With plenty of heart-pounding action, dramatic romances, and thought-provoking problems, doctor TV shows have long held a place in Americans’ hearts.
But with so many options out there, choosing the best ones can feel like a challenge.
Keep reading to learn 9 of the best medical TV shows to binge watch this weekend.
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1. General Hospital
On air for nearly 56 years now, General Hospital is perhaps the most classic and recognizable medical show on the air today.
First aired in 1963, it is one of the longest-running television shows of all time. It rose to fame in the 1970s and 80s, as American viewers fell in love with soaps and TV dramas.
General Hospital is responsible for launching a long string of other medical shows that we know and love today.
Beware that this show is a soap opera, and the longest running at that. So while the characters are running around in these caps, they are more focused on the drama, love triangles, and fights than on the medical side of things.
With more than 14,000 episodes already aired, you’ll have plenty of binging to do. Plus, the show continues to be popular, so you won’t have to worry about it ending on you soon.
2. Grey’s Anatomy
Another show that not only already has plenty of episodes and is showing no signs of going off air is Grey’s Anatomy.
Celebrated for its diverse cast and deeply woven characters, Grey’s Anatomy’s leading characters offer some relief from the more traditional roles played by men and women on other doctor shows.
Meridith Grey and the now-departed Cristina Yang are career-focused and driven, while their male counterparts are more eager to get married and raise kids.
The show’s drama, action-packed scenes, and radical medical cases make it a nice blend of genres. And its many cliffhangers will ensure you’ll have to answer Netflix’s annoying “are you there” message more than once.
3. House
House has topped the charts as one of the most popular medical shows for many years now. And after you watch an episode or two, you’ll understand why.
The show features a snarky, angry Dr. House as its lead. Though he is about as unlikeable a person as it gets, he has become one of the most beloved characters on TV today.
He is part doctor, part detective, and along with his team, he does whatever it takes to solve the bizarre cases that come his way.
The show aired from 2004 to 2012, earning 116 award nominations and 53 wins during that time.
4. Children’s Hospital
If you love to hate medical dramas, there’s a show out there that you’ll love to binge even more.
Children’s Hospital is a web series produced by TheWB.com and Adult Swim that first aired in 2008 and continues today.
The show pokes fun at the soapy drama of other medical shows on the air today. It parodies storylines such as when doctors and their patients experience oddly similar situations at the same time, mocking of the voiceovers, and more.
5. Scrubs
Some enthusiasts enjoy medical shows because they like learning about bizarre, sometimes unrealistic illnesses.
Others like the heavy drama, steamy relationships, and action-packed cliffhangers.
If you’re looking for something a little more light, Scrubs might be just the answer.
This mostly lighthearted comedy was peppered with just enough drama to keep it interesting and ensure you fell in love with its characters.
First airing in 2001, the show ran for 9 seasons before coming to an end in 2010.
6. Nip/Tuck
Taking a different spin on the old hospital dramas, Nip/Tuck focused instead on two plastic surgeons and their rich, beautiful patients.
Drama ensued from the time the show aired in 2003 until it ended in 2010. With settings in both south Florida and Beverly Hills, the glitz and glam of patients and the sexual exploits of the surgeons led to as many laughs as it did gasps.
Were the show on the air today, it would surely turn heads for its treatment of female characters.
But if you don’t mind viewing the show as the semi-satire it is, you’ll enjoy a full weekend of laughs while you binge every episode.
7. Private Practice
The popularity of Grey’s Anatomy led to this 2007 spin-off, which enjoyed several years of its own popularity before getting canceled in 2013.
Private Practice was, in a way, two shows. One focused on the doctors of various specialties at Seaside Medical Center. The other followed the personal life and love interests of Dr. Addison Montgomery.
Like Grey’s Anatomy, this show relied heavily on drama, so don’t expect as many laughs with this one.
8. The Mindy Project
While Mindy Kaling, who goes by Mindy in this drama/comedy as well, is a polished, professional, accomplished doctor when she’s at work, she’s anything but that in her personal life.
From inappropriate wedding toasts to her love of romantic comedies to her many failed relationships, Mindy’s life is messy and complicated, and most importantly, very realistic.
Part of this might be due to the fact that Mindy reportedly modeled her character after her own mother, an obstetrician and gynecologist in real-life. She passed away the day that The Mindy Project was picked up by Fox to be aired.
First aired in 2012, the show continues today.
9. Nurse Jackie
Nurse Jackie’s main character of the same name might have portrayed the real-life craziness of an overworked, underappreciated RN in a busy city hospital. But her way of dealing with her work, including lots of drugs, is hopefully a little less accurate.
Showtime aired what would become its most popular original series in 2009, and ran it until 2015.
Combining drama and comedy with plenty of doctor lingo, Nurse Jackie is a great weekend binge choice.
Choosing Medical TV Shows to Binge this Weekend
Medical TV shows are great for binging. They offer plenty of episodes, and a great mix of drama and comedy, as well as just enough heady medical lingo to make you feel like you’ve actually learned something.
But before you fall for all of that fancy, confusing doctor talk, make sure you don’t end up getting entirely fooled.
Check out these 5 fictional drugs that often make an appearance on TV, and that many people actually think exist.