The 10 Best Doctors In TV Shows, Ranked

This article contains discussions of addiction and sexual assault.

Imagine, for a moment, that you're on an airplane and someone has a medical emergency. "Quick!" somebody shouts. "We need a doctor over here!" If an actor you knew from a popular medical drama went to go and assist the person in need, you'd probably be a little concerned, which is to say that being a doctor and playing a doctor are two radically different skill sets. Still, that's not to say that playing a good or even great fictional doctor doesn't require its own kind of talent, and every single actor on this list helped create genuinely iconic and truly unforgettable characters who save lives on the small screen (but, again, not in real life, so don't ask Noah Wyle to help you if you're injured).

Throughout the history of television, a whole bunch of great actors have played doctors on the small screen, but which ones are the very best? Throughout this list, we'll talk about some of the most talented and brilliant fictional doctors that have ever appeared on TV — from surgeons to physicians — and we'll rank them from worst to best. From fixtures on classic NBC medical dramas to one doctor who's played strictly for laughs to a doctor who's based on Sherlock Holmes, here are the 10 best doctors in TV shows, ranked. (There are light spoilers for the shows mentioned here: you've been warned!)

It would be flat-out incorrect to call Dr. Leo Spaceman, Chris Parnell's resident physician on "30 Rock" whose last name is pronounced "spah-cheh-man," a good doctor. That's not why he's on this list. He's on this list because he's hilarious. On "30 Rock," we follow overworked writer Liz Lemon (showrunner and creator Tina Fey) as she tries to "have it all" while running a terrible-looking sketch series called "TGS," or "The Girly Show," and she's typically flanked by her corporate boss Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin), her two erratic stars Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) and Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski), and an overly eager NBC page named Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) — but whenever any one of these folks have a medical problem, they turn to Dr. Spaceman for help. To say he never solves a medical problem correctly is a wild understatement.

For example, when Dr. Spaceman bursts into a room covered in blood, he reassures everybody that nothing went "wrong." He was simply at a party and the hostess' dog attacked him, forcing him to stab it. Another time, he concludes off-brand LASIK surgery — a procedure that leads to Liz crying out of her mouth in one of the show's all-time best sight gags — by asking Liz to read a letter on his wall that simply reads, "Dear Dr. Spaceman, thank you for your submission. The New England Journal of Medicine does not publish x-rated cartoons." (As soon as Liz finishes reading it, Dr. Spaceman exclaims, "but why not?!") He doesn't know how to pronounce "diabetes" and, before surgery, Dr. Spaceman reminds his patients not to eat, because they'll have a "big breakfast waiting" for them. Again, Dr. Spaceman is not technically good at being a doctor, but he is perfect just as he is.

From 2004 to 2012, British actor Hugh Laurie played the titular, gruff, and Sherlock Holmes-adjacent Dr. Gregory House on David Shore's series "House," and while this brilliant doctor might not have the world's best bedside manner, he's certainly very good at his job. 

Sure, House is a total misanthrope, a major cynic, and struggles with addiction throughout the series — which is thanks to a longtime injury and which, obviously, does compromise his ability to reliably see patients and practice medicine — but when he works with his only real close friend Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), he's also one of the only doctors who can clearly see what his patients genuinely need. Throughout "House," the good doctor solves a wild number of seemingly impossible cases (usually by going against the advice of the hospital's top brass, like the dean of medicine Dr. Lisa Cuddy, played by Lisa Edelstein). Dr. House would be great if you were his patient — in that he'd definitely figure out what's wrong with you — but he seems really, really difficult to work with if you happens to be one of his colleagues, which sticks him at the bottom of this list.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

The only reason that Anthony Edwards' Dr. Mark Greene isn't higher on this list is, well, because he dies too young! As one of the original doctors depicted on "ER" — the landmark medical drama created by Michael Crichton that helped introduce a young George Clooney to the world — Mark is basically the main character of the show from the jump, insofar as he's the first character we meet desperately trying to get a little sleep in an on-call room during an emergency room shift. Throughout the first eight seasons of the series, Mark is the show's heart and moral center, even when he makes mistakes; one of the show's early episodes, "Love's Labor Lost," which is still regarded as a series highlight, focuses entirely on Mark desperately trying — and failing — to save a pregnancy patient in the ER.

By the time Mark marries the woman of his dreams, Dr. Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston), he's also suffering from a brain tumor, and when it returns in the show's eighth season, Mark dies peacefully in Hawai'i with his loved ones by his side. Still, his absence is seriously felt in "ER," and a list of phenomenal and unforgettable TV doctors wouldn't be complete without him — which is, in large part, thanks to Edwards' emotionally resonant performance. Once Edwards leaves "ER," the show is still great, but it's never quite the same without him.

