Last updated March 2024
Looking for acclaimed Best medical drama Tv Shows that live up to expectations? We rounded up 30 sensational, must-see Best medical drama Tv Shows for your viewing pleasure. Backed by stellar reviews from IMDB critics and our own discerning users, these titles are as good as entertainment gets. Help other fans uncover buried treasures by voting for your favorites. We value members who pay it forward with great recommendations!
House (2004)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Gregory House, a drug-addicted, unconventional, misanthropic medical genius, leads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton–Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey
Duration: 7788 min
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
IMDB Votes: 497000
Genere: Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Plot tags: medicine, doctor, hospital, talented, mastermind, prodigy, loner, patient, expert, human nature, surgery, unconventional method, peril, insubordination, antisocial behavior, doctors and patients, teamwork, dark humor, hotshot, danger, riddles and clues, rebelliousness, medical, medical profession, team
Dopesick (2021)
Plot Summary:
The story of how one company triggered the worst drug epidemic in American history. Look into the epicenter of America's struggle with opioid addiction, from a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA, and to the opulence of "one percenter" Big Pharma Manhattan
Duration: 492 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 73000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: addiction, medical, pharmaceutical company, sick, crime investigation, drug, drug addiction, crisis, health, opium, investigation, conspiracy, corporation, lawyer, politics, illness, president, mental illness, legal, news, political conspiracy, high school, sister, courtroom, economist
Call the Midwife (2012)
Plot Summary:
Drama following the lives of a group of midwives working in the poverty-stricken East End of London during the 1950s, based on the best-selling memoirs of Jennifer Worth
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: UK
Plot tags: midwife, childbirth, pregnancy, convent, nurse, doctor, nursing, friends, medical, family life, hospital, friendship, family relations, nun, women, medicine, home birth, unrequited love, death, strong female lead, woman, lgbtq, pregnant woman, monk, leader
Heartland (2007)
Plot Summary:
Life is hard on the Flemings' ranch in the Alberta foothills where abused or neglected horses find refuge with a kind, hard-working family. Debts abound and the bank is about to foreclose. Can they keep the ranch running?
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: Canada
Plot tags: horse, horse ranch, small town, farm, wild horse, family relations, cattle ranch, youth, animal life, siblings relations, workplace, sister sister relationship, death of mother, family business, coping, living together, three generations, young adult, kids and family, problem solving, generation gap, village, strong female lead, women, father daughter relationship
The Knick (2014)
Plot Summary:
Set in downtown New York in 1900, 'The Knick' is centered on the Knickerbocker Hospital and the groundbreaking surgeons, nurses and staff who work there, pushing the bounds of medicine in a time of astonishingly high mortality rates and zero antibiotics. John Thackery is a brilliant surgeon pioneering new methods in the field, despite his secret addiction to cocaine. He leads a team of doctors including his protégé Dr. Everett Gallinger; the young Dr. Bertie Chickering Jr. and Dr. Algernon Edwards, a promising surgeon who's been recently thrust upon him. The lively cast of characters at the hospital also includes Cornelia Robertson, the daughter of its benefactor, Captain August Robertson; surly ambulance driver Tom Cleary; Lucy Elkins; a fresh-faced nurse from the country; the crooked hospital administrator Herman Barrow; and Sister Harriet, a nun who isn't afraid to speak her mind
Duration: 58 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 52000
Genere: Drama, History
Country: USA
Plot tags: medicine, life is a bitch, addiction, hospital, doctor, workplace situations, surgeon, doctors and patients, nun, medical, realism, society, drug, power relations, surgery, gory, violent, nurse, escapades, gilded age, world war one, supernatural, ancient, villain, darkness
Doc Martin (2004)
Plot Summary:
Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in the title role. It was created by Dominic Minghella after the character of Dr. Martin Bamford in the 2000 comedy film Saving Grace. The show is set in the fictional seaside village of Portwenn and filmed on location in the village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, England, with most interior scenes shot in a converted local barn. Five series aired between 2004 and 2011, together with a feature-length special that aired on Christmas Day 2006. Series 6 began airing on ITV on 2 September 2013
Duration: 46 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Plot tags: doctor, village life, social relations, doctors and patients, treatment, medicine, teacher, hospital, surgery, responsibility, manners, antisocial behavior, seaside, alienation, boss, workplace, estrangement, anti conformity, patronizing, verbal byplay, unhappy, power relations, secretary, uptight character, loner
This Is Going to Hurt (2022)
Plot Summary:
The unvarnished truth of life as a doctor working in obstetrics and gynaecology
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Plot tags: medical, gay, gay couple, gynecologist, maternity ward, lgbt, medicine, physician, lifestyle, coworker, male doctor, workplace, workplace situations, friendship, library, aspiration, lgbtq, gay subtext, wedding, depression, suicide, gay lead character, engagement, nightshift, doctor
Scrubs (2001)
Plot Summary:
In the unreal world of Sacred Heart Hospital, John "J.D" Dorian learns the ways of medicine, friendship and life
