13 Shows Like The Pitt You Should Watch Next

At the beginning of 2025, Max gave its customer base a gift: a gripping medical drama starring Noah Wyle with John Wells heading up the creative team. No, it didn't bring "ER" onto the platform (it's actually already there); this is a new project from Wyle, Wells, and their fellow "ER" veteran R. Scott Gemmill called "The Pitt," set in a busy and understaffed emergency department in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where senior trauma attending Dr. Michael "Robby" Rabinavitch (Wyle) leads a team of residents and medical students.

Not only is "The Pitt" another gritty, realistic medical drama — albeit one that, thanks to Max, is allowed to show considerably more gore than many of its peers, based on the degloved ankle clearly visible in the show's pilot — but it uses a "real time" narrative framework, with each episode taking place across one hour in the emergency room. (Season 1 covers one 15-hour shift in the department, to be precise.) So if you're already totally sold on "The Pitt," what else should you watch? From beloved, long-running medical dramas to other shows that use "real time" to a hospital comedy with some truly dark moments, here are shows you'll definitely like if you love "The Pitt."

You truly can't talk about great medical dramas without bringing up "ER," particularly because "The Pitt" would not, in many respects, exist without it. Yes, Noah Wyle is there as Dr. John Carter, who begins the show as a fresh-faced medical student and, after briefly training as a surgical resident, eventually switches specialties and becomes a resident in the titular ER. Alongside Carter, George Clooney famously appeared on the show for its first five seasons as Dr. Doug Ross, Anthony Edwards gave the series some serious emotional weight as Dr. Mark Greene, and a whole host of famous faces popped up as both doctors and patients, from William H. Macy to Stanley Tucci to Mariska Hargitay to Thandiwe Newton (among many, many others). 

"ER" is, without question, not just one of the best medical shows in TV history; it's also one of the best TV dramas ever made. From the Season 1 stunner "Love's Labor's Lost" — which co-stars a young Bradley Whitford and watches as Mark grapples with a misdiagnosis and crisis with a pregnant patient — to the infamous moment where a doctor's arm is chopped off by a helicopter blade, "ER" basically invented jaw-dropping cases of the week. Let's put it this way: without the "ER" episode where a disgruntled former patient drives a truck directly into the hospital, you wouldn't have delightfully outlandish shows like, say, "Grey's Anatomy," and you can stream it on both Hulu and Max.

"ER" is the second-longest running primetime medical drama in television history, with 15 seasons and just over 331 episodes. So what took the top spot? "Grey's Anatomy." As of this writing, Shonda Rhimes' massive hit is in its 21st season, and despite the fact that star Ellen Pompeo — whose character Dr. Meredith Grey puts the literal "Grey" in the show's title — "left" the series in Season 19, it's still going strong. We first meet Meredith in the pilot as she prepares to start her new job as a surgical intern at Seattle Grace Hospital, only to discover that the guy she took home from the bar last night, Patrick Dempsey's Derek Shepherd, also works there ... as the new chief of neurosurgery. Throughout Meredith's time at the hospital (which changes names several times before settling on Grey Sloan Memorial), she grows as both a doctor and a person, surrounded by her fellow original interns Dr. Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), Dr. George O'Malley (T.R. Knight), Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), and Meredith's best friend Dr. Cristina Yang (a showstopping Sandra Oh).

Yes, the cases on "Grey's Anatomy" are often completely outlandish — in Season 2, the show throws an unexploded homemade bomb into a guy's chest cavity and never really lets up from that point on — but "ER" was also over-the-top and hyper-dramatic, which is precisely what makes both of these shows so compulsively watchable. No matter the "case of the week" or personal strife between doctors, "Grey's Anatomy" is a favorite for millions of people around the world, and it's earned its place in the medical drama hall of fame without question. "Grey's Anatomy" is available to stream on Netflix and Hulu.

