - Episode 3

Pratt and Kerry must adjust to new roles. It’s the first day on the job for the medical students and interns, and Neela and Gates have a tough start. A closeted, older gay man with kidney failure comes to the ER. Gates doesn't fill out his chart properly mixing up the medication he's on. Pratt gives him calcium which leads to heart failure due to the wrong medication on the chart. Gates goes against Pratt's orders and saves the patient's life, but he is brain dead, which ultimately makes things worse on all fronts, especially with Pratt.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Reason to Believe
star
7.25
116 votes

#43 - Reason to Believe

ER - Season 13 - Episode 8

Luka and Abby treat a man injured after driving drunk, but differ about what should be done when his wife appears to have been abused. Later, Luka receives an unsettling package and Abby meets an intriguing stranger. A group of street kids come to the ER when they think one has rabies, and find a guardian angel in blue. Pratt disappears from the ER for a community-related reason, and learns a surprising truth about a family member. Kerry’s TV appearance becomes a real emergency.

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Hindsight
star
7.21
197 votes

#44 - Hindsight

ER - Season 9 - Episode 10

The past 24 hours play in reverse after Luka gets into a car accident with Erin. Luka was forced into working hungover after a staff Christmas party, leading to a patient being brain dead. At the party, he confesses to Abby that he misses her before an oblivious Carter interrupts.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Inside Job
star
7.15
123 votes

#45 - Inside Job

Lucky 7 - Season 1 - Episode 2

A news crew comes to profile the gang as the reality of the lottery win sets in. The girls go on a high-end shopping spree in advance of the Gold Star block party, as Antonio and his family deal with the aftermath of the gang's new status. Meanwhile, the police investigate the Gold Star robbery, getting closer to the shocking truth.

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Here and There
star
6.92
208 votes

#46 - Here and There

ER - Season 11 - Episode 16

Gallant and Neela have been exchanging letters regularly. Gallant struggles with the war he sees every day, while Neela is searching for her life's purpose. Gallant enlists Neela's help in getting a critically burned Iraqi girl lined up for surgery in Chicago and heads for the U.S. with 72 hours leave.

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Pilot
star
6.89
174 votes

#47 - Pilot

Lucky 7 - Season 1 - Episode 1

What would you do if you won the lottery? How would it change your life? Follow a group of seven gas station employees in Queens, New York, who have been chipping into a lottery pool for years, never thinking they'd actually win. They need to be careful what they wish for, because while the money could solve problems for each of them, it will forever change the close-knit bonds these friends have formed

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV