Everyone prefers to be in good health. Consequently, people like to watch doctors save other humans from the pangs of bad health. Because of this, medical drama shows tend to be extremely popular. Grey’s Anatomy has maintained strong ratings throughout its run, and with 21 seasons aired so far, there are no signs of slowing down. Shows like ER and New Amsterdam have successfully tapped into the public’s love for cures, too.
Most medical drama shows thrive by offering more than just E.R. or O.R. thrills. They dig into the human side of the doctors, showing them dating and forming meaningful friendships. It’s amazing how the dating pool is always limited to the hospital walls. Do doctors always have to date each other? Don’t they have Tinder? We still love it.
If you are a Prime subscriber who craves more of such awesomeness, here are the 10 best medical drama series to check out on the streaming service.
10
‘Code Black’ (2015 – 2018)
The term “code black” refers to a scenario when patient influx exceeds a hospital’s resources. Code Black thus ushers us into Angels Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles, where Dr. Leanne Rorish (Marcia Gay Harden), a confident ER residency director, and her team tend to patients in an understaffed, buzzing emergency room that lacks enough resources.
Running on Fumes
For a deeper glimpse into squalid small hospital intrigue, you can’t beat this one. Harden resuscitated her shaky career with the driven Dr. Leanne Rorish, a role she was born to play — and won a Monte-Carlo Television Festival award for it. Luis Guzman also oozes a particular brand of acid in his role as a senior nurse (he seems to fit everywhere). Overall, the show does a great job of highlighting the challenges of a broken healthcare system. You’ll relate to a thing or two.
9
‘Nip/Tuck’ (2003 – 2010)
Nip/Tuck follows Sean McNamara (Dylan Walsh) and Christian Troy (Julian McMahon), the owners of a plastic surgery center. Of the two, Sean takes his job more seriously and is always cleaning up after Christian, who enjoys doing shady business deals and sleeps with almost every female client.
More Work, More Play
The medical drama is beautifully shot, and all the performances…well, they are slightly exaggerated, yet they resonate. All the actors inject their roles with so much humor and a surprising amount of depth. The show earned 18 Emmy nominations during its run, and we are glad it wasn’t released in the modern TV landscape where it would have had to compete with so many other boundary-pushing shows.
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8
‘The Good Karma Hospital’ (2017)
- Release Date
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2017 – 2022
- Network
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ITV1
- Directors
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Bill Eagles, Jon Wright
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Amrita Acharia
Dr. Lydia Fonseca
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Amrita Acharia
Dr. Ruby Walker
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Darshan Jariwala
Ram Nair
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Disillusioned with her career and broken relationship, junior doctor, Ruby Walker (Amrita Acharia), decides to leave the UK to take up a hospital job in South India. But conditions aren’t good at the cottage hospital run by a strong-willed English expat, Dr. Lydia Fonseca (Amanda Redman). Watch how Ruby navigates all these challenges in The Good Karma Hospital.
New Region, New Challenges
This triumphant medical drama captures the charisma, confidence, and passionate humanism of a likable doctor whose legacy would be huge if she were a real person. Acharia electrifies the screen in undoubtedly her most impressive performance, wrenching jeers and cheers in equal measure. Redman scores big too, as her by-the-book conservative boss.
7
‘The Surgeon’ (2005)
- Release Date
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2005 – 2004
- Network
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Network Ten
- Directors
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Rebecca Barry, Matthew Saville
- Writers
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Judi McCrossin, Fiona Seres
The Surgeon follows Dr. Eve Agius (Justine Clarke), an ambitious surgeon working in one of Sydney’s busiest hospitals. Here, she experiences the usual career-related challenges, ranging from complex surgeries to personal clashes with her colleagues. Trust to navigate all the obstacles thrown her way.
More Chaos, More Fun
The medical drama has enough shockers, double crosses, and gnarled subplots to impress fans of all genres. You find a more likable television surgeon than Dr. Eve Agius. Perhaps only Dr. Cristina from Grey’s Anatomy comes close. But even she doesn’t have the talent for covert flirting like Dr. Agius. We gotta give it to her. She is excellent at everything. Sadly, life keeps hitting her with tests.
