LONDON (AP) 鈥� No matter your ailment, there are waiting to treat you right now on a selection of channels and streamers.
Whether it鈥檚 Noah Wyle putting on his stethoscope for the first time since 鈥淓R,鈥� Morris Chestnut graduating to head doctor, Molly Parker making her debut in scrubs or Joshua Jackson trading death for life on a luxury cruise, new American hospital dramas have something for everyone.
There鈥檚 also an outsider trying to make a difference in 鈥淏erlin ER,鈥� as Haley Louise Jones plays the new boss of a struggling German hospital's emergency department. The show's doors slide open to patients Wednesday on Apple TV+.
These shows all contain the DNA of classic hospital dramas 鈥� and this guide will help you get the TV treatment you need.
鈥淏erlin ER鈥�
Dr. Suzanna 鈥淶anna鈥� Parker has been sent to run the Krank, which is only just being held together by hardened 鈥� and authority-resistant 鈥� medical staff and supplies from a sex shop. The result is an unflinching drama set in an underfunded, underappreciated and understaffed emergency department, where the staff is as traumatized as the patients, but hide it much better.
From former real-life ER doc Samuel Jefferson and also starring Slavko Popadi膰, 艦afak 艦eng眉l, Aram Tafreshian and Samirah Breuer, the German-language show is not for the faint of heart.
Jones says she eventually got used to the blood and gore on the set.
鈥淚t鈥檚 gruesome in the beginning, highly unnerving. And then at some point, it鈥檚 just the most normal thing in the world,鈥� she explains. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 flesh. That鈥檚 the rest of someone鈥檚 leg, you know, let鈥檚 just move on and have coffee or whatever.鈥�
As it鈥檚 set in the whole city seems to live at a frenetic pace and the staff deals with the pressure by partying. The music, the lighting and the pulse of the drama also rubs off on the audience.
鈥淲hen I saw it the first time I was sitting there, my heart was racing,鈥� says Jones of watching the program. 鈥淚 knew what was coming, but I just, you know, my body just reacted. And I think that really says a lot.鈥�
Would she agree to be treated by Dr. Parker? Jones reckons it depends on what day you catch her.
DIAGNOSIS: gets the 鈥淓R鈥� treatment 鈥� side effects include breathlessness and heartbreak.
鈥淭he Pitt鈥�
Emergencies are often against the clock, but in 鈥淭he Pitt,鈥� they are on a timer. Attached to a bomb.
Each episode shows an hour of Dr. Michael Robinavitch鈥檚 emergency room shift on one of the worst days of his life. After avoiding all doctor roles since the finale of 鈥淓R鈥� in 2009, Wyle pulls on the navy hoodie of a weary Dr. Robby 鈥� this time in Pittsburgh.
Initially an idea for a with producer John Wells, the show morphed into a fresh take on the challenges medical professionals face in the wake of the
鈥淚t felt a little sacrilegious to try to walk back into that arena prematurely,鈥� says Wyle. 鈥淚t was really only thoughtfully, soberly, cautiously and meticulously that we attempted it again.鈥�
Robby is calm and competent in showing his medical students how it鈥檚 done, while keeping his own mental health crisis hidden. Not that there are many places to hide: Wyle explains that they are setting themselves apart from other hospital dramas by turning up the lights, cutting the mood-telegraphing music and showing the real dimensions of the department.
鈥淎ll of those kind of lend themselves to doing something different,鈥� he says. 鈥淩attling the cage, you know, trying to put a new spin on an old form.鈥�
Joining him in Max鈥檚 鈥淭he Pitt鈥� are co-stars Tracy Ifeachor, Katharine LaNasa, Patrick Ball and Supriya Ganesh.
As for his own medical knowledge, Wyle says there are procedures he feels adept at least pretending to do. With the amount of time he's spent playing a doctor, he could have earned his own degree by now.
鈥淚鈥檝e been doing this long enough,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o I鈥檓 either the worst student or one of the best doctor actors around.鈥�
DIAGNOSIS: With front-line workers against the clock, it has a similar pathology to both 鈥淓R鈥� and 鈥�24.鈥�
鈥淲补迟蝉辞苍鈥�
Also in Pittsburgh, you鈥檒l find The Holmes Clinic for Diagnostic Medicine, where it鈥檚 still life-and-death, but your heart rate can afford to slow a little.
It鈥檚 run by Dr. John Watson, former colleague of Sherlock Holmes, the famous sleuth who has bequeathed the funding for the medical center.
Chestnut plays the lead 鈥渄oc-tective,鈥� as he puts it, leading a team trying to solve medical mysteries while avoiding old foe Moriarty (Randall Park) 鈥� Watson is still dealing with a traumatic brain injury from their last encounter.