If you love Dick Wolf's work — particularly the "Law & Order" franchise — then you'll also love his "One Chicago" universe, which covers multiple shows that focus on the Windy City's first responders. Putting aside "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago P.D.," we're going to focus on "Chicago Med," Wolf's high-octane medical drama (which, it should be said, frequently crosses over with other "One Chicago" shows) that takes place at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. Like on "ER" and "Grey's Anatomy," the personal and professional duties of said doctors basically constantly interwine, providing plenty of drama as they solve (you guessed it) various cases of the week.

Across 10 seasons (as of this writing), "Chicago Med" has played host to a handful of actors like Nick Gehlfuss (who played Dr. Will Halstead until Season 8), Yaya DaCosta (who played nurse April Sexton across multiple seasons), Oliver Platt (as psychiatry chief Dr. Daniel Charles), and "Law & Order" veteran S. Epatha Merkerson (as chief hospital administrator Sharon Goodwin), to say nothing of the guest stars throughout the show's run. "Chicago Med" can be completely bonkers at times, but if you're looking for a gripping hospital drama like "The Pitt" that already has a ton of seasons available to watch, it's a perfect fit — and you can find it on Peacock.

Wondering where "The Pitt" got the idea to structure each episode around a "real" hour? Only the showrunners and creators can say for sure whether or not "24" was a huge influence, but regardless of their input, it is a drama famous for the fact that its episodes took place across one hour of each season's narrative. Across nine seasons, the TV movie "24: Redemption" (which came out in 2008), the 2014 continuation "24: Live Another Day," and the 2017 spin-off "24: Legacy," it's safe to say that Agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), who works in the CTU ("Counter-Terrorism Unit"), has at least nine extremely terrible days. This is, typically, how "24" works: with 24 episodes in each season, each installment has the room to cover a full "day" where Jack must stop an assassination attempt on the President of the United States, stop some sort of massive terror attack, or save the world in some fashion; each episode ends with a clock ticking down the final seconds of each hour. (Those final seconds are, typically, preceded by some sort of wild cliffhanger.)

Sutherland's Jack Bauer is the only constant character on "24," and throughout the series, he works for and alongside multiple presidents — including Dennis Haysbert's David Palmer and Cherry Jones' Allison Taylor — as well as his CTU right-hands Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), just to name a few. "24" is available to stream on Hulu.

Switching gears from strictly medical shows, if you love the tension and stress of "The Pitt," you may want to check out "9-1-1," a first-responder drama helmed by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear that began its life on Fox but moved to ABC after six seasons. Casting a wider net and focusing on all sorts of first responders in Los Angeles, from firefighters to paramedics to police officers to the dispatchers who take the calls in the first place, "9-1-1" is a totally wild ride — and features an outstanding core cast.

Angela Bassett — yes, the Angela Bassett — leads the cast as Athena Grant, a patrol sergeant for the Los Angeles Police Department who works closely alongside her husband Bobby Nash ("Parenthood" alum Peter Krause), the captain of the LA Fire Department's 118th station. Throughout "9-1-1" — which also stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ryan Guzman, and Kenneth Choi — a ton of ridiculous things happen, from earthquakes to plane crashes to a massive cruise ship disaster, but these first responders always manage to pull through ... and you can check out "9-1-1" on Hulu. (The spin-off, "9-1-1: Lone Star," is concluding its run in 2025 ... and is also absolutely bonkers, if that's your thing.)

Speaking of bonkers, the relatively new ABC medical drama "Doctor Odyssey," which premiered in the fall of 2024 and is also helmed by Ryan Murphy, is absolutely nuts — so while it doesn't have any of "The Pitt's" gritty realism, it might be a nice breather for people who just love medical dramas in all forms. Led by Joshua Jackson as Dr. Max Bankman, the titular "Doctor Odyssey" who works on a luxury cruise ship and treats increasingly bizarre medical problems with his colleagues — nurse practitioner Avery Morgan ("Hamilton" leading lady Phillipa Soo) and nurse Tristan Silva (Sean Teale) — "Doctor Odyssey" is an absolutely unhinged ride, and we do mean that in the best way.

