Breaking the mold from traditional medical dramas, shows like Chicago Med deftly balance the high-stakes world of medicine with the realities of working in a hospital environment. Wolf Entertainment's Chicago franchise has increased in popularity with Chicago Med, a series that has consistently threatened to topple Dick Wolf's Chicago Fire from the top spot on NBC's Wednesday night show fan base. One of the biggest reasons for its success is that Chicago Med has changed its strategy from focusing purely on entertainment to bringing more realism into the hospital setting. Medical procedural shows have always been common, but Chicago Med has managed to stand out.
The show, which focuses on specific medical cases at the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, also navigates the personal lives of its characters to bring a balance of action and emotion. Though the show has retained most of its cast, traumatic Chicago Med exits only served to entice viewers to keep watching each season. With lots of plot twists that have seen the characters grow, the series continues to distance itself from its contemporaries in a way that only a Dick Wolf program can. While Chicago Med is wholly original in its own way, there are plenty of medical dramas in the same vein.
12 The Cleaning Lady (2022 - Present)
Like Chicago Med, The Cleaning Lady follows a dedicated doctor who is struggling to do no harm, except she doesn't have a hospital and a team of professionals to help her. Thony De La Rosa is an illegal immigrant from the Philippines who is also a qualified surgeon but can't get a license to practice in the US. With no recourse, she cleans up after criminals and provides care to other immigrants. Shows like Chicago Med usually focus on the hospital setting but shows like The Cleaning Lady are crime dramas. Full of plot twists and cliffhangers, the show brings a whole new meaning to "first, do no harm."
- The Cleaning Lady is available to stream on Max, Hulu, DirecTV, and Fubo TV
11 Biohackers (2020 - 2021)
Chicago Med has had scenes covering synthetic biology but none of them have been as deep as what Netflix's Biohackers covered. Biohackers is a thriller that follows the life of a biotechnology student at the University of Freiburg who discovers that her lecturer is the person responsible for a clinical trial that killed her brother. Torn between revenge and the desire to become a better biotechnologist than the professor, she has to make hard choices. The show doesn't have an expansive cast and as many intense scenes as Chicago Med, but it covers lots of similar medical and family issues, including ethical medical practice.
- Biohackers is available to stream on Netflix
10 This Is Going To Hurt (2022)
Shows like Chicago Med find a way to do something new with the format, and This Is Going to Hurt often breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to viewers. The series is set in the obstetrics department of an NHS hospital and concerns several young doctors who just try to make it by. Like the junior doctors in Chicago Med, the staff breaks protocol sometimes in order to help patients. But unlike Chicago Med, This Is Going To Hurt takes a comedic approach to address the stressful conditions of a busy hospital. The show also puts more emphasis on the doctors' struggles at work rather than their personal lives.
- This Is Going To Hurt is available to stream on Prime Video, AMC Plus, and The Roku Channel
9 Transplant (2020 - Present)
In Transplant, Bashir Hamed is a qualified Syrian doctor trying to revive his career after immigrating to Canada. His journey to emergency medical practice is almost similar to that of Dr. Noah Sexton in Chicago Med but more tragic. Transplant follows the lives of doctors both inside the hospital and in their personal lives, just like Chicago Med, but from the eyes of an immigrant doctor trying to balance the cultural and procedural differences between the two countries. The emotional connection between the doctors and patients, as well as the intensity of hospital life, is similar in both of the excellent medical dramas.
- Transplant is available to stream Peacock and NBC
8 License To Kill (2019 - 2020)
Chicago Med has handled many cases of professional malpractice, and while they are always resolved, none of them can be as jaw-dropping as what License to Kill covers. The investigative reality show is hosted by renowned plastic surgeon Terry Dubrow, who also hosted Botched. The different episodes cover cases of medical practitioners who use their knowledge to cause harm rather than save lives, which offers a stark contrast to the fiction of shows like Chicago Med. While it doesn't have the drama and intensity of a scripted series, License to Kill's analysis of medical malpractice and interviews of victims is a fascinating companion to Chicago Med.
- License To Kill is available to stream on Fubo TV, Spectrum, and Oxygen
7 The Resident (2018 - 2023)
The best streaming medical dramas keep viewers on edge with cliffhangers after every episode, and The Resident is very similar to Chicago Med in that respect. The Resident follows the staff at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital with Conrad Hawkins, a senior resident doctor as the protagonist. Like Chicago Med, The Resident combines the intensity of hospital-room scenes with the fascinating romantic and family lives of the staff outside of work. The Resident, however, takes a deeper look at bureaucratic practices surrounding hospital management and shows how they affect doctors and patients. The series creates a better connection between big money and medicine than Chicago Med does.
- The Resident is available to stream on Hulu, DirecTV, Fubo TV, Fox Now, and Spectrum
6 St. Elsewhere (1982 - 1988)
Shows like Chicago Med are often praised for completely changing perceptions about medical dramas, but most modern series owe a debt of gratitude to the groundbreaking '80s series St. Elsewhere. Like Chicago Med, the show is set within an overworked hospital, and instead of focusing on medical miracles, it chronicles the day-to-day work that doctors and nurses do. Also like Chicago Med, St. Elsewhere had a massive ensemble cast of characters that each brought something unique. Even though the St. Elsewhere finale was hated by most viewers, the show checked procedural boxes while also putting an emphasis on characters, much like its modern counterpart.
- St. Elsewhere is available to stream on Hulu
5 Five Days At Memorial (2022)
The miniseries Five Days at Memorial has everything Chicago Med covers each season but compressed into eight episodes. The series is about the drastic measures the staff at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans had to take in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Full intense action, the miniseries has an intense setting that beats the humdrum environs of Chicago Med. The lead character, Dr. Anna Pou, has to balance the stress of her emergency cases with the fear of losing her family in the hurricane. Amid all the tragedy, the show keeps an optimistic spirit with its display of teamwork like that of Chicago Med.
- Five Days at Memorial is available to stream on Apple TV Plus
4 Nightwatch (2015 - Present)
As the name suggests, Nightwatch follows first responders as they experience what the night shift looks like for police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical teams. As a reality series, it doesn't have the polished drama of shows like Chicago Med, but it has similar cases that give viewers an even more realistic view of emergency medicine. The fourth and fifth seasons focus on different U.S. cities in each episode, following emergency medical cases that often mirror some of the most shocking moments in Chicago Med.
- Nightwatch is available to stream on Discovery Plus, Hulu, Pluto TV, and Freevee
3 Resident Alien (2021 - Present)
In Resident Alien, Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle is an alien who landed on Earth and took over the body of the real doctor who has to learn medicine on the job while struggling to complete his mission of saving humanity. While it doesn't have as many hospital ward scenes as Chicago Med, Resident Alien brings science fiction into the medical drama mix. From hilariously wrong diagnoses to googled instructions for surgeries, Resident Alien has all the comedy medical dramas lack. Despite the comedic approach, the cast and characters of Resident Alien form a strong bond, just like in Chicago Med, but without many dramatic twists and turns.
- Resident Alien is available to stream on Peacock and NBC
