
The show’s emphasis on connection and family is what makes the series so special. The show has friendships going through ups and downs, relationships struggling to stay together during trauma, and, at the center of it all, is the understanding that empathy and humanity are the most important things to bring through life. The show also has a lot of romance and a lot of laughs. Grey’s Anatomy spin-offs captured the essence of this show, and others have done the same.
10The Night Shift (2014-2017)
4 Seasons, 45 Episodes
Cast
- Eoin MackenUncredited
- Jill FlintJessica Sanders
- Ken LeungTC Callahan
- Brendan FehrJordan Alexander
The Night Shift was a medical drama on NBC that followed the night shift of a Texas military hospital through tumultuous, sometimes unbelievable, events. Not only is this series a medical drama, but it has the same found family trope that Grey’s Anatomy does. The main protagonist was in the Army and worked directly with many other hospital doctors. His girlfriend also works in the hospital, which leaves plenty of room for longing across hospital corridors.
Grey’s Anatomy has produced some of the best relationships of all time over the last two decades, and these are the best couples in the series.
9Younger (2015-2021)
7 Seasons, 84 Episodes
Cast
- Sutton FosterLiza Miller
- Hilary DuffKelsey Peters
Sometimes, it can be hard to watch two shows of the same genre directly following each other. Younger is the perfect follow-up to Grey’s Anatomy because they have the same bones but have plenty of differences. Younger follows Liza Miller, a 40-year-old woman pretending to be 26 to bypass ageism in the publishing industry. It uses comedy and romance to navigate the complicated and messy world that Liza creates.
While Younger is far removed from a hospital setting, the main focus is the friendships and romances surrounding people working together.
8New Amsterdam (2018-2023)
5 Seasons, 89 Episodes
Cast
- Ryan Eggold
- Jocko Sims
New Amsterdam has much in common with Grey’s Anatomy, but it specifically shares interdepartmental relationships within their respective hospitals. In New Amsterdam, the show focuses on not just the ER or surgery departments but also the psychological and neurological services. These are two departments that don’t always get a lot of screen time but are extremely important to how real-life hospitals are run.
Both shows make an effort to have cases that bring together staff from all departments to make the shows more dramatic, but also to be more representative of what hospital cases look like. The series ran for five seasons on NBC. While Grey’s focused on an intern in Meredith to bring fans onto the show, New Amsterdam instead chose to focus on the hospital’s medical director (Ryan Eggold), which gave a very different look at how things were run.
79-1-1 (2018-)
The First Responders Of Los Angeles Working Together
Cast
- Angela BassettAthena Grant
- Peter KrauseRobert ‘Bobby’ Nash
9-1-1 is full of high-stakes emergencies and rescues, but the ABC first responder procedural has just as many wholesome moments to look back on.
9-1-1 utilizes mass emergencies like Grey’s Anatomy does, as the showrunners want to start and finish each season with a bang. Cases get wilder and wilder as the seasons go on for both of these shows, but the plot still manages to feel grounded in family and love. 9-1-1 also had a sister series called 9-1-1: Lone Star that was just as good, if not better at times, but it remained on Fox, which meant it ended up canceled after just five seasons, ending in 2025.
6The Resident (2018-2023)
6 Seasons, 107 Episodes
Cast
- Matt Czuchry
- Emily VanCamp
Led by stars Matt Czuchry and Emily VanCamp, Fox’s The Resident had a slightly different take on a hospital drama because, while it does focus on patient cases, there’s also a large emphasis on the politics that surround hospitals and the money that goes into them. Grey’s Anatomy is not afraid of plots like this, covering things like hospital ownership, shifting of power dynamics, and the government interfering with caring for patients.
5How To Get Away With Murder (2014-2020)
6 Seasons, 90 Episodes
Cast
- Viola Davis
- Aja Naomi King
Shondaland is a production company responsible for a vast network of series. Shondaland shows are filled with strong female leads and complex stories. Its creator, Shonda Rhimes, was not only responsible for Grey’s Anatomy but had several other hit shows, including one called How To Get Away With Murder. The show is led by Viola Davis, who plays Annalise Keating—a law professor who invites a group of students to work with her in her law practice—and never chooses the expected path.
How To Get Away With Murder has an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
4Private Practice (2007-2013)
6 Seasons, 111 Episodes
Cast
- Kate WalshKadee Strickland
Mentioning Grey’s Anatomy spin-offs without talking about Private Practice would overlook one of Shondaland’s most underrated shows. It ran for 6 seasons before it was canceled. It followed Dr. Addison Montgomery, an OB/GYN who specializes in fetal surgery and medicine. She was on three seasons of Grey’s Anatomy and was a hugely popular character before producers gave her a spin-off show.
She ran her own practice, and like in the parent series, she was a powerful leader and an empathetic doctor. This series adopted the same heart and the same bones as Grey’s Anatomy, and it was successful because of it. Fans of Addison also got more from her when Private Practice was canceled, and the character returned to Grey’s in seasons 18 and 19.
3The Rookie (2018-)
The LAPD’s Oldest Rookie
Cast
- Nathan FillionJohn Nola
Nathan Fillion is known for playing charming but self-centered characters, and most of his best movies and TV shows stick to that character type.
It’s easy to fall in love with these characters, just like in Grey’s Anatomy. The two shows are also similar in that Grey’s Anatomy started with Meredith Grey as an intern, learning the steps in the hospital before eventually moving up the ladder into more prominent roles within the hospital. Nolan did the same, starting as a rookie and now serving as a veteran officer who helps train rookies on the force himself.
2All Rise (2019-2023)
3 Seasons, 58 Episodes
Cast
- Simone MissickLola Carmichael
- Wilson BethelMark Callan
-
Jessica CamachoEmily Lopez
-
J. Alex BrinsonLuke Watkins
All Rise is a courtroom drama with several homes, including CBS and OWN. It follows a judge as she learns about the pressures and politics surrounding her job. This show, like Grey’s Anatomy, celebrates diversity and differences in the workplace. The cast has great chemistry and very interesting cases to follow. While it takes place in a courtroom and not a hospital, the drama is on par, and the relationships are just as indulgent as in ABC’s hospital drama.
1ER (1994-2009)
15 Seasons, 331 Episodes
Cast
- Anthony Edwards
- George Clooney
ER is the closest show to Grey’s Anatomy in terms of story focus and longevity. Both follow a core group of doctors in a hospital that experiences mass catastrophes and the deaths of main characters. ER also has an extremely star-studded cast. Actors like George Clooney, John Stamos, and Linda Cardellini all played a huge role in the show, and there were countless guest stars over the years.
Grey’s Anatomy and ER alike spend seasons creating characters to connect with, and both are not afraid to kill characters to further the heart of the show.