These New Shows Are Just What The Doctor Ordered

If you’re a longtime Grey’s Anatomy viewer, you’ve probably heard some variation of “That’s still going on? Haven’t all the doctors... died?”

Look, I get it. With more than 400 episodes (and counting), the groundbreaking series is America’s longest-running primetime medical drama. That’s in a genre already known for longevity — after all, shows about people in scrubs and white coats are nearly as old as television. It’s easy to feel fatigued by the sheer amount of fictional patients at fictional hospitals across the TV landscape.

But lately, there’s a change in the hand-sanitizer-scented air. If fall’s medical shows are any indication, the genre is moving in a decidedly playful direction.

Doctor Odyssey, which premiered in September, epitomizes this trend. The ABC show follows a medical team on a luxury cruise ship, a premise pitched by co-creator Ryan Murphy as The Love Boat meets Nip/Tuck. Its splashy roster of celebrity guest stars — from Shania Twain to Kelsea Ballerini — shakes up the procedural formula, which is more known for introducing talent before they’re famous.

It’s also delightfully campy. One recent episode saw the ship’s doctor and two nurses comfort the attendees of a canceled wedding after a tragedy. Following a commercial break, they snack on the would-be wedding cake and help each other check off their mutual bucket list item of a threesome. It’s silly, sexy, and a welcome alternative to the familiar hospital love triangle.

Over on NBC, Brilliant Minds is more similar to its dramatic forebears — though it does buck tradition by showing creative depictions of neurological quandaries, like when Dr. Wolf takes a patient’s party drug to get inside her head.

But the network’s fellow newcomer, workplace mockumentary St. Denis Medical, is the genuine comedy of the bunch, courtesy of collaborators Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin (Superstore, American Auto). The new series, which premiered on Nov. 12, follows the overworked staff of a small-town Oregon hospital. Its humor comes from the foibles, frustrations, and everyday interactions that define any workplace.

The premiere, for example, is bookended by a conversation about Postmate-ing milkshakes for dinner, which has a hilarious (and heartwarming) payoff after a hard day on the job.

“It’s almost easier to get these big laughs when it’s cut against this serious-with-a-capital-S environment,” says Ledgin, who serves as showrunner.

While there’s certainly been humor in medical shows before — M*A*S*H had a laugh track, and Scrubs was funny when it wasn’t quietly devastating — the fact that several genre-bending projects are arriving in the same season feels like a significant shift in the canon.

So, what’s to thank for the recent surge? The pandemic has a little to do with it.

For Brilliant Minds, creator Michael Grassi took inspiration from Dr. Oliver Sacks, whom he learned about during the 2020 lockdowns. Doctor Odyssey’s Max, played by Joshua Jackson, nearly died from COVID-19 (“Because I lived, and because I went through hell, I decided that I was going to pursue joy at all costs,” he says in the premiere). St. Denis Medical owes much of its ethos to the turbulent time, too.

“We had this public consciousness about putting medical workers on a pedestal, clapping for them and saying they’re heroes,” Ledgin says. “But I sometimes think when we call people heroes ... we are making them less human, [as if they] don’t necessarily need our in-the-moment empathy.” He adds, “I was very interested in seeing these people that I had a lot of respect and admiration for in the context of [their] everyday job.”

Viewers are reaping the rewards of these tonal pivots, and even existing shows are on the same page. This season of Chicago Med, which premiered Sept. 25, intends to infuse more humor into the script, according to new showrunner Allen MacDonald.

“Any emotional note that gets hit over and over again makes it feel routine, and we get used to it,” says actor Sarah Ramos, who joins the show’s 10th season. “Having tragedy next to a really lighthearted, silly moment, going back into gravitas, is more dynamic.”

This corner of the TV world doesn’t just have a lot to offer viewers — there may be a reason why your favorite actors are flocking to it, too. “The network procedural is like the golden goose that everybody wants, because the industry is in such turmoil,” explains Ramos. “The streamers are making six-episode seasons. We [actors] want 22 episodes. And my friends who are viewers are like, ‘I’m going to need 22 episodes at least. I need that show to be back on air immediately.’”

It’s truly a win-win. So, even if you’ve never been a fan of ER dramas, consider giving one of the new shows a shot. The new generation is making the landscape a lot more fun — and if any show matches the staying power of Grey’s Anatomy, the future of fictional medicine will be in good hands.