The Doctor Will See You (On Screen): Why Medical Dramas Are Back in a Big Way

Dr. Michael Robbinavitch, the harried protagonist of Max’s new series "The Pitt," can’t possibly save everyone who rolls through his overcrowded Pittsburgh emergency room doors. But perhaps, just perhaps, he can offer a different kind of salvation – solace to us, the viewers, watching from the relative safety of our homes. Played with a believable, world-weary weariness by Noah Wyle, a familiar face from the genre, Dr. Robbinavitch stitches wounds, administers transfusions, and prescribes medications with a grim determination. He confronts the daily tragedies of urban America head-on, yet he can’t actually fix the systemic failures that contribute to them. However, the very act of watching him relentlessly try offers a strange, compelling comfort.

"The Pitt," a "real-time" medical drama compressing a grueling 15-hour emergency room shift into a season’s worth of television, has clearly struck a nerve. Clips from the show are going viral on TikTok, style publications are featuring fan fiction inspired by the characters, and real-life medical professionals are praising its gritty realism and acknowledging the issues which the show highlights, such as staff shortages and patient abuse. "The Pitt" isn’t alone in its attempt to inject a dose of medical drama into our current viewing habits. The current television season is overflowing with new medical series, each vying for our attention and promising a unique perspective on the world of medicine. From the Sherlock Holmes-inspired medical mystery "Watson" on CBS to the feel-good dramedy "Doc" on Fox, the globe-trotting "Doctor Odyssey" on ABC, the mind-bending "Brilliant Minds" on NBC, the workplace comedy "St. Denis Medical" also on NBC, and the high-stakes disaster series "Pulse" on Netflix, there’s a medical show for nearly every taste. There is "The Pitt," with its raw portrayal of urban emergency medicine; "Watson" which injects an old crime show spin, and "Odyssey" which throws the doctor in exotic locales.

Like fashion and other forms of entertainment, television trends are cyclical. We experienced a period of vampire saturation, followed by a wave of zombie-themed dramas, and then a deluge of high fantasy series attempting to replicate the success of "Game of Thrones." However, the foundational trio of television procedurals – cop shows, legal dramas, and medical shows – inevitably resurface. For the past decade or so, the airwaves have been saturated with police procedurals. Now, it appears, the doctors are making a comeback.

But this resurgence of medical dramas isn’t simply a matter of network executives randomly deciding to greenlight a similar genre simultaneously. These shows are emerging at a moment when viewers are particularly receptive to their unique brand of storytelling. We live in what can euphemistically be described as "unprecedented times" – a gentler way of saying that we’ve been enduring a series of near-constant crises for the better part of a decade. The COVID-19 pandemic, intensely contested elections, persistent political discord, devastating natural disasters, escalating violence, rampant inflation, and the looming threat of climate change have all contributed to a collective sense of burnout and exhaustion. And despite the often-graphic depictions of blood, trauma, and medical emergencies, medical dramas offer a peculiar form of comfort in the face of so much uncertainty.

When a new patient arrives at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital (on ABC’s long-running "Grey’s Anatomy"), a Miami hospital during a hurricane (on "Pulse"), or even the infirmary aboard a luxurious cruise ship (on "Odyssey"), a team of highly trained, experienced, and seemingly calm professionals is always there, ready to do everything in their power to save them. The emergencies depicted in these shows are, for the most part, contained, and they are frequently solvable. There is a clear sense of order, established protocols, and competent adults who can direct the chaos. And, perhaps most importantly, the medical crises are fictional. They provide an escape from the very real and often intractable problems that plague our own lives.

Doctors have been a constant presence on television screens since the 1950s. Following them as they scrub in, rush through hospital corridors, and make life-or-death decisions can feel like a familiar return to home. A generation of millennials is primed to feel a sense of nostalgia for the medical dramas that dominated the airwaves in the 1990s and early 2000s, when shows like "ER" and "Grey’s Anatomy" held captive audiences every week. The remarkable longevity of "Grey’s Anatomy" alone is enough to evoke nostalgia for its early seasons.

Today, it seems as though there is a show tailored to every possible subgenre within the medical drama landscape, appealing to fans of all those classic series from the early 2000s. If you were captivated by the fast-paced realism of "ER," then "The Pitt" is your show. If you were drawn to the romance and melodrama of "Grey’s Anatomy," then "Pulse" will likely resonate with you. If you appreciated the quirky medical mysteries of "House," then "Watson" is worth checking out. And if you prefer your medical dramas with a healthy dose of humor, like "Scrubs," then "St. Denis Medical" might be right up your alley. Many of these new shows have merit and offer an engaging viewing experience. "St. Denis Medical" is lighthearted and amusing, "Odyssey" is wonderfully silly, "Watson" is delightfully absurd, and "Pulse" boasts an energetic young cast. But "The Pitt" stands out as the most compelling reinvention of the genre, despite the many similarities that it shares with "ER" – similarities that have, in fact, led to a lawsuit from the estate of "ER" creator Michael Crichton.

The "real-time" gimmick employed by "The Pitt," previously seen on Fox’s "24," intensifies the viewing experience, leaving viewers even less time to breathe than the fictional doctors and nurses they are watching. The show prioritizes the existential struggles of its characters over intraoffice romances, diving deep into the profound issues that plague contemporary America. The 15-hour shift depicted in Season 1 (the show has already been renewed for a second) becomes a chillingly accurate microcosm of life in the United States right now: fentanyl overdoses, mass shootings, vaccine hesitancy, the toxic online culture of the "manosphere," pervasive bigotry, widespread burnout, senseless violence, and simmering anger. These national maladies are triaged, metaphorically labeled with primary-colored slap bracelets, and categorized from green to red – from survivable to critical. "The Pitt" doesn’t offer easy answers or resolutions. There are moments when its overworked and underpaid healthcare workers want to abandon all hope for the patients they are treating, but they don’t. They persevere. They continue administering CPR. Dr. Quintos in "Brilliant Minds" never gives up on a patient, just as Dr. Max Bankman (Joshua Jackson) on "Odyssey" is relentless in his care. Because, ultimately, when we watch "The Pitt," "Watson," or any other medical drama, we want to believe that there are still people in this world who are willing to help, even when all hope seems lost.

Perhaps, if we see them on television, we can find them in real life, too.