In the season 1 finale of "Grey's Anatomy," Shonda Rhimes' mid-season ABC replacement that went on to become the longest-running medical drama in TV history, doctors Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) are finally public with their romantic relationship despite the fact that Meredith is just an intern and Derek is the chief of neurosurgery. As they head home after a long day of work at Seattle Grace Hospital, they're interrupted by a beautiful redheaded woman in a glamorous fur coat (played by Kate Walsh). Derek looks surprised and apologizes to Meredith; when Meredith introduces herself to the woman, she responds that she's Addison Montgomery-Shepherd. "You must be the woman who's been screwing my husband." In that moment, a star was born. As it turns out, Derek is married, and his wife Addison happens to be one of the most prominent and well-regarded neonatal surgeons.

Addison ultimately stuck around on "Grey's Anatomy" through Seasons 2 and 3 as she and Derek tried to rekindle their relationship, and after Season 3, Rhimes blessed Walsh with her own spin-off series, "Private Practice," which ultimately spanned six seasons. Across both shows, Addison maintains a cool head and calm demeanor even when treating expecting mothers and their babies; when she returns to "Grey's Anatomy" in Season 18 and 19 to help the staff start a clinic for women's reproductive health, it's genuinely wonderful to see her return.

Is Dr. John "J.D." Dorian, as played by Zach Braff, a pretty silly and seemingly unserious guy? He is, yes ... but he's also a damn good doctor. We follow J.D. throughout his entire career at Sacred Heart Hospital on "Scrubs," the beloved medical comedy spearheaded by Bill Lawrence — from his very first day as a medical intern to his departure in the show's 8th season — and as he daydreams his way through stressful and busy workdays, we also see him treat patients. Thanks to his big heart and genuinely excellent instincts, J.D. is a really good doctor, and he only gets better thanks to the people surrounding him at Sacred Heart.

When J.D. starts his internship at Sacred Heart, he does so alongside his longtime best friend and new surgical resident Dr. Christopher Turk (Donald Faison), and after a cocksure J.D. is schooled by a worldly nurse named Carla Espinosa (Judy Reyes) who knows a lot more than he does about the medical profession, those two become friends. Even J.D.'s on-again, off-again romance with fellow medical resident Dr. Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) ultimately helps him learn more about himself as a doctor and a person, although nobody influences J.D. more than his utterly unwilling mentor Dr. Perry Cox (John McGinley). "Scrubs" is, at face value, a comedy, but the medicine on it feels grounded ... and J.D. seems like he'd be a really wonderful doctor (in a world where he's real, that is).

Compared to some of the other fictional doctors on this list, Noah Wyle's Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch is a relatively recent contender, but he's such a phenomenal pretend physician that he has to be on this list. As the star of "The Pitt" — Max's hyper-realistic medical drama crafted by Wyle and his fellow "ER" veterans John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill that "takes place" in "real time" — Robby is troubled yet brilliant, and when we first meet him at the start of the 15-hour shift he undertakes in Season 1, he's having a rough time. See, this particular workday happens to be the anniversary of his mentor's death; Robby was on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he still bears the emotional scars of that experience. Aided by his old friends, including longtime charge nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) and the night shift's ER attending Dr. Jack Abbott (Shawn Hatosy), Robby tries to get through his shift, but because he's working in the emergency department of a chaotic and overcrowded Pittsburgh hospital, he endures quite a lot before his shift ends. 

Wyle is no stranger to playing a doctor on TV — frankly, this isn't even his first appearance on this very list — but his turn as Dr. Robby is a fresh take on a familiar character, and Wyle delivers a career-best performance in the show's first season alone. Dr. Robby's got some issues, sure, but he's passionate and dedicated; what more can you ask for from a doctor?

"I have five rules. Memorize them," Chandra Wilson's Dr. Miranda Bailey tells her group of hapless interns during the pilot of "Grey's Anatomy." Those rules — which basically boil down to "don't kill anyone" and "don't bother me if you don't have to" — and the way Bailey delivers them is, to use this adjective in a genuinely sincere way, iconic, and it's thanks to great characters like Bailey that "Grey's Anatomy" has been on television for so long. 