6
‘Childrens Hospital’ (2008 – 2016)
5
/5
- Release Date
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2008 – 2015
- Directors
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Rob Schrab, Rob Corddry, Danny Jelinek, Bryan Gordon, John Inwood, Marco Fargnoli, Matt Shakman, Michael Patrick Jann, Tristram Shapeero
Childrens Hospital revolves around the machinations of the staff of Childrens Hospital, a kids’ hospital named after its founder, Dr. Arthur Childrens. The show parodies many critically acclaimed medical dramas, notably ER, St. Elsewhere, Grey’s Anatomy, General Hospital, House, Private Practice, Chicago Hope, Scrubs, and Holby City.
Disease Is Never That Serious
Childrens Hospital will heal you, even if you are grown. Where else will you find a head doctor who believes laughter is the best medicine, and who does his job while wearing clown make-up? The Adult Swim show leans heavily on hilarity, with a cast of comedy heavyweights including Megan Mullally, Henry Winkler, Rob Huebel, Ken Marino, and Lake Bell. Unsurprisingly, the show was nominated for four Emmys during its run.
5
‘Mercy Street’ (2016 – 2017)
Set during the American Civil War Mercy Street follows two volunteer nurses — Mary Phinney (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Emma Green (Hanna James) — who are on opposing sides of the conflict as they work at the Mansion House Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia. The two are met with several ethical dilemmas as well as several complex cases that require inventiveness.
War and Medicine
Tense, ingenious, and altogether charming, the medical drama based on real characters is a masterwork of great cinematography, great dialogue, and a creative plot. Showrunners Lisa Q. Wolfinger and David Zabel (who worked extensively on ER) paint their story in vivid colors, so that the darker elements concerning the era’s human rights violations never eclipse the prevailing sense of fun and wonder.
4
‘The Good Doctor’ (2017 – 2024)
The Good Doctor focuses on Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore), a young surgeon with autism from the tiny city of Casper, Wyoming, where he was subjected to a challenging upbringing. He moves to San Jose, California, and starts working at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. There, he gets to have bigger adventures than he ever imagined.
Doctors Just Wanna Have Fun
Full of clever humor, tender moments, and intriguing medical cases, The Good Doctor scores as a first-rate medical drama. Despite mostly treading familiar ground, it keeps viewers riveted right up to its finale, exploring friendship and romance arcs without resorting to over-the-top moments. Highmore, assured in his role as Dr. Murphy, is ably backed by actors like Chuku Modu and Nicholas Gonzalez.
3
‘Chicago Med’ (2015 – Present)
- Release Date
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November 17, 2015
- Network
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NBC
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S. Epatha Merkerson
Maggie Lockwood
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Nick Gehlfuss
Dr. Daniel Charles
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Nick Gehlfuss
Dr. Will Halstead
Chicago Med is the third show in Dick Wolf’s highly-successful Chicago franchise. It focuses on members of the emergency department at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center as they work hard to save patients’ lives. Occasionally, the show crosses over with Chicago Fire and the police procedural Chicago P.D.
The Great Dogs of Chi-Town
Like many other Dick Wolf shows, Chicago Med sticks to the basics and thrives. Despite the familiarity, most characters have enough unique traits to make viewers care. Even better, repeat viewings don’t diminish the allure or the thrill of this medical drama. Sign up for treatment here. You can be guaranteed little to no chance of cancellation.
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2
‘ANZAC Girls’ (2014)
- Release Date
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2014 – 2013
- Network
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ABC TV
- Directors
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Ian Watson
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Georgia Flood
Alice Ross-King
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-
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Anna McGahan
Olive Haynes
ANZAC Girls tells the true tales of the nurses who served with the Australian Army Nursing Service during the First World War. The miniseries mines its contents from author Peter Rees’ book The Other ANZACs as well as numerous diaries, photos, letters, and historical documents from the war.
Giving Them Their Flowers
This devastating examination of tough jobs during tough times offers no comfort for those craving tidy endings and late-arriving doses of joy. The situation mostly remains somber. Even so, ANZAC Girls remains riveting and addictive on its terms, bitterly shining the light on life’s realities for residents and soldiers during moments of global conflict.
1
‘House M.D.’ (2004 – 2012)
House is about Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who relies on controversial treatment methods and has a dependence on pain medication. He frequently clashes with his team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton–Plainsboro Teaching Hospital (PPTH) in New Jersey, but is proven right most of the time.
This House Never Crumbled
In 2008, House reached a new peak, becoming the most watched show in the world. It also won five Emmys, and nothing happened by accident. The medical cases are creatively thought out, and Hugh Laurie gracefully orchestrates this unusual medical drama that traces the conflict between a genius and everyone else. Here, you’ll also find various fun references to Sherlock Holmes and general pop culture. Time to discover, or revisit.
