Medical TV shows have been popular as far back as I can remember, and that’s certainly still the case as of the end of the 2025 TV schedule. The Pitt swept some of the biggest categories at the 2025 Emmys, Watson combines detective work with medicine, and more than one drama is currently in double-digit seasons by this point. I even watch most of them! That said, as the year winds down, one of the medical shows that stands out to me the most is actually a comedy.
Medical TV Options Alive And (Mostly) Well In 2025
Network television is usually the place to be for doctors slicing and dicing in primetime, and that didn’t change for the most part this year. In fact, thanks to a few uncertain renewals back in the spring, all four of the major broadcast networks have at least one such series on the air.
Grey’s Anatomy has had the longest run so far, surviving even the exit of leading lady Ellen Pompeo as a series regular to reach 22 seasons and counting. Chicago Med is also in its second year of double digits, with the One Chicago entry gaining new life last year with a showrunner change. In fact, only one medical show got the axe in 2025. Take a look at the full list of this year’s medical offerings:
- Brilliant Minds/NBC (Season 2)
- Chicago Med/NBC (Season 11)
- Doc/Fox (Season 2)
- Doctor Odyssey/ABC (Cancelled after Season 1)
- Grey's Anatomy/ABC (Season 22)
- The Pitt/HBO (Season 1)
- St. Denis Medical/NBC (Season 2)
- Watson/CBS (Season 2)
The Pitt, which returns early in the 2026 TV schedule, is likely the most talked-about medical show of the past year, and not just because former ER star Noah Wyle finally won his well-deserved Emmy. Doctor Odyssey generated its own sort of buzz for coming about as close to a soap opera as can be found in primetime. Star Joshua Jackson wasn’t kidding when he addressed the cancellation by saying that it was “like nothing else on television.”
With the exception of NBC’s Brilliant Minds (and of course Doctor Odyssey), all of the medical dramas were renewed ahead of their season finales. The show that NBC wasted no time in renewing got confirmation of a second season not even halfway through the first, and that’s the one and only comedy on this list: St. Denis Medical.
Why St. Denis Medical Is Far From Comatose
St. Denis Medical premiered as TV's newest mockumentary in November 2024, with a cast comprised of David Alan Grier, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Allison Tolman, Josh Lawson, Kahyun Kim, Mekki Leeper, and Superstore’s Kaliko Kauahi. They play a crew of doctors and nurses in the ED of the titular hospital, underfunded and overworked.
That is, some of them are overworked, with Tolman’s Alex picking up a lot of slack as the workaholic supervising nurse, which can range from trying to curb executive director Joyce’s (McLendon-Covey) worst instincts to handling medical emergencies. Cocky trauma surgeon Bruce (Lawson) makes up for his arrogance by actually being a pretty solid doctor, with Serena (Kim) as the self-proclaimed “Beyoncé” of nurses opposite newbie nurse Matt, who has a surprising stash of stories about his religious cult life before coming to Oregon.
Then, of course, there’s the wonderful Dr. Ron (Grier), whose curmudgeonly approach to medicine while still being a great physician makes him a standout part of the cast, with Grier earning a Critics' Choice Award nomination for both 2025 and 2026 for his performance.
All of this is to say that even though the premise of an overworked crew of doctors and nurses in an underfunded hospital isn’t revolutionary (see: 15 seasons of ER), St. Denis’ comedic approach makes it a fun rather than stressful watch. I personally was late to tuning in to the show, and I regret not watching live from the very start.
St. Denis Medical had a recipe for success from the jump. The sitcom was coming to a network with a strong history of medical TV shows, with ER and Chicago Med as particular standouts. NBC is also the home of some of TV’s most successful mockumentaries with The Office and Parks and Recreation. It was renewed for Season 2 before even half of the first season had aired, which came as a particular relief later in the spring when both Night Court and Lopez vs. Lopez got the axe.
Why The Mockumentary Format Is Still So Popular
NBC is continuing with the mockumentary style of comedy into the 2026 primetime lineup, with Stumble as a cheerleading mockumentary joining St. Denis Medical on the network. I spoke with St. Denis’ Kaliko Kauahi about her role as Val on the sitcom shortly after it was renewed, and the comedy veteran shared her take on why the format is still so popular. She told me:
I think it just gives people a glimpse, almost like behind the camera, and I feel like it gives the characters another dimension, because there's who we present as people in the workplace, and then there's who you are when you're alone. And I think even though you're with a camera crew, in essence, you get to see that other part of a person. Maybe a more honest look at what they're thinking and feeling.
There are, of course, some limits to the format, and a mockumentary doesn’t necessarily mean that the “documentary” will ever actually be finished in-universe. St. Denis Medical is a mockumentary in the style of The Office and, most recently, Stumble, insofar as the camera operators are addressed as though they’re filming a documentary. That wasn’t the case for ABC's Modern Family, for example.
How To Watch St. Denis Medical
If you haven’t checked out St. Denis Medical yet, it won’t surprise you to read that I highly recommend it. The full first season, as well as every episode of Season 2 so far, is available streaming with a Peacock subscription now. At the time of writing, 26 episodes have aired.
It’s worth noting that episodes are the traditional network TV sitcom length of around 21 minutes without commercials, so it’s not even that much of a time commitment to catch up. I caught up with the show in the first place on a flight, so the comedy is definitely binge-worthy. (My seatmate might have been slightly confused by me laughing mid-air, though.)
The sitcom returns early in the new year. You can plan on the St. Denis Medical winter premiere on Monday, January 5, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. After the network’s decision to pull The Paper from primetime, Season 2 will be joined on Mondays by reruns of Stumble. Starting in March, the mockumentary will be paired in primetime with Tracy Morgan’s The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins.
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