Medical dramas and comedies like ER and Scrubs have been a part of the TV schedule going nearly again to the start of tv. Whether or not it is to convey laughs or tears (or typically each), medical exhibits are one of the sure-fire methods for producers to give you successful present. Not all have been as enduring as, say, Home, however the exhibits on this record all have their very own followings, and most have been big hits. Right here is our record of TV exhibits set in a hospital.
ER
It is onerous to argue towards ER being the most well-liked medical drama of all time. Set within the fictional Cook dinner County Normal Hospital in Chicago, the present set scores data for years. When all was mentioned and down, the Michael Crichton-created present ran for 15 seasons, and 331 episodes. In fact, it additionally helped launch the careers of George Clooney, Julianna Margulies, Noah Wyle, and others, along with starring the likes of Anthony Edwards, Angela Bassett, and Eriq La Salle.
St. Elsewhere
The fictional Saint Eligius is the identify of the hospital the place the long-lasting St. Elsewhere TV present was set. The present, which dominated the awards exhibits within the Eighties, was a staple of NBC’s lineup, though it by no means achieved scores dominance. Nonetheless, for six seasons, the present took dwelling a slew of Emmys with its unbelievable solid, which included William Daniels, Stephen Furst, Howie Mandel, Mark Harmon, Ronny Cox, Bruce Greenwood, and, final however hardly least, helped launch the profession of Denzel Washington. Not too shabby.
Gray’s Anatomy
The one present that may give ER a run for the declare of prime medical drama of all time needs to be Gray’s Anatomy. The seemingly infinite present has been successful for a lot of the twenty first Century, and will definitely go down in historical past as one of the fashionable exhibits of all time. The fictional hospital has had just a few names over time, together with Seattle Grace Hospital and Gray Sloan Memorial Hospital.
Nurse Jackie
Set within the fictional All Saints Hospital in New York Metropolis, Nurse Jackie is, because the title implies, simply as a lot in regards to the titular nurse and her private life as it’s a few hospital. In contrast to some medical dramas, this one actually digs deep into how working in a hospital is basically onerous on the individuals who do the selfless work. It has its lighter moments, for positive, but it surely is not afraid to hit onerous, emotionally.
The Resident
One of many newer exhibits on this record is Fox’s The Resident. It focuses on a star physician, performed by Matt Czuchry, working on the fictional Chastain Park Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, however all of the medical doctors, nurses, and orderlies are necessary. As are the hospital directors, who are sometimes at odds with these of us.
Scrubs
Arguably, the funniest present on this record needs to be Scrubs. The hit sitcom, set within the fictional Sacred Coronary heart Hospital, is legendary for its hijinks and shenanigans from its core solid of Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, and John C. McGinley (amongst others). ran for 9 seasons and nearly 200 episodes, and stays extremely popular in syndication and on streaming providers.
MASH
MASH stands for “Cellular Military Surgical Hospital,” and the present, whereas not set in a conventional hospital, is without doubt one of the most iconic medical exhibits of all time. The Alan Alda-led present’s legacy is without doubt one of the largest in tv historical past, with a closing episode that set the document for the most-watched TV present of all time, which stood for many years.
Chicago Hope
Mark Harmon’s first function got here in a medical drama on ER, and like that basic, he additionally joined the ensemble solid of Chicago Hope later in its run. His character was well-known at one level for uttering an expletive on community TV. That is the sort of present Chicago Hope (set in a hospital with the identical identify) was, hard-hitting and unvarnished, in a good way.
Normal Hospital
Though not a first-rate time present or a streaming present like most on this record, you may’t deny the recognition of the daytime cleaning soap, Normal Hospital. The enduring present has aired greater than 15,000 episodes because it first debuted in 1963. The solid of characters within the fictional city of Port Charles, many working on the hospital, has modified many occasions over time, however the reputation of the cleaning soap opera has endured.