Duration: 22 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 267000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: medical, hospital, doctor, bromance, workplace situations, workplace romance, doctors and patients, friendship, couples, love and romance, friends, workplace, medicine, roommate, nurse, verbal byplay, workplace problem, power relations, uptight character, workplace humor, mentor, buddies, couple relations, medical student, friendship between men
Northern Exposure (1990)
Plot Summary:
After receiving a scholarship from the state, a recent Columbia University medical school graduate is required to set up his practice in an eccentric Alaskan town
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: small town, small town life, fish out of water, medical, native american, cold weather, self discovery, love and romance, doctors and patients, human nature, couple relations, moose, misfit, looking for love, graduation, medical school, winter, radio, snow, magic realism, indians, village, lgbt, medicine, beautiful scenery
Green Wing (2004)
Plot Summary:
Green Wing is a British sitcom set in the fictional East Hampton Hospital. It was created by the same team behind the sketch show Smack the Pony, led by Victoria Pile, and stars Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Julian Rhind-Tutt. Although set in a hospital, it uses no medical storylines; the action is produced by a series of soap opera-style twists and turns in the personal lives of the characters. They proceed through a series of often absurd sketch-like scenes, or by sequences where the film is slowed down or sped up, often emphasizing the body language of the characters. The show has eight writers. Two series were made by the Talkback Thames production company for Channel 4. The series ran between 3 September 2004 and 19 May 2006. A special episode was filmed with the second series, which was shown as a 90 minute long special on 4 January 2007 in the UK, but was shown in Australia and Belgium on 29 December 2006. Separate from the series, a special sketch was made for Comic Relief and screened on 11 March 2005. Another was performed live at The Secret Policeman's Ball on 14 October 2006
Duration: 65 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Plot tags: hospital, doctor, love triangle, love affair, workplace, comedy of errors, fall in love, workplace romance, nurse, prank, boyfriend, staff, battle of the sexes, workplace situations, surgery, sexual attraction, male female relationship, workplace humor, medicine, medical, humour, aspiration, satire, colleague, weirdo
In Treatment (2008)
Plot Summary:
Set within the highly charged confines of individual psychotherapy sessions and centering around Dr. Paul Weston, a psychotherapist who exhibits an insightful, reserved demeanor while treating his patients—but displays a crippling insecurity while counseled by his own therapist
Duration: 30 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: psychologist, therapist, introspection, doctors and patients, psychotherapy, psychotherapist, patient, emotional breakdown, psychology, self involved, haunted by the past, power relations, workplace, psychiatrist, medical, medicine, hospital, psychiatry, psychological manipulation, disorder, mental health, arrested development, slice of life, drug, depression
The Big C (2010)
Plot Summary:
A suburban mother faces her cancer diagnosis while trying to find humor and happiness as well
Duration: 30 min
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: teacher, fighting illness, terminal illness, dying, cancer, couples, human spirit, family relations, parents and children, life is a bitch, marriage, hopes, couple relations, dark humor, doctor, suburbs, student, human relationship, dealing with death, teenager, women, medical, education, girl power, young adult
United States of Tara (2009)
Plot Summary:
United States of Tara is an American television comedy-drama created by Diablo Cody, which began airing on Showtime in 2009. The series follows the life of Tara, a suburban housewife and mother coping with dissociative identity disorder
Duration: 30 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Plot tags: mental illness, split personality, dissociative identity disorder, dysfunctional family, gay, housewife, lgbt, family drama, self discovery, jealousy, family relations, eccentric family, family life, introspection, misfit, parents and children, family problems, supportive spouse, siblings relations, women, lesbian, family secret, husband wife relationship, mental health, psychotherapy
Code Black (2015)
Plot Summary:
Inspired by the award-winning documentary, this medical drama is set in the busiest and most notorious ER in the nation where the extraordinary staff confront a challenged system in order to protect their ideals and the patients who need them the most
Duration: 42 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: hospital, medical, doctor, emergency room, medical profession, reanimation, medicine, saving a life, nurse, coping, team, surgery, nursing, physician, clinic, coworker relationship, workplace situations, teamwork, treatment, medical clinic, coworker, medical examination, cure, workplace, women
New Amsterdam (2018)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Max Goodwin, the hospital's newest medical director, sets out to tear up the bureaucracy and provide exceptional care
Duration: 43 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: medical, hospital, patient, physician, doctor, medicine, surgery, nursing, public health, doctor patient relationship, coworker relationship, nurse, rivalry, male protagonist, workplace, workplace situations, new job, coworker, co worker co worker relationship, employer employee relationship, employee employee relationship, lesbian, lgbt, hunting, lgbtq
The Good Doctor (2017)
Plot Summary:
A young surgeon with Savant syndrome is recruited into the surgical unit of a prestigious hospital. The question will arise: can a person who doesn't have the ability to relate to people actually save their lives?
