“Grey’s Anatomy” enters its 20th season
The longest-running hospital series on US TV
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Hospital series have traditionally enjoyed great popularity. An overview of the longest-running medical series in US TV history.
The 20th season of the popular and long-running hospital series “Grey’s Anatomy” starts today, Monday (July 8th) at 8:15 p.m. on ProSieben on German free TV. The doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital have been saving people’s lives since March 2005, and there is still no end in sight.
In April of this year, the US channel ABC ordered a further, 21st season of the show, which will most likely start on US television towards the end of the year. “Grey’s Anatomy” is According to the US industry magazine “The Hollywood Reporter” the longest-running evening medical drama series in US television history.
But some other medical series from the USA also have an extremely long run. No wonder, since TV audiences simply can’t get enough of doctors in white coats equipped with stethoscopes, saving lives, falling in love and making viewers laugh or cry.
“Diagnosis: Murder”: Eight seasons from 1993 to 2001
The humorous medical crime series “Diagnosis: Murder” is probably less well known in Germany. In it, Dick Van Dyke, now 98, played a doctor who, after completing his military service, advises the local police on murder cases. Van Dyke’s biological son Barry Van Dyke (72) also played a leading role in the CBS series, playing a police detective.
“Dr. House”: Eight seasons from 2004 to 2012
The Briton Hugh Laurie (65) played the unconventional doctor Dr. Gregory House in the Fox series “Dr. House” in an unforgettable way for eight seasons from 2004 to 2012. The misanthropic medical genius saved countless lives with his correct diagnoses at the Princeton-Plainsboro University Hospital. In addition, the doctor, who was addicted to painkillers, also regularly clashed with the hospital management, colleagues and the rest of his fellow human beings.
In Germany, the series also enjoyed great success on RTL.
“Scrubs”: Nine seasons from 2001 to 2010
One of the most popular series in recent TV history: “Scrubs” mixed comedy with medical storylines, and was particularly convincing with lovable characters such as Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley, 64), the neurotic main character JD (Zach Braff, 49) or the quirky, nameless janitor (Neil Flynn, 63).
“Scrubs” was also very popular in Germany on the ProSieben channel. After nine seasons and a change of channel, the series finale aired on ABC screens in March 2010.
“Chicago Med”: Nine seasons since 2015
Besides “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Chicago Med” is the only show on this list that is still on the air. The series by mega-producer Dick Wolf (77) is a classic medical drama. At the Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, the show’s doctors save lives and fall in love with each other with great regularity.
“Chicago Med” is a spin-off of “Chicago Fire” and shares a series universe with “Chicago PD”. There are often crossover episodes between the three Dick Wolf shows – similar to “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Seattle Firefighters”.
“M*A*S*H”: Eleven seasons from 1972 to 1983
The series “M*A*S*H” was broadcast in the USA between 1972 and 1983. It is the TV adaptation of the Robert Altman classic “MASH” from 1970.
As in the original film, surgeons “Hawkeye” (Alan Alda, 88) and “Trapper” (Wayne Rogers, 82) as well as head nurse “Hot Lips” (Loretta Swit, 86) saved the lives of US soldiers wounded in the Korean War. More than 100 million television viewers watched the series finale of “M*A*S*H” in February 1983. This huge number of viewers was only surpassed in 2010.
“ER”: 15 seasons from 1994 to 2009
In 2019, “Grey’s Anatomy” overtook its hugely popular predecessor show “Emergency Room” as the longest-running medical series in US evening programming. The hospital series ran for a total of 15 seasons from 1994 to 2009, and in the mid-1990s it set new TV standards for the realistic and fast-paced telling of events from the emergency room of a large, urban hospital.
“ER” made stars of George Clooney (63) and Julianna Margulies (58), among others, and almost all of the hospital series on this list would probably be unthinkable without the successful production as a forerunner and pioneer.