10 Most Realistic Medical TV Shows Ever (2 of 4)

Scrubs

What is this goofy sitcom with dream sequences doing on a “realistic” list? Believe it or not, Scrubs is regularly cited by healthcare workers as one of the truest shows about medicine. Sure, J.D.’s daydreams are pure comedy, but the way the show portrays hospital hierarchy, long shifts, using dark humor to cope with the hard stuff, and the sting of losing patients hits home. Creator Bill Lawrence tapped his med school buddy Dr. Jonathan Doris for accuracy, which is why Scrubs quietly nailed the real emotional rollercoaster of becoming a doctor.

House MD

Dr. Gregory House might be TV’s worst boss, but medically, the show holds up(-ish). House focused on rare, complex cases that real doctors might encounter once in a career. Its big strength was accuracy in the diagnostic process: ruling things out, testing hypotheses, and challenging assumptions. Doctors grumbled about the timeline (weeks of tests crammed into 42 minutes) and, of course, no real hospital would tolerate House’s behavior. But the logic and science behind the medicine were surprisingly solid.