The medical drama is one of the most narratively-rich genres on television. It’s no surprise, then, that series after series either get created or continually renewed each season. There’s certainly something to be said about medical professionals being everyday superheroes. Not to mention, of course, the plethora of storylines that can unfold in a hospital setting. From steamy romances to epic tragedies, the medical drama has been known to provide it all.
Updated September 9, 2022: If you love medical dramas, you’ll be happy to know that we’ve updated our list below with additional compelling series.
Indeed, doctors and surgeons are some of our favorite TV characters. That said, not every TV medical series is the same. Some are geared toward comedy, while others are more of a high-drama variety. What makes these shows truly compelling — and completely binge-worthy — is that they each bring something different to the table. Here are the best TV medical drama series.
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13 Royal Pains (2009 - 2016)
NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Royal Pains ran on the USA Network from 2009 to 2016 and was based in part on actual concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies. The cast of the show included Mark Feuerstein, Paulo Costanzo, Henry Winkler, and Campbell Scott and follows Hank Lawson, a young emergency room doctor who after being wrongly blamed for an important patient’s death, moves to the Hamptons and becomes a reluctant house-call doctor to the rich and famous.
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When the administrator of the local hospital asks him to treat the town’s less fortunate, he finds himself walking the line between doing well for himself and doing good for others. It was a feel-good summer show that was best consumed after a long day at the beach (or pool).
12 Private Practice (2007 - 2013)
Disney--ABC Television Distribution
A spin-off of Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice takes place at Seaside Health & Wellness Center and chronicles the life of Dr. Addison Montgomery, played by Kate Walsh, as she leaves Seattle Grace Hospital in order to join a private practice, located in Los Angeles. The compelling medical drama also revolves around Addison’s co-workers and how they deal with patients and the practice while still finding time to live their everyday lives.
The series was created by Shonda Rhimes, who also serves as executive producer. Running for six seasons, Private Practice may seem like a lesser-known series in Shondaland’s empire, but it still holds as one of the best. Reruns can be seen in syndication on some local ABC stations and can be streamed on Hulu and Netflix.
11 The Resident (2018 -)
Disney--ABC Domestic Television
The Resident provides a look into the bureaucratic world of the medical field as seen through the staff of Atlanta, Georgia’s Chastain Park Memorial Hospital. The series follows titular resident Conrad Hawkins, an idealistic doctor who on his first day is handed off to a no-nonsense senior resident who reveals to him the truth of the hospital system’s inner workings. Through his eyes, we see the side of the medical field that rarely gets shown on television, the good and evil of medical ethics and malpractice. The Resident is entering its sixth season this month of September, 2022.
10 Chicago Med (2015 -)
Chicago Med is the third installment of the gripping Chicago TV series franchise and centers on the vital medical professionals working in the emergency department at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, with the riveting series depicting the lives of the highly-skilled men and women as they tackle a diverse assortment of cases and patients that come through their doors. As with its companion shows, the drama frequently features cross-over episodes and appearances by characters from Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D., and the popular program continues to deliver strong ratings as it heads into its upcoming eighth season.
9 Nurse Jackie (2009 - 2015)
Showtime
Nurse Jackie holds the title of having Showtime’s highest-rated premiere ever. On the air for seven award-winning seasons, Showtime’s hit dark comedy Nurse Jackie stars, Edie Falco, as a nurse working through day-to-day life at All Saints Hospital in New York City. She’s often at the center of many memorable dramatic moments, frequently with the help of prescription drugs. With a predominantly women cast, Nurse Jackie can be seen as a feminist series that shows us just how much nurses are relied on by their better-paid superiors.
8 Grey’s Anatomy (2005 -)
ABC
The longest-running medical drama in history aired for the first time in the year 2005. Since then, Grey’s Anatomy has been going strong with no official signs of stopping yet. For almost 20 years, this hit series has captured hearts and awards as it follows Meredith Grey from her beginnings at Seattle Grey as a surgical intern all the way to the rank of Chief of General Surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. With a revolving cast, crazy storylines, breathtaking romance, and the strongest leading ladies in television, Grey’s Anatomy keeps viewers hooked every week and will likely do so for many more years to come.
