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

This Is Going to Hurt

Based on Adam Kay’s bestselling memoir, this 2022 TV show is a ruthless depiction of what it’s like to be the victim of Britain’s National Health System. Ben Whishaw plays a junior OB-GYN juggling impossible workloads, crushing bureaucracy, and the emotional fallout of mistakes. Real-life British doctors confirm that the show accurately depicts the realities, particularly the challenges of saving lives within an overburdened system. It’s funny, it’s painful, and it might just make you want to hug your doctor.

St. Elsewhere

Before ER, there was St. Elsewhere. Running from 1982 to 1988, this gritty drama focused on a Boston teaching hospital nicknamed “St. Elsewhere.” It was not afraid to tackle taboo issues, including being one of the first shows to deal directly with the AIDS crisis. The series also nailed the dynamics of teaching hospitals: attendings, residents, and med students constantly dealing with authority, exhaustion, and limited resources. It paved the way for every medical drama that followed.

MASH

While many viewed it as a humorous sitcom rather than a medical drama, MASH was remarkably accurate, especially for the era of the 70s and 80s. It illustrated surgeons making the most of their limited resources in close proximity to the front lines. Real military physicians commended its portrayal of battlefield surgery, the psychological impact of continuous trauma, and the dark humor that soldiers relied on to cope. And of course, it gave us one of TV’s most heartbreaking finales ever.

Getting On

One of the most underrated entries on this list, and also one of the least popular medical topics on TV, HBO’s Getting On tackled geriatric and end-of-life care. Set in a run-down ward, it found both humor and humanity in caring for elderly patients. Critics loved how it dealt with the unglamorous realities of medicine: dementia, paperwork, and exhausted nurses doing their best with very little. Healthcare workers in geriatrics have praised it for finally giving their world some spotlight.

Lenox Hill

Want realism with zero Hollywood filter? Go watch Netflix’s Lenox Hill. It follows four real-life doctors at New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital: two neurosurgeons, an ER physician, and an OB-GYN. In this Netflix gem, they show you every nitty-gritty detail, from frantic surgeries, and heartbreaking family conversations, to doctors breaking down under the weight of the job. It’s not scripted drama, it’s real life, which makes the victories all the sweeter and the losses absolutely gutting. Not many people know this, but the series became an unexpected time capsule when the doctors had to pivot mid-shoot to deal with the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ER

When ER debuted in 1994, it didn’t just raise the bar; it built a whole new hospital wing. Created by Michael Crichton, the series set the gold standard for medical realism. BTW, that’s the same Crichton who wrote the Jurassic Park novels, who also happened to be a doctor. The show’s signature long tracking shots through chaotic hallways captured the intense reality of an emergency department. Doctors loved that it didn’t dumb down the jargon and actually used equipment correctly. Over 15 seasons, ER showed the thrill, burnout, and heartbreak of emergency medicine more honestly than anything before or since.