A television seriesBogner Entertainment
Coming soon
Alive, But Not Well is a new television series designed to help you navigate the complex and often confusing world of medicine.
Hosted by Jonathan Bogner—a survivor of heart failure, two strokes, aphasia, gallbladder removal, and a heart transplant—the show brings together doctors, patients, caregivers, therapists, nutritionists, advocates, and physical therapists for honest, easy-to-understand conversations about health and healing.
Jonathan understands what it feels like to be sick, frightened, and overwhelmed by medical information. His goal is to ask the questions patients and families often do not know how to ask—and to explain the answers in a clear, compassionate, and relatable way.
At times entertaining and uplifting, and at other times deeply serious, Alive, But Not Well explores the realities of illness, recovery, caregiving, and aging.
The pilot episode will be followed by a 12-part series examining many of the diseases and health challenges we may face as we grow older.
Because time waits for no one—and understanding your health may help change your future.
Coming soon.
The premise
You cannot escape what you inherited. But it is not a verdict.
There are meaningful steps any of us can take — a positive outlook, exercise, nutrition, sleep, and mental and emotional well-being. Research is consistent on this: outlook, habits and strong relationships contribute to a longer and more fulfilling life.
Alive, But Not Well is built to be both educational and entertaining — a trusted place for honest conversation about the diseases, disabilities and conditions that touch nearly every family. And because illness and caregiving also produce moments that are awkward, absurd and genuinely funny, there is room here to laugh out loud.
The channel launches with the pilot's first cut-downs — sizzle reels and short segments pulled from the doctors, patients and caregivers.
The channel
The home for everything that doesn't fit in an episode. Full segments from the pilot, sizzle reels, and the short vertical cuts for TikTok and Reels — plus the daily and weekly pieces from the schedule further down this page, posted as the editor delivers them.
Channel opening with the trailer
Dr. Mario C. Deng on what a failing heart actually feels like.
Reel in editThe same illness, told from both sides of the bed.
Reel in editThe emotional weight of a diagnosis, for the patient and for the person carrying them. Not in the pilot — this one comes with the series.
Coming soonWho to ask for help, what exists, and how to reach it.
Reel in editWhat to eat, and what to do on the days you cannot face cooking.
Reel in editSafe ways to keep moving when your body has new limits.
Reel in editEach episode of Alive, But Not Well follows a consistent and engaging format designed to educate, support, and inspire viewers.
The episode begins with an animated introduction that establishes the featured disease or medical condition. The host then introduces a doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating that condition, helping viewers understand its causes, symptoms, treatments, and long-term effects.
Next, we hear the personal stories of a patient living with the disease and a caregiver who supports them. Their experiences provide an honest look at the physical, emotional, and practical challenges of managing illness.
The episode also features:
The episode concludes with a personal monologue from the host, reflecting on the disease, the lessons shared by the guests, and the importance of understanding, compassion, resilience, and hope.
Cardiologist
Advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology, UCLA.
Transplant surgeon
Liver, pancreas and intestinal transplant surgery.
Physical therapist, DPT
Restoring strength, motion and daily function after illness or injury.
Nutritionist
Eating well can be difficult when illness reduces your appetite, fatigue makes cooking feel impossible, and healthy food seems too expensive.
Never one without the other. Each story is told from both sides.
Heart
Patient & caregiver
A husband and wife face the transplant journey from opposite sides—one waiting for a life-saving organ for the second time, the other providing care, strength, and hope.
Liver & kidney
Patient
Received a kidney and liver transplant.
Caregiver
Her brother, and her caregiver.
Heart
Patient & host
The producer, writer, and host receives a life-saving heart transplant.
Caregiver
His wife, through two strokes and the wait for a heart.
Therapist, MA, MFT
A therapist helps patients, caregivers, and family members understand and cope with the trauma that often accompanies serious illness.
Advocate — heart
A heart transplant recipient who founded a housing charity for transplant patients and their families.
Advocate — organ donation, MPP
Nationally recognized organ donation advocate who has spent more than two decades using policy, public education, and powerful storytelling to dispel myths, inspire donors, and create lasting social change.
Director & editor
Veteran actor, choreographer, dancer, writer, director, editor, and producer whose distinguished career spans film, television, theater, live entertainment, and video production.
AARP
Senior Director of Caregiving, AARP Public Policy Institute
Her work focuses on family caregiving, long-term care, home- and community-based services, healthcare, technology, and professional education. She leads the development of research, policies, programs, and practical tools that help healthcare and social service professionals better recognize and support the needs of family caregivers.
Choula serves as Vice Chair of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration and as a board member of the National Alliance for Caregiving. She holds a master's degree in management of Aging Services from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
American Heart Association
Chief Medical Officer for Prevention, American Heart Association
He leads major initiatives focused on blood pressure control and cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic health. He previously served as Chief Medical Officer for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Texas Commissioner of Health, and Director of the Institute for Health Policy at the University of Texas School of Public Health.
