The huge popularity of medical dramas might be baffling to some since, after all, who wants to watch something referencing diseases and treatments? However, a more in-depth look shows that it isn’t so out of the ordinary. The high-stress environment provides fuel for dramatic situations, the messy relationships keep you wondering what will happen next and their format, with a new patient being the focus of each episode in the case of TV series, or the twist and turns occurring in films, alongside the character development of the characters throughout the events make for the perfect combination.
If you’ve been getting into medical movies and series as well, here are a few that should definitely be on your list.
House M.D.
There’s no way to discuss medical dramas without bringing up House M.D. This American medical drama had its original run between 2004 and 2012, having 8 seasons and 177 episodes. It was distributed in over seventy countries, being the most-watched TV program in the entire world in 2008, as well as a top 10 series in the US between the second and fourth seasons. Perhaps most surprising is the fact that it is once again very popular in the 2020s, having recorded a resurgence over the last few months. The main character is the eponymous doctor, Gregory House, a medical genius who leads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey.
However, House deals with personal demons as he’s addicted to pain medication. He is also cynical and misanthropic, and he can be quite rude to both other doctors and patients, creating difficult situations.
Rain or Shine
If you’ve ever been injured, you know that the recovery process can be complex, long-lasting, and expensive. You might have to work with personal injury solicitors such as in order to receive remuneration in case your wounds were the result of someone else’s negligence. This process can also take some time and be fairly complicated if you don’t have the necessary legal training, which is why it is so important to work with professionals. The psychological impact can also be significant, with many dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, or survivor’s guilt in the aftermath, all of which can and should be addressed with a therapist.
Rain and Shine is a 2017 South Korean drama that follows two individuals who lost their loved ones in a tragic accident. Having to carry on is very challenging, but their shared experience and pain end up bringing them closer together. Lee Kang-do is a former athlete who had dreams of becoming a professional football player, but his life took a different turn after he lost his father in an accident and was forced to undergo three years of rehabilitation as a result of extensive injuries to his legs. Ha Moon-soo lost her younger sister in an accident and became her mother’s primary caretaker as a result.
Contagion
Contagion is a 2011 thriller that received renewed popularity in 2020 as a result of its parallels to the then-emerging threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. The film did, in fact, draw inspiration from the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak and the 2009 flu pandemic. It features an ensemble cast that stars Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Matt Damon, and Gwyneth Paltrow. The plot deals with the spread of a highly contagious, previously unknown virus that infects people via fomites and respiratory droplets. The main characters are medical researchers and public health officials who attempt to identify and contain the disease, but as the virus reaches people from all over the world and the situation turns into a pandemic, social order is eroded.
The development and introduction of a vaccine is one of the main points of concern, and the plot also deals with the effects of the virus on the human body and the lives it takes, as well as looting, panic buying, and violence. In the film’s final scene, the origins of the virus are revealed, and the circumstances in which this deadly pathogen came to be are so banal that to think they led to all the chaos unfolding in the film can seem extraordinary. However, it is, in fact, a realistic way in which scenarios such as this become a reality.
The Good Doctor
The Good Doctor has seven seasons and almost 130 episodes. It was released between 2017 and 2024, being a remake of the 2013 South Korean series of the same name. The series stars Freddie Highmore as the main character, a surgical resident named Shaun Murphy. Shaun has autism and savant syndrome, but both the actor and show creators have discussed how the character is not meant to be a representative of the entire autistic community. He is meant to be seen as an individual with his own strengths and weaknesses. Murphy subverts social norms, has difficulty making and maintaining eye contact, and has stoic body language that can make him seem intimidating or stand-offish.
The Pitt
The Pitt had the release of its first episode on January 9th, 2025, and is still ongoing. It was renewed for a second season this year, with the premiere scheduled for January 2026. The series has been praised for its realism as it follows the employees operating in an emergency department as they deal with excruciating 15-hour work shifts at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital. They are forced to deal with issues that are relevant to the medical sector of today, including staff shortages, a lack of resources, and underfunding. Each of the fifteen episodes follows roughly an hour of the shift, making The Pitt unique among medical dramas.
It has received acclaim not just from critics and viewers, but from healthcare as well, many of whom praised the accuracy and outlining the fact that the series depicts the psychological challenges doctors and nurses have faced in the aftermath of the pandemic.
To sum up, there’s no denying the fact that series and films taking place in the medical world are popular among viewers as a result of the high stakes depicted in the stories and their fundamentally emotional and human core.