And Chestnut is no stranger to the long words and Latin terms that accompany hospital dramas. Chestnut was a nurse in 鈥淓R,鈥� a former army doc in 鈥淣urse Jackie鈥� and a pathologist in 鈥淩osewood.鈥� More recently, he was the ruthless and talented neurosurgeon Barrett Cain on 鈥淭he Resident.鈥�
Luckily, his Watson has a better beside manner and uses cutting-edge science to help puzzle out a unique selection of patients, alongside his staff, played by Eve Harlow, Inga Schlingmann and Peter Mark Kendall.
The Sherlock mythology is provided by show creator, Arthur Conan Doyle fan and ex-鈥淓lementary鈥� writer Craig Sweeny, who brings Chestnut reckons it鈥檚 this literary twist on the medical mystery formula that sets it apart from 鈥淗ouse MD,鈥� whose lead character was more of a Sherlock.
And he wouldn鈥檛 hesitate to be treated by Dr. Watson because 鈥渉e wants to understand you as a person鈥� and 鈥渢ruly cares鈥� about his patients.
DIAGNOSIS: More tests needed to confirm if 鈥淓lementary鈥� or 鈥淗ouse鈥� is the leading condition.
鈥凄辞肠鈥�
Over her has never played a doctor before. In 鈥淒oc,鈥� based on a true story, she jumped right in with the top job, chief of internal medicine, at Minneapolis鈥� Westside Hospital.
A car crash causes the overachieving, work-centric Dr. Amy Larsen to lose eight years of her memory, turning her into a patient with a traumatic brain injury. Parker portrays both versions of Larsen through Fox鈥檚 debut season 鈥� the career woman in flashback and the mother learning to trust again in the present.
The focus of the show is on feelings over physical ailments, as Larsen has to deal, all over again, with the loss of her son.
鈥淲hat I liked about this is that it has all the elements of that genre, like it has the high stakes and the mystery illness and the romantic love triangle,鈥� explains Parker, who stars alongside Anya Banerjee, Jon-Michael Ecker, Amirah Vann and Omar Metwally. 鈥淏ut at the center of it is this woman who is going through this really profound grief.鈥�
Parker has learned 鈥渘ot to diagnose yourself on the internet,鈥� a deeper respect for health care workers and that playing a doctor is not easy.
鈥淭he most you can do is sort of try to get the words right sometimes,鈥� she says with a smile, admitting she still can鈥檛 pronounce the name of one particular drug.
鈥淚t鈥檚, like, so important in the entire season,鈥� Parker adds, 鈥渁nd I said it wrong every single time.鈥�
DIAGNOSIS: For fans of 鈥淕rey鈥檚 Anatomy,鈥� where complications come from relationships rather than infections.
鈥淒octor Odyssey鈥�
An honorable mention goes to Dr. Max Bankman of 鈥淒octor Odyssey,鈥� who set sail at the end of 2024 and is finishing up Season One's maiden voyage March 6 on ABC.
who previously portrayed real-life man of malpractice in 鈥淒r. Death,鈥� is on board as the accomplished and smiley new head of a luxury cruise liner鈥檚 medical team. 鈥淒octor Odyssey鈥� comes from super producer Ryan Murphy and is set in the same world as his 鈥�9-1-1鈥� franchise, with an upcoming crossover episode starring Angela Bassett.
Phillipa Soo and Sean Teale complete the ship鈥檚 medical threesome contending with a surprisingly frequent number of bizarre illnesses and accidents that befall the guest stars (episode one: a broken penis). Jackson acknowledges the cases are 鈥渁bsurd and fun and wild and over-the-top,鈥� much to the amusement of his brother, who runs an actual ER.
But that is the appeal, he says, for viewers to 鈥渆xhale鈥� and find 鈥渨elcome relief鈥� from the stress of real life.
鈥淭o have this, you know, pretty bauble in the middle of your week to just come in and go on an adventure,鈥� Jackson explains. 鈥淭he stakes are high, the relationships are intense. Everything鈥檚 very dramatic. And 42 minutes later, you realize you鈥檙e just in the most beautiful place in the world.鈥�
Unfortunately, his own medical skills remain more Dr. Death than Dr. Bankman.
鈥淚 could really, really, deeply mess somebody up,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 have just enough terminology and jargon to sound like I know what I鈥檓 doing, but none of the practical skills.鈥�
Jackson wouldn鈥檛 hesitate to put his own health in the hands of Dr. Bankman, though, citing the miracles he鈥檚 able to perform weekly on The Odyssey.
DIAGNOSIS: Call 鈥�9-1-1鈥� for a therapeutic trip on 鈥淭he Love Boat.鈥�
Hilary Fox, The Associated Press
