Top 5 Medical TV Shows Of All Time

In the year 1951, a new genre of TV shows was born. One, that continues to thrive even today. Moving away from the staple genres like sit-coms and crime thrillers, ABC introduced the first scripted medical show called, City Hospital. As the name itself suggests, the show was based on the personal and professional lives of medical professionals working in a city hospital. Since then, there have been many terrible ones as there are genre-defining ones. So how do you go about choosing the best of them? Based on ratings from several platforms like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, we have curated five of the highest rated medical TV shows for you:

1. ER (1994-2009)

Arguably the most revered medical show among audiences, ER is seen as something way ahead of its time. Michael Crichton’s ER arrived on TV screens in 1994, it blew those boundaries up. The series follows the inner life of the emergency room (ER) of fictional Cook County General Hospital in Chicago, and various critical issues faced by the room's physicians and staff. The show is not only rated highly because of an ensemble cast consisting of George Cloony, Noah Whyle, and Launa Innes, among others; but was highly praised for its realism, immaculate writing, and a pace that makes you feel the tense environment of a hospital. The show ran for 15 seasons before winding up in 2009.

2. The Pitt (2025)

The show stars Noah Whyle as the lead character, Dr. Micheal, and has taken the audiences by storm becoming one of the most popular TV series of 2025. Imagine high-pressure action in a chaotic Pittsburgh emergency ward unfolding in real time over 15 hours, with each episode playing out across a single hospital shift and leaving you with a cliffhanger. The show is a banger, if there ever was one. Entertainment aside, the show takes on a political stand and portrays how overworked medical personnel were under attack by their own government post the pandemic. The acclaimed debut run saw mass shootings, stolen ambulances, nursing shortages and rats in the corridors. The Pitt enjoys a booming 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is set for a second season next year.

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3. House (2004-12)

Perhaps one of the most popular of the past medical shows, House follows the life of Dr. Gregory, played by the effervescent Hugh Laurie. Dr. House is an anti-social, hot-headed and an addict and yet his surgical genius makes him indispensable as a doctor. ‘Everybody lies’ the line is not just the title of the pilot episode but the entire ethos of Fox’s New Jersey hospital whodunnit. House treats his patients with a sense that his patients are lying to him and more often than not is proven right. You want to hate such a man and yet, as the writing unfolds episode by episode, you can’t help but fall in love with him. The show ran for 8 seasons.

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4. Bodies (2004-06)

Set on an obs and gynae ward of the fictional South Central Infirmary, Bodies follows new registrar Rob Lake (Max Beesley) as he realises that his consultant Roger Hurley (Patrick Baladi) is a dangerously incompetent surgeon with a high patient-mortality rate who is retained only because his research brings money into the hospital. Lake must therefore tiptoe over laser beams as he figures out whom he can trust. The show is definitely the darkest among the list, and was criminally underrated when it ran in 2004. Although, since BBC has brought and streamed it, Bodies is finally getting the recognition it deserves. 

5. Grey’s Anatomy (2005-present)

If a show runs for twenty odd seasons, it has to be good. Medical Science, relationship, sex, drama, the show has it all. Shonda Rhimes’ medical melodrama has aired an astonishing 446 episodes and counting, making it ABC’s longest-running scripted show. The Seattle hospital saga is routinely underestimated but remains a ratings juggernaut. Its heyday was the early years when intern Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) got her stethoscope in a tangle over neurosurgeon “Dr McDreamy” (Patrick Dempsey), but despite running for so long, the show still enjoys a fair bit of popularity.

Conclusion

Medical TV shows continue to thrive and entertain despite it being a niche genre. Although, there is always room for creative liberties to add layers of conflict in a narrative, the list above suggests those who have stuck closer to the reality, have garnered the most praises and eyeballs.