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.
See where to watchStreaming, rental and purchase options
Checked Jul 22, 2026
China Beach is available to stream on The Roku Channel in United States. Use the direct links below to open the provider.
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
McMurphy and K.C. are kidnapped by the Viet Cong and taken underground into a warren of tunnels, where their captors expect McMurphy to operate on their wounded leader.
Directed by Michael Ray RhodesWritten by Alan BrennertGuest stars Derek de Lint, Vince Vaughn
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 2
McMurphy uses a little guilt and a little blackmail to get a reluctant K.C. to visit a wounded soldier whose face has been badly disfigured. Holly, the new doughnut dolly, challenges the nurses on behalf of the Red Cross Volunteers to compete in a Miss China Beach beauty pageant. Frankie is assigned to the motor pool and runs into Sarge Pepper, who's not very eager to have her there.
Directed by Mimi LederWritten by Carol FlintGuest stars Carlos Gómez, Kimber Sissons
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 3
Dodger is left with an Amerasian baby that is supposedly his son; McMurphy makes a poor patient when she comes down with dysentery; and Holly badgers everyone into answering the letters sent by seventh-graders from Colorado.
Directed by Michael Ray RhodesWritten by John WellsGuest stars Derek de Lint, Roger Hewlett, Shawn Levy
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 4
Dr. Richard worries over a craniotomy that has permanently altered a patient's mental capacity; Lila faces an inspection that will determine if she gets a key promotion; Sarge Pepper asks for some advice about courting Lila and K.C. finds herself in a very awkward position when a senior officer goes AWOL on her permanently.
Directed by Fred GerberWritten by Lydia WoodwardGuest stars Derek de Lint, R. Lee Ermey
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 5
China Beach celebrates a soggy Independence Day with Boonie and Holly trying to keep everyone's spirits up, McMurphy dealing with a love struck private as she tries to sort out her feelings for Dr. Bernard, Lila and the Sarge discussing the future and Beckett and K.C. quarreling over registering the dead to vote.
Directed by Mimi LederGuest stars Derek de Lint, Elizabeth Sung, Kyle Chandler, Tom Sizemore
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 6
K.C. avoids dealing with unpleasant memories of her father stirred up by a trunk of his belongings; Dr. Richard faces his ex-wife's remarriage with a ""black wedding""; Beckett ends his relationship with Mai; and McMurphy learns more about Dr. Bernard's life.
Directed by Michael FrescoWritten by Toni GraphiaGuest stars Derek de Lint, Tom Sizemore
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 7
Holly is shaken when it appears that Hang is connected to the VC and has been using their friendship to gain information; Frankie is seriously injured by a booby trap; and McMurphy aids Dr. Bernard at a civilian clinic.
Directed by Michael Toshiyuki UnoWritten by Josef Anderson, Carol FlintGuest stars Derek de Lint, Tom Tran, Tom Sizemore
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 8
Dodger and Hyers square off after a battlefield incident; McMurphy spends an uncomfortable evening with Dr. Bernard's sophisticated civilian friends; and Boonie gets a surprise from the sexy Asian singer all the men in camp are longing for.
Written by Josef AndersonGuest stars Derek de Lint, Kayla Blake, Lydie Denier, Tom Sizemore
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 9
Beckett and a civilian photographer temporarily join Dodger's patrol; McMurphy gets to know a wounded POW.
Directed by Fred GerberGuest stars Lisa Banes, Haing S. Ngor, Robert LaSardo, Dorian Harewood, Vonte Sweet
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 10
The wounded Cambodian POW befriended by McMurphy is taken away by the South Vietnamese for interrogation as the photographer Cat pursues the story of his defection and a new commander arrives to take over the base, leaving Lila and K.C. unsure of their positions.
Guest stars Lisa Banes, Derek de Lint, Haing S. Ngor, Robert LaSardo, Dorian Harewood
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 11
McMurphy finds herself caught up in a triangle affair with Dr. Bernard and Vinnie; Holly tells Boonie how she feels about him; and Lila copes with the disappointment of losing command of China Beach to Otis.
Directed by Mimi LederWritten by John WellsGuest stars Derek de Lint, Roger Hewlett, Lydie Denier, Ramsay Midwood, Tom Sizemore, Dorian Harewood
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 12
K.C. feels responsible for the death of a Vietnamese prostitute she sent out and takes things into her own hands when Otis refuses to investigate the matter.
Written by Lydia WoodwardGuest stars Dorian Harewood
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 13
Dodger reaches the limit of his endurance and decides to leave Vietnam and faces a mountain of paperwork as he tries to get permission to take his Amerasian son home with him.
Directed by John Sacret YoungWritten by John Sacret YoungGuest stars Lanei Chapman
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 14
Holly has had an abortion and as her friends at China Beach try to deal with it, the circumstances that led up to it are gradually revealed.
Written by Carol FlintGuest stars James Hong, Lexie Bigham
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 15
China Beach reacts to the rumors of peace floated by Beckett and Frankie during their pirate radio broadcast.
Written by Josef AndersonGuest stars Robert LaSardo
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 16
McMurphy is in an emotional and ethical turmoil when she delivers Vinnie's buddy from death but he falls into a terminal coma; and Frankie finds herself in charge of a squad of grizzled grunts.
Directed by David SoulWritten by Neal BaerGuest stars Don Cheadle, Ron Taylor, Tommy Hinkley, Robert LaSardo, Tom Sizemore
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 17
Dodger tries to reintegrate his life as a civilian but finds himself drifting as he tries to make sense of his experiences in Vietnam.
Directed by Mimi LederWritten by John WellsGuest stars Penelope Windust, Robert Knepper, Doug Savant, Helen Hunt, Bobby Hosea, Tom Bower, Richard Herd
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 18
A pair of ballroom dancers bring a note of grace and harmony to the uneasy relationship between McMurphy and Dr. Richard while completing a mysterious mission of their own.
Directed by Fred GerberWritten by Lydia WoodwardGuest stars Joe Seneca, Ruby Dee, Robert LaSardo
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 19
K.C. finds herself in the middle of a C.I.A. assassination plot, and dependent on McMurphy to vouch for her innocence.
Directed by Mimi LederWritten by Toni GraphiaGuest stars Aki Aleong, Kevin Kilner
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 20
In November 1966, fairly new guys Colleen McMurphy and Dr. Richard find themselves learning the ropes when they arrive at China Beach.
Directed by John Sacret YoungWritten by Carol FlintGuest stars Wings Hauser, Daniel Quinn, Bobby Hosea, Kerry Noonan
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 21
McMurphy finds herself under suspicion when a wounded G.I. she doesn't remember names her as his beneficiary. Lila has mixed feelings about an old friend who now outranks her and has arrived at China Beach to do a recruiting film about Army nurses.
Directed by Michael KatlemanWritten by Josef AndersonGuest stars Gerrit Graham, Barbara Babcock, Guy Boyd, Stanley Grover
Where to watch China Beach
Episode 22
With everyone else away for a distant USO show, K.C. and McMurphy indulge in an alcoholic binge that takes them to a dreamy landscape where a Native American guide tries to help them heal past and present wounds.
Directed by Michael FrescoGuest stars Gary Farmer, Penny Fuller, Clancy Brown
Where to watch China BeachEpisode information updated Jul 22, 2026