The Pitt
It did not take lengthy for The Pitt, which you’ll be able to watch with a Netflix subscription, to make a reputation for itself as probably the greatest (and most real looking) medical dramas of all time when it received the Emmy for Excellent Drama Sequence after its first season. Star Noah Wyle, who first burst onto the scene
Home
Home, starring Hugh Laurie because the titular Dr. Greg Home, is many individuals’s all-time favourite medical drama, together with mine, if we’re trustworthy. Laurie is simply so nice because the sensible (however at all times salty) physician main a workforce of prime younger medical doctors at Princeton-Plainsboro Educating Hospital to diagnose uncommon medical circumstances. Simply keep in mind, it is by no means Lupus.
Nurses
Whereas the CBS drama Nurses solely lasted components of two seasons and simply 25 episodes, it was fashionable sufficient with critics to earn an Emmy for its lead actress, Michael Realized. Set in New York on the fictional Grant Memorial Hospital, this present, which co-starred Brady Bunch star Robert Reed, did not get the honest shake it deserved.
Metropolis Of Angels
Though it was solely on for components of two seasons, Metropolis of Angels is most notable for being the primary community medical drama to function a predominantly African-American solid, led by the good Blair Underwood, Viola Davis, and Vivica A. Fox. It was additionally notable for serving to launch the careers of Gabriel Union and Maya Rudolph, who each had supporting roles on the short-lived CBS present
Doogie Howser, M.D.
Doogie Howser, M.D. is commonly used, unfairly, as a punchline today, however within the early ’90s, it was a extremely popular sitcom. In fact, everybody is aware of that plot. Neil Patrick Harris performs a precocious teenager who turns into a physician at age 14. Positive, it is ridiculous, however the present was genuinely humorous on the time, and it launched the profession of Harris, who continues to be making audiences giggle many years later.
Dr. Kildare
The world misplaced actor Richard Chamberlain in early 2025, when he died at age 90. He’ll at all times first be remembered for his lead function on the early NBC medical drama Dr. Kildare, which aired for 5 seasons between 1961 and 1966. The present was one of many earliest of its variety in TV historical past and, in some ways, influenced a lot of the exhibits that got here after.
The Knick
The Knick solely ran for 20 episodes, however every one was intense and, frankly, unbelievable. The present earned a number of Emmy nominations throughout its transient two-season run on Cinemax. It starred Clive Owen and André Holland as surgeons on the Knickerbocker Hospital in New York, who had been primarily inventing trendy drugs, which made the present as gross to observe because it was partaking.
Chicago Med
You possibly can’t argue with producer Dick Wolf’s success fee. Along with the wildly profitable Legislation & Order franchise, Wolf can be accountable for the Chicago franchise, which began with Chicago Hearth, then added Chicago P.D., and closed the loop with the medical drama Chicago Med in regards to the medical doctors within the emergency room of the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Heart. The present has been on the air for 10 seasons and stays, together with its sister exhibits, a key a part of NBC’s primetime lineup.
Mercy
Not each medical drama turns into the following ER. Take, for instance, the short-lived Mercy, which aired for one season in 2009-2010. The present starred Taylor Schilling, Jaime Lee Kirchner, and the late Michelle Trachtenberg as three nurses working on the fictional Mercy Hospital in New Jersey. It was present, but it surely acquired caught up in too many tropes to face out by itself.
Lenox Hill
It is a distinctive entry on this record as a result of Lenox Hill is definitely a documentary sequence, which first streamed on Netflix in 2020. It follows a handful of medical doctors on the very actual hospital of the identical identify in New York Metropolis and is a tremendous take a look at the truth of so many exhibits on this style.
Childrens Hospital
We’ll forgive you in case you aren’t conversant in Childrens Hospital, which began as an internet sequence, however then had a seven-season run on Grownup Swim. It by no means fairly discovered the biggest viewers, however the absurdist darkish comedy nonetheless has a devoted fanbase.
Marcus Welby, M.D.
It is easy to overlook that for a few years, ABC was by no means a prime community of the “Massive Three.” CBS and NBC tended to dominate the scores within the Sixties, however that each one modified in 1970 when Marcus Welby, M.D., in its second of seven seasons, turned the primary ABC to prime the scores for the 1970-1971 primetime season. Robert Younger performed the titular physician, who was, in a approach, the prototype for later TV medical doctors like Home, as he was typically at odds with different medical doctors on the way to deal with sufferers on the fictional Lang Memorial Hospital in California.