From a patient with a raging case of syphilis (and a way with the ladies) to a disastrous sunburn on character actor Margo Martindale (which makes for a hilarious visual) to a woman who does so many drugs that her nose falls off, "Doctor Odyssey" is ridiculous — and so much fun. Yes, "The Pitt" is phenomenal, and its commitment to providing a real-time, in-depth look at an emergency department is both gripping and admirable, but sometimes, you just want to watch another character actor, Fred Melamed, tell a doctor that he can't stop eating coins. "Doctor Odyssey" is available to stream on Hulu now.

Across four seasons that aired between 2014 and 2017, "The Night Shift," much like "The Pitt," focused on the intertwining personal and professional struggles of doctors working in a busy emergency department — and in "The Night Shift," the hospital in question is in San Antonio and employs a number of doctors who once served in the United States Army. For example, Dr. Thomas Charles "TC" Callahan (Eoin Macken), who served in Afghanistan, watched his brother die on the battlefield and bravely made the decision to donate his brother's heart to a needy recipient; you've also got current "Industry" star Ken Leung as Dr. Christopher "Topher" Zia, yet another Army veteran who was close friends with TC when they both served. Further complicating everything is the presence of TC's ex-girlfriend Dr. Jordan Alexander (Jill Flint), who works as the head of the ER during the titular night shift.

"The Night Shift" is jam-packed full of difficult, jaw-dropping cases, personal conflicts and loyalties, and also gives a spotlight to the post-traumatic stress faced by many doctors who served in the Army and return to jobs in civilian hospitals. In between episodes of "The Pitt," you can rent or buy "The Night Shift" on platforms like Apple TV+ and Amazon.

Much like "The Pitt," the Fox medical drama "The Resident" opens as Dr. Devon Pravesh (Manish Dayal) begins his job at the fictional Chastain Park Memorial Hospital (fictionally located in Atlanta), and also like "The Pitt," new guy Devon meets "The Resident's" version of Robby, Dr. Conrad Theodore Hawkins ("Gilmore Girls" and "The Good Wife" standout Matt Czuchry) on his first day. Throughout "The Resident," Devon, Conrad, and their fellow residents and medical personell — including Dr. Randolph Bell (Bruce Greenwood) and nurse practitioner Nicolette Nevin (Emily VanCamp) — struggle to balance patient care with the bureaucracy involved with medicine in the United States; like some of the other shows on this list, "The Resident" also shines a spotlight on Conrad's previous service as a medic in the Marines and addresses his ongoing PTSD.

That's not to say "The Resident" is always a particularly grounded show; again, like many of the other medical dramas on this list, the cases featured within can be pretty over-the-top, and there's plenty of personal drama to go around as well. "The Resident" is available to stream on both Hulu and Netflix.

If you've watched "The Pitt," you know that the show does not shy away from the blood and gore that many medical dramas can't show on, say, network television; Steven Soderbergh's "The Knick" definitely shares that trait with "The Pitt." Created by Soderbergh, Jack Amiel, and Michael Berger, the series focuses on Clive Owen's Dr. John W. Thackery, a character loosely based on the pioneering American surgeon Dr. William Stewart Halsted, known for his work on procedures like mastectomies and his championing of both anesthesia and extreme cleanliness in the surgical field. (Yes, it is disturbing that surgeons before Halstead apparently didn't go to bat for things like "hygiene" and "anesthesia.) Like the real Halstead, Thackery lives a sort of double life, struggling with addictions to cocaine and opium as he works at a fictional take on the real Knickerbocker Hospital in New York.

"The Knick" is famously gruesome, showing experimental surgeries in fairly primitive forms — and alongside Owen, the cast includes standouts like André Holland, Juliet Rylance, Eve Hewson, and Michael Angarano. You can stream "The Knick" on Max, if you can stomach it.

