Where Does St. Denis Medical's Serena/Matt Romance Go After That Finale Reveal? Showrunner Weighs In

St. Denis Medical's Serena became privy to a major piece of workplace gossip in the recent Season 1 finale — but she didn't quite expect it to be about her own life.

During the April 29 season ender, Serena — who foolishly thought her work bestie, Matt, was going to ask another St. Denis nurse out on a date — was informed by colleagues Val and Bruce that Matt's infatuated with her, not Holly.

"You're not actually a dumb person, so I don't feel bad saying this: He likes you, dumbass," Val told Serena. "Matt's in love with you." Bruce, eavesdropping while checking in with a patient, helpfully added, "Wait, you didn't know that? Wow. Awkward!"

For her part, Serena seemed surprised by the news of Matt's feelings for her, but not necessarily unhappy about it. And though the dynamic has now gotten more complicated for the potential pair — Matt has no idea that Serena knows he's crushing on her; in fact, he thinks his chances of being with her are lower than ever — St. Denis showrunner Eric Ledgin admits he's delighted to "completely blow up" Matt's private pining.

"I always wanted to slow-play it, and I love being able to play with this will-they-won't-they that only exists in one character's mind," he tells TVLine with a laugh. "In the beginning, just because of the character of who Matt was, a lot of people in the writers' room felt like, 'This girl never goes for this guy. It's just not going to happen.' And it's a testament to Mekki [Leeper, who plays Matt] that, as time went by, we're like, 'I don't know. Matt has a lot of great qualities!' It felt like that character is someone that grows on you over time, and then maybe an attraction to Matt grows over time for someone like Serena."

Ledgin adds that "it felt right to go very slowly" with Serena and Matt's possible romance, but it also "just felt very fun to flip the script for a while," with Serena receiving this pivotal intel that will inform their arc in the sophomore season.

"Serena actually has — in a way — more knowledge than Matt does in the dynamic now," he says. "And we have a plan and a path for Season 2 of how things will go for them."

In the meantime, even though Matt was forlorn about his love life in the season finale, he had a big professional win during the episode, too: In a full-circle scene that referenced St. Denis' pilot, Matt confidently and correctly used an EpiPen on a patient during a high-stress moment, after previously holding it upside down and stabbing himself with it back in the series premiere. Later, in a talking head with the show's documentary crew, Matt conceded, "I was a good nurse today, so maybe that's what I should be crushing on" instead of Serena.

"I think it would be a real bummer for everyone involved if Matt never got better at his job. And I also don't think that's realistic," Ledgin laughs, when asked about Matt's clear evolution into a competent nurse. "For Matt, where we'll have an endless well to draw from is just his innocence, his naivety. He is a character that can always get things wrong, misunderstand, misinterpret things. He's clumsy, he's great with physical comedy. So him getting better as a nurse, and seeing how that affects his confidence and sense of himself, is only going to give us more fun stories to play with."

How are you liking the Serena/Matt slow burn, St. Denis fans? Give us your thoughts below.