5 Most Realistic Medical Dramas to Binge After The Pitt
Day and night, they fight for our health and sometimes even our lives, and diagnosing a patient correctly is a task more difficult than many detective investigations.
While some filmmakers continue to romanticize people in white coats, others choose to show the underbelly of their work, which is constantly marred by stress, abuse, and burnout.
The latest medical hit is The Pitt, a series that allows you to follow the functioning of a hospital in near real time. The first season is coming to an end, so we decided to remind you of other accurate medical dramas.
1. The Knick, 2014-2015
The year is 1900 and medicine is on the verge of great changes. But before new methods are mastered, someone has to experience all the hardships of failed operations, complications, and misunderstandings.
At New York's Knickerbocker Hospital, one such pioneer is Dr. John Thackery – a rude, talented, drug-addicted doctor.
The events of the series are partly based on real facts from the biographies of doctors, and the story of Dr. Thackery is inspired by events from the life of the innovator of the beginning of the century, William Stewart Halsted.
Dr. Stanley Burns, the owner of the largest private collection of medical photographs from 1839-1950 and an expert on the history of medicine, served as a medical consultant on the project.
2. ER, 1994-2009
There's never a dull moment in the Chicago ER: car crash victims, mass restaurant poisonings, and obsessive hypochondriacs.
Dr. Mark Greene is the one you can count on. Doug Ross is a pediatrician who breaks women's hearts. Surgeon Peter is a top-notch specialist who doesn't like empty talk, and John is his intern who dreams of earning his superior's approval.
Writer, director and visionary Michael Crichton wrote the screenplay for ER based on his own experiences working in a similar hospital. In addition, ER became a springboard for the career of George Clooney, who went straight from there to the big screen.
3. This Is Going to Hurt, 2022
Adam works as an obstetrician at a government maternity hospital. Every day here is like the end of the world: lots of women in labor, few staff, clothes always covered in someone's blood. Adam doesn't even have time to sleep, let alone go to his friends' bachelor party.
The series is based on Adam Kay's book of the same name. The main role is played by British actor Ben Whishaw. But some of the extras were played by real doctors and nurses: the producers decided it would be easier than teaching the actors basic medical skills.
4. Scrubs, 2001-2010
J.D. and his best friend Turk are interns at the Sacred Heart Hospital. J.D. considers his mentor Dr. Cox to be his second father and is willing to do anything to earn his praise. Dr. Cox, on the other hand, is sick and tired of the interns pestering him with not only professional, but also personal questions.
9 seasons, 135 nominations, 33 wins, TV ratings – from 4 to 16 million viewers in the USA alone. Scrubs is one of the most accurate medical series.
Its creators have managed to reproduce the system of relations between the staff and the patients as accurately as possible and to convey the atmosphere of the hospital.
5. Dr. Death, 2021-2023
This show is also accurate, but in a different sense – it is a chronicle of the crimes that took place within the walls of a hospital. Dr. Death is about the dark side of the medical profession, when power over innocent people ends up in the hands of an extremely unstable, even psychopathic personality.
The show is based on a true story told in the Wondery podcast. Its authors cover scandalous cases of medical negligence and professional misconduct.
The main character of the first season is a Texas neurosurgeon, Christopher Duntsch, who deliberately maimed patients right on the operating table. In all, more than 30 people suffered at Duntsch's hands, and two died during surgery.