Duration: 41 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 109000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: autism, medicine, medical, doctor, hospital, prodigy, talented, surgeon, surgical operation, male doctor, sick, childhood memory, nursing, asperger's syndrome, nurse, physician, flashback, flashback sequence, autistic, autist, talent, serial killer, genius, psychopath, mission
Third Watch (1999)
Plot Summary:
The exploits of a group of men and women who serve the City of New York as police officers, firemen, and paramedics, all working the same fictional 55th precinct during the 3pm to 11pm shift - the 'Third Watch'
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: medical, firefighter, paramedic, police officer, police, nypd, rescue, law enforcement, die hard, gang, danger, fighting crime, police corruption, medicine, law, relationships, investigation, punishment, woman with a gun, heroes, heaven and hell, desire, life is a bitch, society, rookie
ER (1994)
Plot Summary:
Explores the inner workings of an urban teaching hospital and the critical issues faced by the dedicated physicians and staff of its overburdened emergency room
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 66000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Plot tags: hospital, doctor, medical, emergency room, surgical operation, workplace situations, workplace romance, interracial relations, surgery, suffering, intern, nurse, medicine, workplace, boss and employee, love and romance, teamwork, tragic event, loss of family member, workplace problem, power relations, doctors and patients, friendship, medication, death
9-1-1 (2018)
Plot Summary:
Explore the high-pressure experiences of police officers, paramedics and firefighters who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking and heart-stopping situations. These emergency responders must try to balance saving those who are at their most vulnerable with solving the problems in their own lives
Duration: 43 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 43000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: medicine, firefighter, emergency, 911, misadventure, saving a life, daring rescue, life risking, search and rescue, ambulance, fire brigade, medical, chore, police, police officer, freak accident, workplace situations, teamwork, family relations, workplace, danger, risk, rescue, gays and lesbians, lgbt
Red Band Society (2014)
Plot Summary:
Children and teenagers become friends in a hospital where they are all patients. Together they try to escape the sad reality to create their own world with their own codes , while the nursing staff do their best to bring them a little happiness everyday. Charlie , in a coma for several months, attending meanwhile helplessly bustle around him. He sees nothing , but he hears everything
Duration: 43 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: teenager, friendship, teenage life, sick child, medical, doctors and patients, medicine, anorexia, youth, hospital, child cancer, friends, hopes, doctor, group of friends, life is a bitch, eating disorder, terminal illness, relationship problems, cancer, mental illness, choice, adolescence, young adult, illness
The Resident (2018)
Plot Summary:
A tough, brilliant senior resident guides an idealistic young doctor through his first day, pulling back the curtain on what really happens, both good and bad, in modern-day medicine
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: medical, hospital, doctor, emergency room, doctors and patients, medical student, treatment, intern, nurse, medicine, surgery, patient, coworker relationship, male doctor, workplace, internship, workplace situations, physician, medical examination, workplace intrigue, relationships, women, strength, occupation, colleague
Nurse Jackie (2009)
Plot Summary:
Every day is a matter of life and death in a hectic New York City hospital, but for Nurse Jackie that's the easiest part. Between chronic back pain that won't quit, and a personal life on the constant edge of collapse, it's going to take a white lie here, a bent rule there, and a handful of secret strategies to relieve the pain, and stay one step ahead of total disaster
Duration: 27 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: addiction, hospital, nurse, doctors and patients, double life, family relations, medical, workplace situations, conflict, drug abuse, responsibility, suffering, medicine, doctor, women, dark humor, infidelity, love and romance, rivalry, depression, strong female lead, illness, suicide, mental illness, anti hero
A Young Doctor's Notebook (2012)
Plot Summary:
A young doctor who has graduated at the top of his class from the Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry is thrust out into an isolated and impoverished country side as the village's only doctor. As he learns to adapt to his new lifestyle, he develops a morphine addiction to stay his sanity while realizing what being a doctor in the real world means
Duration: 23 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, History
Country: UK
Plot tags: doctors and patients, dark humor, hospital, doctor, medical, self destructing, drug addict, morphine, diary, surgery, society, doubts and hesitations, health situation, traditional versus modern, medicine, social relations, nurse, addiction, winter, drug addiction, historical event, satire, storytelling, workplace, cognitive science
Hart of Dixie (2011)
Plot Summary:
New Yorker Zoe Hart has it all figured out - after graduating top of her class from medical school, she'll follow in her father's footsteps and become a cardio-thoracic surgeon. But when her dreams fall apart, Zoe decides to work at a small practice in Bluebell, Alabama