7 ER (1994 - 2009)
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Developed by Michael Crichton, ER was the first contemporary medical drama to air on television. Taking place in the fictional County General Hospital in Chicago, the series has given viewers memorable characters, emotional stories, and plenty of tension, as well as plenty of blood.
Many non-viewers know of this hit series as the launchpad for some of their favorite stars to get their start: actors like Noah Wyle, Anthony Edwards, the late Vanessa Marquez, and most notably, George Clooney. ER is the second-longest-running medical drama behind Grey’s Anatomy. Of all the other programs on this list, many of them were likely inspired by this award-winning drama as it set the standard for all shows like it to come after.
6 The Good Doctor (2017 -)
Freddie Highmore of Bates Motel stars in yet another award-winning role in The Good Doctor as Shaun Murphy, a gifted autistic surgeon with incredible knowledge of medicine and methodology. Shaun’s stock rises as the newest surgeon at San Jose St. Bonaventure due to his unique ability to diagnose patients based on his skill to visualize the human body. While lonely and unable to form personal connections with those around him, Shaun uses his medical prowess to save lives and challenge perceptions of autism and his skeptic colleagues. The Good Doctor is entering its sixth season in October, 2022.
5 Call The Midwife (2012 -)
All3Media
Call The Midwife is a BBC original series set in the late 1950s and early 1960s. This period drama tells the story of London midwives working in a period of great upheaval. The leading ladies are ordained nuns part of a nursing order known as the Nonnatus House. Unlike most series on this list, this one unfolds without the use of melodrama and excess and approaches serious topics in a practical sense and an honest look at mid-century medical practices as they relate to birth and sexual health.
4 Scrubs (2001 - 2010)
Disney / ABC Domestic Television
This wildly popular sitcom from ABC focused on the lower-level hospital employees that rarely stand in the spotlight in most medical dramas. The featured characters mainly perform the grunt work for the higher-ups at Sacred Heart Hospital, which serves as a teaching facility for a medical university.
Scrubs ran for nine seasons off the likeability of its rotating cast, which featured the likes of Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison, and John C. McGinley. With a combination of slap-stick humor, relatable characters, heart, and, at the time, insight into a part of the medical field rarely seen on television, this series worked its way into the hearts of viewers and became a long-time favorite.
3 MAS*H (1972 - 1983)
20th Television
Inspired by the Robert Altman film of the same name, this legendary series was centered in the wars of the mid-century that forever altered the history of the world, with M.A.S.H following a mobile hospital unit throughout the Korean War. Both this series and its film adaptation ran during the height of the Vietnam War, with many critics viewing the show as an allegory for the conflict.
Many medical dramas of today may have drawn inspiration from this series, namely Scrubs, due toits humor and braveness when it’s time to get serious. M.A.S.H is more of a sitcom dramedy than a purely medical show, but it’s perfect enough to make the top of any list. This series ran for 11 years thanks in part to its character building and development, humor, and situational drama to keep viewers hooked until the very end.
2 The Knick (2014 - 2015)
Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Set in 1900 New York City, The Knick follows Clive Owen as Dr. John W. Thakery, a man balancing his addictions with his ambition for medical discovery as he takes up the position of Chief Surgeon at the Knickerbocker hospital. The troubled doctor dives into the unknown as he struggles with the limitations of medical understanding and practices while trying to minimize death rates.
This masterful, two-season Steven Soderbergh drama shows the dismal reality that was the dawn of modern medical practices. Depicting scenes with natural lighting and portraying graphic surgical procedures, The Knick is a medical drama set in a period rarely tackled and stands out among all other dramas on this list for its artistry, intellect, and incredible performances; if only it ran for more episodes, it might be more substantial than perhaps the biggest and best medical show on TV.
1 House (2004 - 2012)
With a precise combination of mystery, methodology, and character studies, this multi-Emmy-winning series kept fans coming back to follow the genius doctor through all his highs and lows. To this day, it’s one of the most well-regarded medical dramas to ever hit television. Dr. Gregory House is an antisocial, but wildly smart doctor with a crippled leg and an opioid addiction. When not focusing on medical mysteries, the show also explores House’s personal life, from his addiction, to his relationships with his co-workers, and to his interesting, and oftentimes hilarious interactions with his patients of differing personalities. House is a drama that always keeps them guessing.
