“Fauci and Birx”: Our Real-life Buddy Cop Show Nears Its Finale
We love our buddy cop shows. Make it a male/female buddy cop show and forget about it. Mulder and Scully (X-Files). Maddie and David (Moonlighting). Jonathan and Jennifer Hart (Hart to Hart!). And according to Ranker, a show called “Bones” has the #1 male/female team. Never seen it but I’m sure they’re great. We simply cannot get enough of a good man and woman paired to crack the case.
And that proved true again the past few months as we had our own buddy cop “show” featuring a real-life power couple saving America. The stars were seasoned citizen doctors Anthony Fauci (age 79!) and Deborah Birx (age 64!). For those of you unfamiliar with our stars, Doctors Fauci and Birx are infectious disease experts recruited for the Covid Task Force to help America win the coronavirus pandemic. These two doctors were front and center on our TVs every night during the Task Force briefings, or as I liked to call the show — Fauci and Birx. Fauci and Birx aired daily on all channels at 5 pm Eastern, 4 pm Central, and 2 pm Pacific! Our heroes calmly delivered the medical wisdom and guidance around our unseen enemy. And the ratings, oh those ratings any TV exec would love. You’ll never convince me that the public didn’t love seeing this power duo working to save us.
And just like any good buddy TV show, Fauci and Birx works well because the stars complement each other. Fauci with his New York seriousness and firm directives and always looking sharp in his suit, but never wavering on his message. Dr. Fauci threw bouquets to this state or that mayor for doing a good job managing the disease. I’m sure they loved it. Who wouldn’t want an attaboy from The Fauch? But Fauci needed a partner to solve this virus mystery. Someone to balance his tough New York ways. Where will we find such a person?
That’s where this story is right out of Hollywood. I can see it now. Cut to the White House where the Vice President yells to his secretary — “Get me Birx!” — and they find the doctor in Africa helping the under-privileged (true! Well the Africa part). “Get home now. Your country needs you” the Veep pleads. Birx slams the phone down and jumps on a plane for DC (could have happened). Not quite a hero coming out of retirement, but we would take it. Birx balances Fauci with her grandmotherly charm and confidence. Her calm demeanor shined despite walking through scary charts that resemble a rocket’s trajectory to the moon. Plus, let’s not forget that fashion style courtesy of her collection of scarves, which took on a life of their own.
This duo is perfectly paired. Together Fauci and Birx talked confidently of models, curves, and numbers that wouldn’t stop rising; then switch seamlessly and respectfully to the pain of hurting families.
The best part of it all is that this Fauci and Birx show didn’t have to air each night. Its stars could have been off with their families and grandchildren. The pair could have watched from afar safe at home. Who wants to stand up there each night discussing grim numbers and forecasts while being grilled by reporters? But they did it for us because they believed in the cause, and like any good buddy cop show, our heroes wouldn’t stop until they got their perp/alien/virus.
All good shows come to an end and many before their time. Fauci and Birx feels like it is ending at the perfect time. That is a good thing as the “off-air” status for this particular show means our nation is (hopefully) reaching a better place. While I will miss seeing the doctors, I enjoyed their nightly comfort and confidence. As the Fauci and Birx finale looms, we can reflect on how it was the perfect buddy show America needed and as close to “Must See TV” as anything we have had in a long time.
To pay homage to the work and sacrifice of Doctors Fauci and Birx, I offer this parody song of “City of Stars” from La La Land, one of my favorite movies. Perhaps someone with musical talent will record it. 😊 Don’t remember the song? Listen on YouTube.
