General Hospital is the longest-running American soap opera and has set the Guinness World record for that. This American daytime television soap opera currently is the world’s third longest-running scripted drama series in production, followed by the British serials The Archers and Coronation Stree. If you are a fan of General Hospital and are looking for tv series similar to the general hospital, then you are in the right place as we will be looking at our list of tv series similar to the general hospital.
Along with winning the Guinness World Record, this show has also won many awards over the past couple of years, including 14 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. The show was created by the husband-and-wife soap writers Frank and Doris Hursley, where the story was set in a hospital in an unnamed fictional city back in 1963. Later, In the 1970s, the city got named Port Charles, New York. General Hospital began with starring John Beradino and Emily McLaughlin, and they both continued with the show until their death. Currently, the longest cast member of the show is Rachel Ames, who has been with the series since 1964.
While there were many spinoff shows created around the show, many of them didn’t get to last longer, but General Hospital still continued its successful journey over the past decades. Since the late 1970s, the storylines revolved around the Quartermaine family and the Spencer family. From 1979 to 1988, General Hospital saw the highest viewers and then rose to the top of the ratings by the early 1980s. Many high-profile celebrity guest stars appeared in the show. In 2007, the series was picked up by Time magazine’s “100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME“. The show celebrated its 50 year anniversary on April 1, 2013.
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The Young And The Restless
The Young and the Restless is another American television soap opera on our list. Created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell. This CBS show runs on a fictionalized version of Genoa City, Wisconsin. The show began back in 1973 as a half an hour broadcast as half-hour episodes, five times a week. And later in the 80s, it was extended to one-hour-long episodes.
Just like General Hospital, this series is also currently running. The show was originally focused on the story of two core families: the wealthy Brooks family and the working class Foster family. After a series of recasts and departures throughout the 80s, show creator Bell replaced them with new core families, the Abbotts and the Williamses.
As time passed, new families such as the Newman family, the Barber/Winters family, and the Baldwin-Fishers were introduced. Since its premiere, the series has gained a total of 11 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series awards. Despite its long-running, the series still ranks top in the rating charts. The Young and the restless is related to the series The Bold and the Beautiful, and the cast has been appearing at one other show once in a while. In 2020, the series aired its 12,000th episode and had been renewed by CBS for the 2023–24 television season.
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Dallas
Dallas is another TV shot that aired on CBS from April 2, 1978, to May 3, 1991. In this series, we see the story around an affluent and feuding Texas family, the Ewings, who owns an oil company Ewing Oil and the cattle-ranching land of Southfork. We see the series focusing on the marriage of Bobby Ewing and Pamela Barnes, whose families were enemies.
As the series progressed, Bobby’s elder brother, J.R. Ewing, became the show’s breakout character, as his schemes and dirty business as an oil tycoon became the show’s trademark. The 1980 episode “Who Done It” stays was one of the second-highest-rated primetime telecasts even after many decades. After 14 seasons, the series finally concluded in 1991.
There is also a spinoff series called Knots Landing that aired back in 1979 and has lasted a total of 14 seasons with a total of 344 episodes. In 2008, the show ranked in Time magazine’s list of “100 Best TV Shows of All-Time.” In 2010, the show was renewed as a continuation of Dallas, where we see the continuation of the Ewing family and begin premiering in 2012, and ran for three seasons until ending its run on September 22, 2014.
Passions
Passions is an American television soap opera that has been premiering on NBC since 1999. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly, Passions follows the lives, loves, and various romantic and paranormal adventures of the residents of Harmony and tells us the interactions among multi-racial core families, such as the African American Russells, the white Cranes, and Bennetts, as well as the half-Mexican half-Irish Lopez-Fitzgeralds.
The series also features supernatural elements from the town witch Tabitha Lenox and her doll-come-to-life, Timmy. In 2007, the series was canceled but was picked up by DirecTV, but was soon canceled. Left with no one showing interest to continue the show, Passions aired its final episode in August 2008. When the series began its premiering, it was well-received.
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Nurse Jackie
If you are fond of Medical drama but want a touch of comedy in it, Nurse Jackie is a show to consider. The American medical comedy-drama television series. Begin it is premiering on Showtime on June 8, 2009, until June 28, 2015. The show was well-received by critics. Its five Primetime Emmy Awards and 24 nominations prove the same.
Nurse Jackie was created by Liz Brixius, Linda Wallem, and Evan Dunsky. When it was priming, it was widely appreciated and had a whopping 1 million viewers for the premiere and over 350,000 for the repeat broadcast. The show lasted until Season seven, which Showtime announced as its final season, and premiered its final episode on April 12, 2015.
House
House ran on the Fox network for eight seasons and told us the story of Dr. Gregory House, an unconventional, misanthropic medical genius. Throughout the series, House often clashed with his fellow physicians based on their difference in hypotheses about patients’ illnesses and routinely disregards hospital rules and procedures. This character was inspired by Sherlock Holmes.
House became so popular that it was in the top ten watched shows in the United States throughout its first several seasons and also became the most-watched show in the world in 2008. The medical drama began premiering from November 16, 2004, to May 21, 2012. The show was also critically acclaimed. As we have mentioned before, the series had a lot of references to Sherlock Holmes.
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The Resident
The Resident is another American medical drama in our list of tv series similar to the general hospital. This show began its premiering in 2018 on the Fox Broadcasting Company and is based on the book Unaccountable by Marty Makary. The series tells us the story of the lives and duties of staff members at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital, as well as fighting against the bureaucratic practices of the hospital industry.
Scrubs
Scrubs is another medical drama in our list of tv series similar to General hospital. In Scrubs, we go through more serious or dramatic storylines. It has earned praise for accuracy in the depiction of medicine and the early-career experience. While it has serious events, it still has many comedy events to make you laugh out. Created by Bill Lawrence, the show began it’s premiering from October 2, 2001, to March 17, 2010, on NBC and later changed to ABC.
The series tells us the story of the lives of employees at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital, a teaching hospital. For those who don’t know what does the title means, it terms used among medicos is “surgical scrubs”, it means a low-ranking person as the show tells us the story of medical interns. The series was widely appreciated for its fast-paced slapstick and surreal vignettes.
While season 8 was initially decided as the series finale, it was renewed for another season subtitled Med School, where we see the story of the characters taking place as well as the inclusion of new characters. Along with appreciation from the critiques, the series also received Peabody Award in 2006 and many others. The series finally concluded in season 9 when ABC decided to cancel it.
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