TV series
Reflections of the way life used to be.
Dateline: November 1967. Within klicks of Danang, Vietnam, sits a U.S. Army base, bar and hospital on China Beach filled with wounded soldiers and one very lovely but damaged Army Nurse Colleen McMurphy. Many heroes, dead and alive, try to make sense of life and death in between bourbon, bullets and battles.
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Checked Jul 22, 2026
Dateline: November 1967. Within klicks of Danang, Vietnam, sits a U.S. Army base, bar and hospital on China Beach filled with wounded soldiers and one very lovely but damaged Army Nurse Colleen McMurphy. Many heroes, dead and alive, try to make sense of life and death in between bourbon, bullets and battles.
Cast, crew and production details
Dana DelanyColleen McMurphy
Marg HelgenbergerKC Koloski
Michael BoatmanSamuel Beckett
Troy EvansBob Pepper
Nancy GilesFrankie Bunsen
Jeff KoberDodger Winslow
Robert PicardoDick Richard
Concetta TomeiLila Garreau
ABCUnited StatesWatch options above are for the show and may vary by season or episode.
Episode 1
In 1985, a reunion between Boonie and Dr. Richard stirs up memories of their first meeting in Vietnam in 1966. It also brings up questions for Boonie's 18-year-old adopted daughter, Karen.
Directed by John Sacret YoungWritten by John WellsGuest stars Wings Hauser, Christine Elise, Colleen Flynn, Scott Jaeck
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 2
Still in 1985, Karen learns how her natural mother, KC, coped with her pregnancy by turning to Boonie for help.
Directed by Mimi LederWritten by Carol FlintGuest stars Wings Hauser, Christine Elise, Conni Marie Brazelton, Scott Jaeck
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 3
In Saigon in 1967, KC gives birth with McMurphy's help and gives the baby over to a foster mother.
Directed by Mimi LederGuest stars Ellen Crawford, Richard Lineback, Kerry Noonan
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 4
While attending his father's funeral in 1985, Beckett reflects on his childhood and his tour of duty in Vietnam with the Graves Registration Unit.
Directed by John Sacret Young, John WellsGuest stars Reiner Schöne, Peter Gray Lewis, Scott Jaeck
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 5
In 1970, McMurphy returns home to Lawrence, Kansas to make peace with her mother and try to settle down into civilian life, but finds both goals beyond her grasp.
Directed by Diane KeatonWritten by Lydia WoodwardGuest stars Penny Fuller, Kerry Noonan
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 6
In 1972, Dr. Richard and his nurse take a romantic trip to Florida, where they run across a hard-livng McMurphy working at an orange-juice factory.
Directed by John Sacret YoungWritten by John Sacret YoungGuest stars Gavan O'Herlihy, Colleen Flynn
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 7
In 1969, China Beach watches from afar as the first men land on the moon. McMurphy simmers jealously as Dr. Richard falls for a new nurse. Beckett entertains a group of USO singers in his G.R.U. hut. A disturbed Boonie meets with a tragic accident.
Directed by Michael Katleman, John Sacret Young, John WellsWritten by Josef AndersonGuest stars Vanessa Bell Calloway, Morgan Weisser, April Grace, Gloria Reuben
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 8
Suddenly back home and missing one leg, Boonie begins a slow and painful re-entry into civilian life with the comfort of a loving nurse.
Directed by Steve DubinWritten by John WellsGuest stars Bernard White, Sarah Buxton, Michael Rapaport, Michael Bowen, Finn Carter, Alan Haufrect
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 9
Frankie returns to Chicago in 1969 to try her hand at being a standup comic but runs into the tragically funny trial of the infamous Chicago Seven. Back in Vietnam, McMurphy tries to help Dodger convince some Montagnard tribes people to evacuate their homes.
Directed by Robert GintyGuest stars Viveca Lindfors, Michael Harris
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 10
McMurphy meets a sympathetic drummer at a 1983 wedding and recalls the 1969 wedding of Lila and Sarge Pepper, as well as the end of her relationship with Dr. Richard.
Directed by Michael FrescoGuest stars Adam Arkin
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 11
The imminent fall of Saigon reunites KC with her daughter as she struggles to get the little girl out of Vietnam and safely to America and a waiting Boonie. In the 1980s, a cynical McMurphy tries to prevent further child abuse in New Mexico.
Directed by Mimi LederGuest stars Randolph Mantooth, Jesse Borrego, Shay Astar
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 12
The arrival in Bangkok in 1969 of a hard-drinking McMurphy and a young private disrupts KC's carefully developed new life and brings back unwanted memories.
Directed by Gary SiniseWritten by Lydia WoodwardGuest stars David Newsom
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 13
In 1976, McMurphy helps KC re-enter the country and find her daughter before heading out to Montana to visit Dodger, who's coping with a disabled father and raising his son Archie alone.
Directed by John Sacret YoungWritten by John Sacret YoungGuest stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Robert Knepper, Richard Jaeckel, Shay Astar
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 14
In 1985, Karen begins a videotape project interviewing China Beach veterans about their experiences in Vietnam and their memories of her natural mother.
Directed by Mimi LederWritten by John Wells, Carol FlintGuest stars Wings Hauser, Amy Steel, Christine Elise, Shay Astar
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 15
In 1985, an increasingly angry Colleen torments herself and her husband until she discovers she's suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome and seeks help to deal with the memories of her final weeks in Vietnam.
Directed by Mimi LederWritten by Carol FlintGuest stars Adam Arkin, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Ford Rainey
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 16
McMurphy agrees to attend a China Beach reunion planned by Boonie and recalls her last day in Vietnam, and travels to Washington DC with the others to visit the Vietnam Memorial. Karen comes to terms with the ghost of her absent mother, KC.
Directed by John Sacret YoungWritten by John WellsGuest stars Adam Arkin, John Slattery, Christine Elise, Joseph Whipp, Colleen Flynn
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 17
McMurphy agrees to attend a China Beach reunion planned by Boonie and recalls her last day in Vietnam, and travels to Washington DC with the others to visit the Vietnam Memorial. Karen comes to terms with the ghost of her absent mother, KC.
Directed by John Sacret YoungWritten by John WellsGuest stars Adam Arkin, John Slattery, Joseph Whipp, Colleen Flynn
Where to watch China BeachEpisode information updated Jul 22, 2026