As "Grey's Anatomy" continues, Bailey becomes chief resident and, after a brief dalliance with pedatric surgery, official settles in general surgery alongside her mentor Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) and her protegé Meredith Grey. Bailey is, put simply, not just one of the best TV doctors or even one of the best characters on "Grey's Anatomy." She's one of the best television characters to ever exist. Thanks to Shonda Rhimes' careful storytelling and Wilson's unimpeachable performance, Bailey sets a standard for Black female characters by defying any and all stereotypes and being complex, conflicted, and completely human; when Bailey goes through something real and difficult like the birth of her son in Season 2 or her heart attack in Season 14, you feel it alongside her. "Grey's Anatomy" might be named for Meredith Grey, but Bailey may just be the beating heart of the entire show.

Few mental health professionals have suffered quite as much as Dr. Jennifer Melfi, played by Lorraine Braco, on "The Sopranos." As the series begins, mob boss Tony Soprano (the late, great James Gandolfini) starts seeing a psychiatrist — specifically, Dr. Melfi — to help with a recent spate of panic attacks, and to say that the good doctor Melfi bites off more than she can possibly chew with Tony is a severe understatement. (For what it's worth, Dr. Melfi definitely knows that Tony is in the mob even though he tells her he's a "waste management consultant.)

Tony's criminal enterprise puts Dr. Melfi in danger on a basically constant basis — particularly when a few of his associates learn that he's seeing a psychiatrist and worry that she could potentially be a witness in court down the line — and to make matters worse, Tony also starts fantasizing about her sexually. Unfortunately for Dr. Melfi, she eventually leans into Tony's powerful position within the mob; when she's sexually assaulted, she remarks that she could have her attacker killed on Tony's orders (a wish that does, unsurprisingly, come true). Eventually, Dr. Melfi cuts Tony off after realizing that he's a garden variety sociopath, but truly, she goes through hell while treating him, and she's entirely too good at her job to suffer like that.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch might be great, but he wouldn't even exist without Dr. John Carter, the long-running physician on "ER" who's also played by Noah Wyle. Like Dr. Mark Greene, Carter shows up in the pilot, albeit as a relatively pampered and privileged young intern who, initially, studies surgery under Dr. Peter Benton (Eriq La Salle). Eventually, Carter switches to emergency medicine — largely training under Mark — and even goes without pay for a while, a luxury he can only afford because, again, he's extremely wealthy (we eventually meet his family, and to refer to them as "old money" is an understatement).

If Mark is the heart of "ER" during his time on the show, Carter feels like the audience surrogate; even non-doctors watching can identify with his trials and tribulations, and he suffers plenty of them (the worst is, likely, when he's stabbed by a patient undergoing a mental health episode played by guest star David Krumholtz, and he experiences kidney issues as a result for the rest of the show). As the series progresses, Carter learns and grows from his mistakes — and trains a new generation of doctors, including the headstrong Dr. Greg Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) — and despite a long-simmering friendship turned relationship with Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney), he ends up meeting Makemba "Kem" Likasu (Thandiwe Newton) while he's working at an AIDS clinic in the Congo, and the two get together. Carter's departure from "ER" is ultimately tied to his love for Kem, but Wyle reappears a handful of times after his official Season 11 exit. Again, Dr. Robby is great, but Carter walked so Robby could run.

With all due respect to Meredith Grey and the show that bears her name, the best TV doctor is her on-screen bestie — or, as Meredith would put it, her "person." Dr. Cristina Yang, an ambitious and brilliant surgical intern turned cardiothoracic surgeon played to perfection by Sandra Oh, can inspire absolutely anybody watching her, no matter their field or profession, because not many television characters possess her obsessive and singular drive to be the very best at what she does. (Frankly, Cristina's professional determination also sets her apart from a lot of female characters.) Despite the fact that she, like Meredith, strikes up a relationship with a Seattle Grace superior as an intern — specifically, cardiothoracic attending Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) — Cristina is, at the end of the day, married to her work, and it's refreshing to see someone on the small screen commit to their professional life. 

While Cristina has romantic relationships on "Grey's Anatomy," including an ultimately doomed marriage to the odious Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), her first love is surgery, and Meredith is a close second (whichever guy is around at the time usually comes third). Cristina broke so many barriers on television. She's a woman of color, she remains firm in her conviction that she doesn't want children (and never conveniently changes her mind for plot reasons), and she represents people whose professional drive trumps all of their other desires, for better or for worse. Cristina "moves to Switzerland" at the end of Season 10 — which is when Oh left the show — and frankly, "Grey's Anatomy" was never the same without her, nor was her "person" Meredith.