AfterMASH
Let’s be trustworthy right here: AfterMASH by no means fairly hit the creative highs (or scores, for that matter) of its mother or father present, MASH. It wasn’t as huge a bomb as another spinoffs, but it surely was hardly a roaring success both. The present adopted Col. Potter (Harry Morgan) dwelling after the Korean Warfare, and included a few different characters from MASH, but it surely did not have the humor or the depth of the unique present.
The Night time Shift
To be trustworthy, The Night time Shift is just a little forgettable within the pantheon of medical dramas, however over 4 quick seasons on NBC, it positively had its moments. Ken Leung is the proper actor for a physician on the night time shift, so for that purpose, I want we would gotten extra of the present.
Code Black
The healthcare system in the US (and certainly, the world) is commonly understaffed and overburdened. Particularly huge metropolis emergency rooms. That is the fundamental premise of Code Black. Primarily based on a documentary of the identical identify, the CBS present confirmed the cruel realities medical doctors and nurses face in present-day Los Angeles, and whereas it solely lasted three seasons, they had been three hard-hitting ones.
St. Denis Medical
For those who’re a fan of The Workplace and The Paper, then you definitely would possibly need to give St. Denis Medical an opportunity along with your Peacock subscription. It does for hospitals what Parks and Rec did for presidency employees, and it is at all times enjoyable to see a extra light-hearted present centered in a hospital.
The Good Physician
Showrunner David Shore has created a number of the finest exhibits within the final 30 years or so, together with NYPD Blue and Home. One other medical drama of his creation is The Good Physician, which ended a seven-season run on ABC in 2024. The present targeted on Dr. Shaun Murphy, an excellent younger physician with a novel skill to know signs at nearly first look. Very like Shore’s different nice physician character, Greg Home, Murphy (Freddie Highmore), has a Sherlock Holmes-like thoughts, and that works very well in medical exhibits.
Sensible Minds
Zachary Quinto performed one of the ruthless TV villains ever on NBC’s Heroes, and in 2024, he returned to the Peacock community. As an alternative of an omnipotent tremendous villain, he performs an excellent neurologist at a hospital in The Bronx within the aptly titled, Sensible Minds.
Pulse
Like numerous exhibits, typically it looks like Netflix provides up on them too rapidly. Pulse, which was canceled after one season in 2025, felt prefer it was simply discovering its footing.
Casualty
The longest-running primetime medical drama is just not Gray’s Anatomy, however a British present from the BBC known as Casualty. The present debuted in 1986 and is ready on the fictional Holby Metropolis Hospital in Southwest England. With effectively over 1,300 episodes, it is nonetheless acquired a methods to go to catch Normal Hospital, however for primetime, it blows everybody else out of the water.
Carol’s Second Act
There merely aren’t sufficient medical sitcoms, and it is easy to know why. The gravity of so many medical conditions signifies that it is onerous to maintain issues light-hearted. Nonetheless, it is nice when one will get an opportunity. just like the short-lived Carol’s Second Act on CBS. The present, starring Patricia Heaton as a middle-aged intern, solely lasted 18 episodes, however I do not assume it might have labored in the event that they’d had just a little extra time. It’s a enjoyable premise.
The Medical doctors
Do you know that Normal Hospital was not the one cleaning soap opera set in a hospital that debuted in 1963? The Medical doctors, which aired on NBC for 20 years and greater than 5,500 episodes, debuted on the exact same day, April 1st, 1963, as its ABC rival, however the fashionable present aired its closing episode in 1982.
New Amsterdam
If I am trustworthy, New Amsterdam is without doubt one of the extra generic exhibits on this record, however in case you’re a fan of the style and you have not seen it, you may most likely prefer it. It isn’t essentially the most groundbreaking present of all time, however it’s going to fulfill your itch for a TV present about life in a hospital.