Many people will go through life without firsthand experience of what chronic kidney disease (CKD) is like nor knowing someone with advanced CKD. This will leave them in the dark when it comes to understanding how a kidney transplant can breathe new life into someone with stage 5 CKD, or end-stage kidney disease (ESKD).

 From his own experience with the kidney transplant process, Marco Pennette, creator and co-executive producer of “B Positive,” realized the need to raise public awareness on this topic. Pennette’s goal with this new show is to spread knowledge in an upbeat way, though some critics believe the sitcom does not realistically portray the experience of people with kidney failure.* 

What is “B Positive” about?  

The story starts with a 35-year-old divorced dad, Drew, who discovers he has ESKD and needs a kidney transplant. Like many with ESKD, he starts dialysis while waiting for his transplant. Drew finds a prospective donor in an old high school acquaintance, named Gina. Unfortunately, Gina is someone who loves to party and needs to take a break from alcohol and drug consumption for three months to qualify to be a donor. The comedy continues to revolve around Drew facing his kidney failure, fathering a teenage daughter, and keeping Gina on track.

How did Pennette create “B Positive”?  

After receiving a kidney transplant in 2013, Pennette was inspired to create “B Positive.” Like his main character, Drew, Pennette recalls being surprised when his doctor told him he would need a kidney transplant. His doctor recommended him to start asking friends and that he did. “I ended up going on a weird Easter egg hunt, asking lots of friends to coffee,” Pennette stated. “Perfect strangers I didn’t really know offered [their kidney], and good friends said, ‘It’s awkward, it’s weird.’”  

Fortunately, Pennette was able to find a donor through a good family friend. He now encourages people to not be afraid to be a donor. “I can’t say it’s totally harmless,” he said, “but I can say that my donor was standing at my bedside as I woke up and she went home the next day. And I went home the day after.”

What do critics have to say about “B Positive”?

 While the show may be designed for laughs, L.A. Times Critic Robert Lloyd believes “B Positive” is missing the mark. Drew is supposed to be very ill, and yet, he hasn’t appeared incapacitated in any way—or even discomforted. Both his character and the other main character, Gina, are difficult to relate to and engage with as an audience. Even when the dialysis center is introduced in the second episode, the dialysis characters are not quite convincing enough.  

Lloyd did, however, go on to say, “[S]hows like this tend to ripen with time, so that, even if the writing never substantially matures, the characters do; they get real, like Pinocchio. Whether it has time, only time will tell.” 

 *Starr, M. (2020, Nov. 13). “B Positive” creator’s kidney transplant inspired new CBS sitcom. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2020/11/12/b-positive-creators-kidney-transplant-inspired-new-cbs-sitcom/