Network Television is no stranger to medical dramas, from the cynical genius offered by Fox's House to the more humorous approach of NBC's Scrubs and everything in between. As much as the police procedural has been a staple of television, viewers have long since proven themselves to be engaged in the happenings of hospital life too. Perhaps the most successful instances of audience captivation are seen in ER and Grey's Anatomy, which boast high ratings of over 38 million viewers for their top episodes. However, despite their similarities in the rankings department, ER takes the crown for the best rendition of a medical show.

Currently sitting at 416 episodes, Grey's Anatomy officially surpassed ER as the longest-running medical drama on television in 2019 with its 332nd episode. Although both shows are their own entities and have carved out distinctive spaces within the evolution of network television over the last twenty years, ER remains the superior medical drama to this day.

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While Grey's Anatomy offers a wide scope in the halls of the hospital, often providing viewers with moments for an intersection between different departments, ER widened the net to provide a larger worldview on medicine. From the backstory painted by Dr. Luka Kovac of life in Croatia to John Carter's trips to Africa, ER allowed viewers to see the struggles of medicine in other parts of the world. On the other hand, Grey's Anatomy remains insular in this field by rarely leaving Seattle, let alone America. Even when Meredith and Amelia spent time in Minnesota for a small stint of research work, the set is not wildly different from Seattle Grace's white walls and state-of-the-art technology.

Additionally, the medical jargon spewed out by characters in ER left little room for doubt that the characters knew exactly what they were talking about and subsequently doing in moments of trauma. Faith was bestowed upon the actors in ER that they could handle themselves in a real emergency. This faith was furthered by the broader perspective shifts when the episodes showcased traumas and medical emergencies outside Chicago.

Furthering the parochialism, Grey's Anatomy heightens the drama by utilizing major disasters. Viewers are encouraged to become entangled in plane crashes, hospital explosions, ferry crashes, shootings, and natural disasters regularly, often overriding the stories of the patients and the doctors. Conversely, ER took a more localized approach and highlighted the chaos of every day in an emergency room setting; the world around County General did not need to be on fire for the episodes to feel high-stakes. The personable storylines allowed viewers to entrust their attention to the show while remaining enveloped in reality. Every patient brought their own catastrophe, which grounded ER in this respect as it mirrored the conflict and emotionally fraught moments of humanity.

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Romance is another element that remained parallel with reality in ER as they adhered to the notion of not letting relationships get in the way of the medicine, which juxtaposes with Grey's Anatomy, where they try not to let the medicine get in the way of romance. In the show's fifteen-season run, ER had little more than a handful of relationships between co-workers within the halls of County General -- with Dr. Doug Ross and Nurse Carol Hathaway quickly setting the tone for a slow-burn progression. However, Grey's Anatomy has submitted to the idea that medical professionals spend more time hooking up in on-call rooms than they do treating patients. It's hard to keep track of who is with whom from one week to the next at Grey Sloane Memorial, with the romance on the show losing its appeal due to its frequency.

This is not to say that Grey's Anatomy has not blazed several trails in its own right -- the show is popular and long-standing for a reason -- but it progresses on a path forged by ER. Ultimately, for viewers, ER offered a glimpse into the life of an emergency room, striking an enjoyable balance between the severity of medical emergencies and the more light-hearted elements. Grey's Anatomy relies on its soap operatic tendencies and romantic entanglements too much, whereas ER favored the complexities that impair the fabric of life.

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