10 Medical Shows You’ll Want to Binge Watch When Grey’s Anatomy Ends
Freaking out about the possibility of Grey’s Anatomy ending after season 16 next year? As your doctor would say: Remain calm, take a deep breath, and let your blood pressure lower. We’ve pulled together all the best medical shows from the past three decades to help fill the void, and we promise they bring all the drama, tragedy, soul searching-and yes, all the good-looking docs. Check out new and old medical shows to add to your queue!
You might need to be in a real #TBT kind of mood to cue up this granddaddy of medical dramas. It ran from 1982 to 1988 and followed the lives of doctors at St. Eligius Hospital in Boston. Keep an eye out for appearances by Helen Hunt, a pre-Full House Candace Cameron, and a young Denzel Washington. Move over, George Clooney!
Watch it: Stream six seasons on Hulu.
It might not have been the original medical drama, but ER was pretty groundbreaking-and not just because it helped rocket George Clooney to stardom. Watch a rotating cast of surgeons and nurses (Anthony Edwards, Linda Cardellini, Maria Bello, William H. Macy, and John Stamos, just to name a few) save lives at Chicago’s County General Hospital. And if the love stories are your favorite part of Grey’s Anatomy, we have two words for you: Doug and Carol.
Watch it: Stream 15 seasons on Hulu.
This show, starring Mamie Gummer, lasted only one season on CW but it packs in the charm. Follow the title character as she learns the ropes as an intern at Denver Memorial Hospital and spars with a fellow intern who happens to be her high school nemesis. Bonus for fans of This Is Us: Justin Hartley costars as Dr. Owens’s old crush from med school.
Watch it: Stream it on Netflix.
Trade in the traditional hospital setting of most medical dramas for the luxury of the Hamptons in this USA drama. After getting fired from a Brooklyn hospital, Dr. Hank Lawson heads to this beachy locale to cater to rich and famous patients.
Watch it: Stream eight seasons on Netflix.
Freddie Highmore (whom you might know from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Bates Motel) stars as a genius surgical resident who’s also a high-functioning autistic. Most medical dramas touch on doctors’ difficulty connecting with one another and their patients, and that’s all the more apparent here with Dr. Shawn Murphy. But his condition also gives him a real gift for healing people.
Watch it: Mondays at 10 p.m. EST on ABC or stream it on Hulu.
Jump into this new drama to see what happens when Dr. Max Goodwin (played by Ryan Eggold, whom you may recognize from 90210 and The Blacklist) takes over as the new medical director at America's oldest public hospital. His goal: to shake things up. It might be a familiar refrain for a medical drama, but Eggold has the charm that makes it a must-see.
Watch it: Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on NBC or stream it on Hulu.
Longtime fans of Grey’s have likely already soaked up this Kate Walsh-led spinoff. But in case you haven’t: It tracks Addison Montgomery as she leaves Seattle Grace Hospital to practice at the Oceanside Wellness Clinic in Los Angeles. The glossy drama costars Amy Brenneman, Tim Daly, and, of course, Taye Diggs. McDreamy who?
Watch it: Stream six seasons on Hulu.
This drama, which debuted last year, has a pretty standard setup for a medical show: Idealistic young doctor starts at a hospital and learns some harsh realities about healing patients. But an unnecessary death in the OR in the pilot’s opening scene and the doctors’ plan to cover it up will let you know off the bat that there’s more than meets the eye at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital. And it’s made extra-viewable with stars Mat Czruchy (from Gilmore Girls-hello, Logan fans!), Emily VanCamp, and Manish Dayal.
Watch it: Mondays at 8 p.m. on Fox or stream it on Hulu.
Part of the appeal of any medical show is seeing healthcare workers as real people with emotions and flaws. But the flaws of the painkiller-addicted title character in Nurse Jackie, played by Edie Falco, are more apparent than most. Apparent as in: We see her forging a dead man’s donor card and snorting Adderall in the pilot.
Watch it: Stream seven seasons on Netflix.
Not your standard primetime medical show, this BBC series is sure to appeal to Downton Abbey fans. It follows the lives of a group of midwives at a nursing convent in London in the 1950s and early ’60s.
Watch it: Stream nine seasons on Netflix.
Freaking out about the possibility of Grey’s Anatomy ending after season 16 next year? As your doctor would say: Remain calm, take a deep breath, and let your blood pressure lower. We’ve pulled together all the best medical shows from the past three decades to help fill the void, and we promise they bring all the drama, tragedy, soul searching-and yes, all the good-looking docs. Check out new and old medical shows to add to your queue!
All the high-octane drama and McDreamy-worthy docs you can handle.
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