4 Reasons Everyone Is Rewatching ‘ER’ Right Now

Over 30 years since its premiere, fans are still tuning in to the doctors and nurses at Cook County General.

June 3, 2025, 3:28pm

Pictured: (l-r) Julianna Margulies as Nurse Carol Hathaway; Eriq La Salle as Doctor Peter Benton; George Clooney as Doctor Doug Ross; Anthony Edwards as Doctor Mark Greene; Sherry Stringfield as Doctor Susan Lewis; Noah Wyle as Doctor John Carter — Photo by: NBCU Photo Bank

ER came out 31 years ago, but more people are starting to tune in to the NBC medical drama.

The series ran for 15 seasons from 1994 to 2009 and was, at one point, the longest-running primetime medical drama.

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Currently streaming on Hulu and Max, ER has seen a pretty big uptick in people binge-watching it, and there are a number of reasons why. Even though 15 seasons may seem like a lot, it’s really not that bad, especially since it’s never boring. But these are just a few reasons why everyone’s watching a 30-year-old show right now and why you might want to jump on the train, too.

The Pitt

Perhaps the biggest reason that people have started watching ER for the first time or rewatching it is because star Noah Wyle and producers R. Scott Gemmill and John Wells have teamed up again for a new emergency room-set medical drama, The Pitt. Both shows have some similarities with certain characteristics and storylines. Plus, since The Pitt has only 15 episodes so far, and ER has 15 seasons, it gives fans something to watch while waiting for Season 2.

Noah Wyle in Scrubs

Pictured: Noah Wyle as Doctor John Carter — Photo by: Scott Garfield/NBCU Photo Bank

As previously mentioned, Wyle, who starred on ER as Dr. John Carter in the first 11 seasons and also appeared in Seasons 12 and 15, currently stars on Max’s hit series The Pitt. Although his character Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch and Carter are not very similar, fans just can’t help themselves but to go back and see a baby-faced Wyle in scrubs.

Other Big Stars

Pictured: George Clooney as Dr. Doug Ross (Photo by Sven Arnstein/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

As more people start to watch or rewatch ER, many people are realizing that the show actually had an impressive cast and guest cast. The most impressive is probably George Clooney, who left the show as Dr. Doug Ross in Season 5 to focus on his film career, but he returned in Season 6 and Season 15 for brief appearances. Other notable faces include Angela Bassett, Linda Cardellini, Parminder Nagra, Maura Tierney, Ming-Na Wen, Alex Kingston, Julianna Margulies, Mariska Hargitay, Kyle Richards, Morris Chestnut, Jorja Fox, Chad Lowe, Elizabeth Mitchell, Don Cheadle, Sara Gilbert, and that’s not even close to all of them. Not even including guest stars, as those are just some part of the main and supporting cast.

Medical Drama Blueprint

Pictured: (l-r) Scott Grimes as Doctor Archie Morris, Yvette Freeman as Nurse Haleh Adams, John Stamos as Doctor Tony Gates, Busy Philipps as Hope Bobeck, Shane West as Doctor Ray Barnett, Mekhi Phifer as Gregory Pratt, Maura Tierney as Doctor Abby Lockhart — (Photo by: Greg Gayne/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank)

There are countless medical dramas these days, with Grey’s Anatomy reigning as the longest-running primetime medical drama. But before there was Grey’s, there was ER. The series, more or less, is the blueprint for medical dramas, running for 15 seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2009. It showed audiences that something like that can be done, and for a while, as well as people would definitely be interested in it. The series broke barriers, launched careers, and included some pretty intense twists that still keep you on the edge of your seat no matter how many times you watch it.