Like "The Pitt," the Amazon Prime original series "On Call" is a newcomer to the medical drama genre featuring a beloved TV star returning to the small screen ... but this one comes from mega-producer Dick Wolf. Starring Troian Bellisario — known for her lead role on the Freeform hit "Pretty Little Liars" — as Officer Traci Harmon and Brandon Larracuente ("Thirteen Reasons Why," "The Good Doctor") as her rookie partner Officer Alex Diaz, "On Call" also features Eriq LaSalle, who played Dr. Peter Benton on "ER" alongside Noah Wyle's John Carter, in a supporting role as Traci and Alex's superior Sergeant Lasman. 

Set in Long Beach, California, "On Call" watches as Alex and Traci patrol ... and, just as Robby grapples with the loss of his mentor to the COVID-19 pandemic on "The Pitt," both Alex and Traci are grieving a police officer lost in the line of duty. You can check out "On Call" on Amazon Prime Video now.

Yes, "Scrubs" is quite a bit sillier than "The Pitt," but it's also a startlingly realistic look at the field of medicine ... and shines a spotlight on the struggles faced by physicians, surgeons, and nurses alike. Led by Zach Braff's Dr. John "J.D." Dorian, the series, created by Bill Lawrence (who went on to helm "Ted Lasso"), follows J.D. and his friends Dr. Christopher Turk (Donald Faison), Dr. Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke), and experienced nurse Carla Espinosa (Judy Reyes) as well as his unwilling mentor Dr. Perry Cox (John C. McGinley) across years at Sacred Heart Hospital, dealing with bureaucracy (characterized by Ken Jenkins' Bob Kelso, the hospital's chief of medicine who prefers wealthy patients to uninsured ones) and difficult cases. Also, Neil Flynn plays the hospital's vengeful janitor who really hates J.D., and he's awesomely insane.

"Scrubs" is, first and foremost, a comedy — but when the doctors lose patients (or loved ones) or face personal crises, the show never shies away from the seriousness of these moments. If you love "The Pitt" but want a slightly lighter outlook, "Scrubs" is streaming on Hulu and Peacock. (You can go ahead and ignore that final season, officially subtitled "Med School" — it's famously pretty bad.)

If you're looking for shows like "The Pitt," you can't really get much closer than "Code Black," a medical drama that ran for three seasons on CBS. The series is led by Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden as Dr. Leanne Rorish, a trauma attending at the fictional Angels Memorial Hospital who lost her husband and children in a car accident and is still grieving, a fact which can sometimes influence her decisions in the ER; among her residents, she's simply known as "Daddy." (Her counterpart is Luis Guzmán's Jesse Salander, a senior nurse who goes by "Mama" who also happens to be Leanne's best friend.) As the residents on "Code Black" try to save lives in the ER, they also — as you can safely assume — deal with their own personal issues as new cases arrive constantly in the underfunded emergency department.

"Code Black" only ran for three seasons, but it's a gripping, intense medical drama that, despite running on network TV, absolutely shares DNA with "The Pitt" — and it's available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+.

The title "Transplant" is pulling double duty when it comes to this Canadian medical drama — not only does it obviously refer to organ transplants, but it also refers to Dr. Bashir "Bash" Hamed (Hamza Haq), a refugee of the Syrian Civil War who ends up working in the emergency department at York Memorial Hospital. In the show's pilot, Bash's background check and credentials don't go through for his job at York Memorial, but when he takes a temporary job as a line cook at a Middle Eastern restaurant, he springs into action during a medical emergency at the establishment, making it quite clear that he's ready to work in the ER ... especially because much of his medical training took place in an active war zone.

Flanked by several other driven, talented doctors — including Dr. Magalie "Mags" Leblanc (Laurence Leboeuf) and Dr. June Curtis (Ayisha Issa), among others — Bash thrives at York, facing (you guessed it) personal problems as he tries to do right by his patients. If you're unfamiliar with "Transplant," it's absolutely worth watching, and it's available to stream on Peacock.