His career has focused on disease prevention, chronic illness, health disparities, and public health policy.
American Lung Association
National volunteer medical spokesperson, American Lung Association
Dr. Rutland is triple board-certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease, and Critical Care Medicine. He specializes in asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), interstitial lung disease (ILD), vaping-related lung conditions, endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS), and navigational bronchoscopy.
As a national volunteer medical spokesperson for the American Lung Association, Dr. Rutland is passionate about public health education and regularly speaks about lung disease, prevention, and respiratory health.
Check your number
Most people can name their shoe size and not their blood pressure. Move the switch and watch what the same body looks like on either side of the line.
Normal
120/80 is the target. 180/120 is a hypertensive crisis — that is an emergency-room number, not a next-appointment number.
Fasting blood glucose, mg/dL. The middle band is the one most people never hear about — and the one where the outcome is still open.
All in mg/dL. HDL is the one number you want high — it carries cholesterol away from the arteries rather than into them.
General reference ranges for orientation only — not medical advice. Your own targets are set by your doctor, who knows your history and your medication. Read the full disclaimer.
The series is the reason to come once. The schedule below is the reason to come back — a fixed weekly rhythm so people know what lands when.
One question from the inbox, answered on camera.
Practical help for the person doing the carrying.
Nutrition after a diagnosis, with Annie.
Rehab and getting back to your body.
The funny, awkward, unfilmable parts of being ill.
One full segment, one long-form piece. Both languages.
Editorial calendar — schedule set, first pieces commissioned.
Jonathan's philosophy
It is difficult to remain optimistic all the time, especially when the odds seem stacked against you. But rigorous optimism means continuing to move forward even when life feels painful, uncertain, or absurd.
Sometimes, you must laugh at yourself and at the situation. Laughter does not diminish the seriousness of what you are facing; it can give you the strength to endure it. Remain committed to your goal but recognize when the current path is no longer working. Hope sometimes means having the courage to change direction, create a new plan, and keep going.
Rugged flexibility is the ability to stay committed to your mental, physical, and spiritual goals, even when others tell you that you have reached your limit. At the same time, it means recognizing when your current plan is no longer working and having the courage to change course.
True strength is not stubbornly following the same path. It is knowing when to adjust, create a new plan, and keep moving forward in a different direction.
Remarkable resilience is the ability to overcome challenges of both the mind and the body. It means becoming stronger mentally, physically, and spiritually through illness, trauma, and adversity. Even when the body feels limited, the mind can provide the determination to keep going, rebuild, and become whole again.
From the host
I have survived two strokes, heart failure, and aphasia that took away my speech for a year and a half. I have undergone parathyroid surgery, received a heart transplant—a woman's heart—and had my gallbladder removed during the operation. I have faced melanoma on my ear more than once, lived with two defibrillators, and continue to manage arthritis in both knees.
And that is not all.
At forty-five, my doctors told me that time was running out and that I would eventually need a new heart. I received that heart at sixty-two. Somehow, I managed to stretch things out for another seventeen years.
Not bad.
Through most of it, I kept working—producing feature films, reality television, and documentaries. As of this writing, I am still producing and writing, and for the first time, I am hosting. I continue to adapt, reinvent myself, and find a new path forward.
While I was in the hospital waiting for a heart, I made myself a promise: if I survived, I would give back in the only way I knew how—by creating meaningful television.
That promise became Alive, But Not Well.
We cannot promise that every illness can be prevented or cured. But we can help people ask better questions, communicate more effectively with their doctors, find resources they can trust, and take a more active role in their own health.
Most of all, we can offer knowledge, community, understanding, humor, and hope.
Look around. Take a breath. Appreciate the people who support you. Be grateful for every day you are given.
And be thankful that you are alive—even when you are not completely well.
One newsletter. The trailer, the premiere date, the channel link — and nothing else.
Distribution and press enquiries — hello@alivebutnotwell.org
Alive, But Not Well is a television series. Everything on this site and in the programme is general information and personal experience. It is not medical advice.
The doctors, surgeons, therapists, nutritionists and physical therapists who appear here are speaking generally — about conditions, and about their fields. They are not your clinicians. They have not examined you, they do not know your history, and nothing on this site creates a doctor–patient relationship.
The patients, caregivers and advocates are describing what happened to them. Their experience is their own, and it may not apply to you.
Any reference ranges shown on this site are general population figures. Your own targets are set by your doctor, who accounts for your history, your other conditions and your medication.
Always speak with a qualified health professional before acting on anything you read or watch here, and never disregard their advice, or delay seeking it, because of something you saw on this site.
If you think you are having a medical emergency, stop reading and call 911 — or your local emergency number — now.