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 56000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Plot tags: small town, lifestyle change, small town life, lifestyle, doctor, social relations, female doctor, young woman, neighbor, fish out of water, clinic, doctors and patients, teenager, newcomer, women, young adult, interracial relations, female protagonist, southern belle, scolding, changing lives, new job, workplace, physician, society
Nip/Tuck (2003)
Plot Summary:
Hotshot plastic surgeons Dr. Sean McNamara and Dr. Christian Troy experience full-blown midlife crises as they confront career, family and romance problems
Duration: 44 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 58000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: plastic surgery, friendship, surgical operation, couples, womanizer, husband wife relationship, family problems, hospital, surgery, doctor, partnership, medical, career, family relations, sex addict, patient, doctors and patients, ambitious, crumbling marriage, up and down relationship, jealousy, love and romance, workplace, marital problem, physical appearance
Being Erica (2009)
Plot Summary:
Being Erica is a Canadian comedy-drama television series that aired on CBC from January 5, 2009 to December 12, 2011. Created by Jana Sinyor, the series was originally announced by the CBC as The Session, but was retitled Being Erica before debuting in 2009. It is produced by Temple Street Productions and distributed internationally by BBC Worldwide. The show stars Erin Karpluk as Erica Strange, a woman who begins seeing a therapist to deal with regrets in her life, only to discover the therapist has the ability to send her back in time to actually relive these events and even change them. In Canada, the second season premiered on September 22, 2009. Only 12 episodes were produced for the second season due to budget cuts at the CBC. On May 11, 2010, the CBC announced that Being Erica was renewed for a third season of 13 episodes. Soapnet announced that it was picking up the full third season as well. Season 3 debuted on September 21, 2010, at 9 pm ET, on CBC Television. In the United States, Season 3 began aired on Soapnet starting January 26, 2011. The show's fourth and final season aired in fall 2011. Although the show was never officially cancelled by the CBC, Sinyor told TV Guide during the fourth and final season run that the series had reached a natural conclusion and she had no plans to write or produce a fifth season
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: Canada
Plot tags: time travel, self discovery, therapy, thirtysomething life, haunted by the past, psychology, road not taken, changing the past or future, destiny, lifestyle, introspection, hopes, loss of sibling, doctors and patients, therapist, lesbian, imaginary, family relations, midlife crisis, surrealism, kindness, philosophy, women, teenager, gay
Chicago Med (2015)
Plot Summary:
An emotional thrill ride through the day-to-day chaos of the city's most explosive hospital and the courageous team of doctors who hold it together. They will tackle unique new cases inspired by topical events, forging fiery relationships in the pulse-pounding pandemonium of the emergency room
Duration: 43 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: medical, doctor, hospital, medicine, doctors and patients, patient, medical profession, doctor patient relationship, physician, workplace situations, medical student, job, surgery, nursing, co worker co worker relationship, employer employee relationship, coworker relationship, workplace, emergency room, firefighter, exodus, die hard, legal, emergency, nypd
Grey's Anatomy (2005)
Plot Summary:
Follows the personal and professional lives of a group of doctors at Seattle’s Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital
Duration: 41 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 333000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Plot tags: hospital, doctor, medical, workplace, surgery, surgeon, patient, relationships, doctors and patients, coworker relationship, workplace romance, nurse, treatment, medical student, workplace intrigue, loss, intern, couple relations, female protagonist, lesbian, career, romancing partners, medicine, couples, love affair
Dr. Death (2021)
Plot Summary:
The terrifying true story of Dr. Christopher Duntsch, a flourishing Dallas neurosurgeon whose patients suddenly begin becoming permanently maimed or dead. As victims piled up, two fellow physicians set out to stop him
Duration: 403 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: medical malpractice, surgery, surgeon, medicine, medical, coworker, doctor, violence, physician, social problems, doctors and patients, medical examination, surgical operation, workplace, apocalypse, serial killer, criminal, sister, cognitive science, room, neurosurgeon, crimes
The Dropout (2022)
Plot Summary:
The story of Elizabeth Holmes, the enigmatic Stanford dropout who founded medical testing start-up Theranos. Lauded as a Steve Jobs for the next tech generation and once worth billions of dollars, the myth crumbled when it was revealed that none of the tech actually worked, putting thousands of people's health in grave danger
Duration: 403 min
IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: medical, business, technology, doctor, hospital, women, ambition, public health, job, corporate world, businesswoman, historical figure, corporation, direction and purpose, female protagonist, ambitious woman, finance, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, journalism, legal, sister, fraud, economist, investigation