Dr. Megan Hunt is a nightmare to work with. Honestly, if you were her boss, you'd probably have fired her by the first episode. But that’s exactly why we kept watching. When Body of Proof series 2 kicked off on ABC back in September 2011, the stakes felt different. The "fish out of water" trope of a world-class neurosurgeon forced into the gritty world of medical examination had settled. Now, it was about the blood. The office politics. The messy, fractured relationship between a mother and the daughter she barely knew.
Dana Delany brought this sharp, brittle energy to Megan Hunt that felt deeply human. She wasn't just a female Sherlock Holmes. She was a woman grieving her own life. By the time we hit the second season, the writers leaned into that. Hard. They stopped treating the procedural elements like a simple puzzle and started treating the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's office like a pressure cooker.
The Evolution of the Hunt
In the first season, Megan was basically an alien. She didn't understand social cues, and she certainly didn't care about the chain of command. Body of Proof series 2 shifted that dynamic just enough to make it sustainable. We saw her actually trying to mentor Peter Dunlop, played by Nicholas Bishop. Their chemistry was the heartbeat of the show. It wasn't romantic—thank God—but it was a partnership built on mutual respect for the dead.
The season opened with "Love Thy Neighbor," a title that sounds sweet but ends up being about a car crash and a suburban nightmare. It set the tone. This wasn't going to be a "case of the week" show where everything is wrapped up with a bow and a smile. People were hurting.
Think about the episode "Lazarus Man." A man "wakes up" on Megan’s autopsy table. It’s a classic TV trope, sure. But the way the show handled the medical negligence angle and Megan’s own history with surgical mistakes made it feel heavy. It wasn't just a quirky plot point; it was a mirror.
Why the Supporting Cast Finally Clicked
For a long time, the secondary characters felt like background noise. In Body of Proof series 2, that changed. We got more of Windell Middlebrooks as Dr. Curtis Brumfield and Geoffrey Arend as Ethan Gross. They weren't just the comic relief anymore.
Curtis, specifically, had to navigate being Megan’s boss while knowing she was technically "better" at the science than he was. That’s a tough ego battle. The show didn't shy away from the friction between the lab and the police department either. Detectives Bud Morris and Samantha Baker—John Carroll Lynch and Sonja Sohn—gave the show its grounded, procedural weight. They were the ones dealing with the bureaucracy Megan ignored.
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It's actually pretty interesting how the show handled the "team" dynamic. Usually, in these shows, everyone becomes best friends by season two. Here? They still kind of annoyed each other. It felt real.
The Episodes That Defined the Season
If you’re revisiting the series, a few episodes stand out as essential viewing.
"Occupational Hazards" is a big one. A body is found at a construction site, but the case spirals into something much larger. It’s one of those episodes where the science is actually the star. Then you have "Your Number's Up," which deals with a lottery winner. It’s cynical. It’s dark. It perfectly captures that Philly grit.
But the real meat of the season lies in the two-part finale, "Going Viral."
A mysterious outbreak hits Philadelphia. People are dying. The city is in a panic. This was the show at its most ambitious. Seeing Megan Hunt work under that kind of pressure—knowing that a mistake wouldn't just mean a closed case, but a city-wide catastrophe—showed exactly what Dana Delany could do with the character. She wasn't just cold; she was focused.
The Science vs. The Drama
A lot of medical procedurals get the science wrong. Like, hilariously wrong. While Body of Proof series 2 took liberties—because, let's be real, no medical examiner is out there doing interrogation work like a detective—the forensic details were often surprisingly grounded. The show employed medical consultants to ensure the terminology wasn't total gibberish.
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Megan’s background in neurosurgery gave her a unique "top-down" approach to the human body. She saw the "why" before the "how." This season leaned into that perspective, using high-end visuals to show us what she was seeing. It was a bit like CSI, but with more soul.
The conflict always came back to the same thing: Megan’s hands. Her paresthesia—the tingling and numbness resulting from her car accident—was the reason she couldn't be a surgeon anymore. In series 2, that loss still haunts her. It’s the "phantom limb" of her career.
A Ratings Rollercoaster
Let's talk shop. TV is a business, and Body of Proof series 2 was in a weird spot. It had a loyal following, but it was expensive to produce. Filmed in Providence, Rhode Island (doubling for Philadelphia), the production values were high. The ratings were solid—averaging around 8 to 10 million viewers—but in the world of 2011/2012 network TV, those weren't "safe" numbers.
Fans were worried about a cancellation. This tension actually bled into the fandom. There was this sense that we had to cherish these episodes because the axe could fall at any moment. When the show was eventually renewed for a third (and final) season, it underwent a massive casting overhaul. That’s why series 2 is often looked back on as the "purest" version of the show’s original vision. It had the full cast, the balance of heart and science, and the time to let the characters breathe.
What We Get Wrong About Megan Hunt
People call her "difficult." They call her "bitchy."
That’s a lazy take.
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In Body of Proof series 2, we see that Megan’s abrasiveness is a shield. She lost her career. She lost her marriage. She almost lost her daughter, Lacey. When she’s "difficult" in the lab, it’s because she demands the same perfection from others that she used to demand from herself in the OR. If she’s not the best, she’s nothing. That’s a terrifying way to live.
Mary Mouser, who played Lacey, did a great job of playing the frustrated teenager who actually wants a relationship with her mom but doesn't know how to bridge the gap. Their scenes together provided the emotional stakes that kept the show from being just another "dead body of the week" procedural.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans and Writers
If you’re a fan of the genre or a writer looking at how to build a successful procedural, there are real lessons in this season.
- Character Flaws are Fuel: Megan’s social ineptitude wasn't a quirk; it was an obstacle. Use character flaws to create friction, not just flavor.
- The "Why" Matters More Than the "Who": The best episodes of series 2 weren't about catching a generic killer. They were about understanding the victim's life.
- Don't Fear the Pivot: The show shifted from a heavy focus on Megan’s past to a broader look at the team. This allowed for more diverse storytelling.
- Keep the Stakes Personal: Even when a virus was threatening the whole city, the focus remained on how Megan and her team were handling the pressure.
Body of Proof series 2 remains a high-water mark for medical dramas of the early 2010s. It had a specific voice, a stellar lead, and a willingness to be uncomfortable. It didn't always play it safe, and that's why people are still streaming it today.
To get the most out of a rewatch, pay attention to the lighting and color palettes in the lab versus the crime scenes. The lab is often sterile and blue, representing Megan’s old world of surgery, while the outside world is messy, brown, and gray. It’s a subtle visual cue for her internal struggle to adapt to her new reality. Watch the episodes in order to track the subtle softening of Megan’s edges, particularly in her scenes with Peter. It’s a slow burn that pays off by the season finale.
Next Steps for Body of Proof Enthusiasts:
- Re-watch "Going Viral" (Parts 1 & 2): Notice how the show handles a large-scale crisis compared to modern pandemic-era dramas. The pacing is a masterclass in building tension.
- Compare Seasons: If you’ve only seen Season 1, jump into Series 2 to see the shift in ensemble dynamics. The chemistry between the medical examiners becomes much more defined.
- Analyze the Forensic Tech: Look at the technology used in the 2011/2012 era. It’s a fascinating time capsule of how we visualized "high-tech" forensics just before the explosion of modern AI and digital modeling.
- Track the Hunt-Dunlop Dynamic: Focus on the non-verbal cues between Dana Delany and Nicholas Bishop. It’s one of the best examples of a "platonic power couple" in TV history.