Favorite TV Medical Dramas!

Medical science has always fascinated me so it’s no wonder that I love medical shows whether they are reality or scripted. I’ve seen so many over the years, but here are some picks of shows that I’ve enjoyed and that I continue to watch today. Enjoy! 🙂

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Grey’s Anatomy 

Synopsis: The fictional series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attending physicians, as they develop into seasoned doctors while trying to maintain personal lives and relationships.

What medical drama would be complete without this show?! It’s full of drama, a wide variety of characters, plus the cast is diverse. Shonda Rhimes is boss! Though I don’t watch it as faithfully as I did in its earlier seasons, it never fails to entertain me with its heart wrenching story-lines and complex writing. Each episode is action-packed and is filled with suspense!

 

Scrubs

Synopsis: The series follows the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart teaching hospital.

This is probably the least serious out of all the medical dramas listed here. It’s zany, crazy, and tons of fun. I like the comedy style and the chemistry between characters too. Most episodes feature multiple story lines thematically linked by voice-overs done by Braff, as well as the comical daydreams of J.D which added to the entertainment factor and made it such a job to watch!

Good Doctor

Synopsis: Park Shi-on is an autistic savant who was sent to a specialized care center as a child, where he was discovered to have a genius-level memory and keen spatial skills. He eventually enters the field of pediatric surgery as a resident, where he is given six months to prove himself capable. The hospital is a fierce and competitive world, and the challenges Shi-on faces become only greater when he falls in love with Yoon-seo.

The acting in this show is superb and Joo Won does a fantastic job as the lead character, Park Si On. It’s inspiring to watch Si On fight against the odds and persevere despite all of the people at the hospital who say he won’t succeed. A lot of K-dramas become weak in plot towards the middle mark, but the writing stayed strong throughout the whole show.  I liked how the writers really focused on educating their audience about savant syndrome while mixing it with the elements of a medical drama. It has action, romance, and best of all the chemistry between the cast really shows on-screen.

ER

Synopsis: ER follows the inner life of the emergency room (ER) of fictional County General Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, and various critical issues faced by the room’s physicians and staff.

This show is a medical drama legend. I always can watch it and follow along with the story, no matter what the episode follows. Out of all the dramas listed I felt I could empathize and connect with majority of the characters on this show and I love the chemistry between the cast members on-screen. The doctors and general nurses felt like one big family on this show!

 

OB & GY

Synopsis: The drama depicts the difficult decisions and moving human stories that take place daily in the OB-GYN department, focusing in particular on Seo Hye Young, a talented and determined obstetrician who has just transferred from the prestigious Seoul base to the branch hospital. Her straightforward manner of handling her professional life is in contrast with her love life, which is marred by her relationship with a married man. This becomes even more entangled when she meets Lee Sang Shik, the chief of NICU, and her long-time friend Wang Jae Suk also shows his interest.

What is really cool about this show is its focus on the OB-GYN department which is something I normally don’t see in medical dramas. It’s intense and has a lot of melodrama intertwined with narrative since the main lead, Hye Young, has to keep her pregnancy a secret while trying not to become romantically entangled with friends. The soundtrack also very fitting and I still play it till this day.

Emergency!

Synopsis: The crew of Los Angeles County Fire Dept. Station 51, particularly the paramedic team, and Rampart Hospital respond to emergencies in their operating area.

Though this is an older show from the 70s, it’s still a good depiction of how the paramedic system got started in the US. Since the two main characters, Roy and John, are fire fighters we get to see medical and fire emergencies. It’s so interesting to see how medical technology has advanced since that era. I also love how the main characters band with each other and form close friendships over time.

D-Day

Synopsis: A natural disaster strikes the city of Seoul. The whole city becomes paralyzed. Doctors and emergency personnel struggle to save the people.

This K-drama really pulled at my heartstrings! The two leading actors Kim Young-Kwang and Jung So-Min (2nd drama I’ve watched her in) did a fantastic job of portraying their characters along with the rest of the cast. The show mainly focuses on how people react after a natural disaster from (mostly) a medical standpoint since the majority of the show takes place in a hospital. It was thrilling and engrossing to see not only how people reacted to various situations, but the politics that occurred within the hospital too. One of the main things I appreciated about the show is that it wasn’t heavy on the romance and tried to focus more on the character/action narratives.

House

Synopsis: An antisocial maverick doctor who specializes in diagnostic medicine does whatever it takes to solve puzzling cases that come his way using his crack team of doctors and his wits.

House can be a definite asshole, but what intrigued me most about this show is not him as a doctor, but the wide variety of medical cases that were shown through this show. Though it was overly dramatic at times, I still learned a lot about medical science. I enjoyed the lead cast more than House himself. This show is cannon for medical dramas.

 

Golden Time

Synopsis: Set within the backdrop of an emergency room at a hospital. Kang Jae-In is the heiress of Ikhyo Foundation, which owns a medical university and five hospitals, but Jae-In is unaware that she is the heiress. Jae-In only cares about her ex-boyfriend.

This series focuses on the ER department of the hospital and focuses “golden hour” (refers to the crucial time period of trauma patient’s full recovery). It’s fast paced and the cast of doctors is constantly under pressure to make fast decision due to the nature of the ER. It’s a good balance of melodrama between characters and action. The two main leads Hwang Jung Eum and Lee Sun Gyun are fantastic and this show made me fall in love with their acting skills!

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Do you watch medical drama shows? If so, which ones do you enjoy/recommend watching? Comment below!