I watched every new medical show this season — you need to watch my top pick stat

Phillipa Soo and Joshua Jackson in Doctor Odyssey
Phillipa Soo and Joshua Jackson in Doctor Odyssey (Image credit: Disney/Tina Thorpe)

Medical shows have been around for decades, but there’s always something that sets the great ones apart. Looking for wartime drama with heart and humor? M.A.S.H. Kid genius becomes kid doctor? Doogie Howser, M.D. Steamy hospital drama? Grey’s Anatomy. Realistic, visceral inside look at the workings of the emergency department and the doctors who work there? ER.

But this year in particular we've been treated to a bevy of new medical TV shows — Doctor Odyssey, Brilliant Minds, Doc, The Pitt and St. Denis Medical. I watched all five of the medical dramas released as part of the 2024-2025 TV season and it’s no surprise that they all offer something completely different.

Every single show on this list is fantastic in its own right, but one stood out because it’s wholly unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and I can’t wait to see more. Find out which show that is and how I ranked the rest of the best new medical shows on TV this year below.

1. Doctor Odyssey

Max Bankman (Joshua Jackson) arrives on the Odyssey in Doctor Odyssey

Joshua Jackson in Doctor Odyssey (Image credit: Disney/Tina Thorpe)

With its alluring mix of medical intrigue and interpersonal drama set on board a luxury cruise liner, Doctor Odyssey reeled me in right away. In a lot of ways, the show reminds me of the first season of Grey’s Anatomy, where the drama between the characters is just as interesting as the medical cases. (Remember the opening credits for the first season of Grey’s? That’s what I’m talking about!)

Joshua Jackson is Dr. Max Bankman, a physician whose battle with COVID leads him to seek out greener pastures, or in this case, bluer waters. He takes a job aboard The Odyssey, working alongside physician’s assistant Avery (Phillipa Soo) and nurse Tristan (Sean Teale). There are entitled passengers suffering from life-threatening maladies, thrilling theme weeks (Quackers Week, anyone?) and even a throuple between the main characters that has led to (gasp!) a pregnancy.

Doctor Odyssey is at the top of my list because it offers everything I look for in a medical drama, with a nice little fantasy twist to set it apart from the rest of the pack. It also doesn’t take itself too seriously but is still rooted in reality… kind of. Doctor Odyssey is the perfect intersection of medical drama and guilty pleasure entertainment.

Doctor Odyssey returns with new episodes on Thursday, March 6, on ABC. The first half of the season is streaming on Hulu in the US, Disney Plus in the UK.

2. Brilliant Minds

Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf in Brilliant Minds

Zachary Quinto in Brilliant Minds (Image credit: Rafy/NBC)

I’ll take a Zachary Quinto-fronted medical drama any day, especially when he’s not evil (a la American Horror Story: Asylum). Based on the true story of Dr. Oliver Sacks’ groundbreaking work, Brilliant Minds is the story of Dr. Oliver Wolf (Quinto), a brilliant neurologist diagnosed with face blindness.

What makes Brilliant Minds so special, and so watchable, is the cast’s chemistry. Instead of focusing on Dr. Wolf, it’s Wolf’s interns who provide the heart of the story. Despite his brilliance as a physician, Wolf has trouble interacting with people and it’s his interns who make up for all of his shortcomings.

Medical dramas with strong supporting casts aren’t new, but the undeniable chemistry of the cast, coupled with interesting medical cases and doctors who will go to the ends of the earth to help their patients, make Brilliant Minds stand out.

Brilliant Minds is available to stream on Peacock in the US; it is not currently available in the UK.

3. The Pitt

Noah Wyle in The Pitt

Noah Wyle in The Pitt (Image credit: Warrick Page/Max)

I didn’t watch ER as it was airing but I did catch reruns when I was old enough to understand the heady medical drama. The Pitt, given its roots with the same team behind ER, has the same heavy feel to it. There’s no doubt it’s the most realistic medical drama this season, with its true-to-life medical cases, unflinching graphics and an often maddening peek behind the curtain of the big business problems impacting modern medicine, including insurance companies, staffing shortages and exhaustion.

Unlike ER, though, The Pitt takes place over the course of a single shift, making it virtually impossible to dive into the characters’ personal stories other than whatever comes up in the course of the day. So while The Pitt is a fantastic, realistic medical drama that offers a very realistic look at life in the emergency room, it’s missing the personal drama that gave ER so much heart.

The Pitt streams Thursdays on Max in the US; not currently available in the UK.

4. Doc

Molly Parker in Doc

Molly Parker in Doc (Image credit: Peter Stranks/FOX)

Doc is based on an Italian drama and is the story of a very talented doctor whose career takes a turn after she suffers a brain injury. When we’re introduced to Dr. Amy Larsen (Molly Parker) before her accident, she’s gruff and stern and the bane of her colleagues’ existence. Fast forward to post-accident Amy and everything has changed; suddenly, she’s lost eight years of her life and must cope not only with learning how to be a doctor again, but that her life in the present day is very different from what she remembers.

As medical dramas go, Doc is less medical and more drama. It makes sense given that Amy isn’t able to be the doctor she once was — at least, not right away. It’s an interesting angle and it’s easy to invest in the show after the pilot episode, which is why I’m eager to see where this journey leads.

Doc airs Tuesdays on Fox, with episodes available to stream the following day on Hulu. Not currently available in the UK

5. St. Denis Medical

David Alan Grier in St. Denis Medical

David Alan Grier in St. Denis Medical (Image credit: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

Of the five medical shows so far this season, St. Denis Medical is the only sitcom. Fans of The Office will be very familiar with the mockumentary-style setup; in this case, a camera crew is documenting the overworked staff at an Oregon hospital. Wendi McLendon-Covey is Joyce, the executive director of St. Denis Medical Hospital, who is trying to hold things together at the hospital for the patients, and the staff.

Like The Pitt, St. Denis Medical is very true-to-life when it comes to dealing with staff shortages and exhaustion. As a sitcom, however, St. Denis Medical is a comedy through and through, so if you’re looking for a serious medical drama this probably isn’t the show for you, but if you’re in the mood for some laughs, then St. Denis Medical is just what the doctor ordered.

St. Denis Medical airs Tuesdays on NBC, with new episodes available to stream on Peacock the following day. Not currently available in the UK.

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Sarabeth Pollock
Editorial Content Producer

 

Sarabeth joined the What to Watch team in May 2022. An avid TV and movie fan, her perennial favorites are The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, true crime documentaries on Netflix and anything from Passionflix. You’ve Got Mail, Ocean's Eleven and Signs are movies that she can watch all day long. She's also a huge baseball fan, and hockey is a new favorite.  

When she's not working, Sarabeth hosts the My Nights Are Booked Podcast and a blog dedicated to books and interviews with authors and actors. She also published her first novel, Once Upon an Interview, in 2022. 

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