ER, the award-winning medical drama starring George Clooney and Sherry Stringfield, is coming to Netflix. Included in the streamer’s ‘Worth the Wait’ section, the series, which originally aired from 1994 to 2009, followed staff inside the emergency room at Cook County General Hospital.
Garnering widespread critical acclaim, ER took home BAFTA, Golden Globe, SAG and Primetime Emmy Awards during its 15-year run. Created by the late novelist and screenwriter Michael Crichton, it is also the second-longest-running primetime medical drama in American television history behind Grey’s Anatomy.
After its launch in 1994, season four established its core cast, with Anthony Edwards cast as Dr Mark Greene, while George Clooney portrayed Dr Doug Ross and Sherry Stringfield inhabited the role of Dr Susan Lewis. Meanwhile, Noah Wyle appeared as medical student John Carter, and Eriq La Salle starred as Dr Peter Benton.
A series which saw endless cast additions, exits and promotions, ER featured several Hollywood stars across its 15 seasons. Among them, fans may have spotted Julianna Margulies, Gloria Reuben, Laura Innes, Maria Bello, Alex Kingston, Maura Tierney, Mekhi Phifer, Parminder Nagra, Linda Cardellini, John Stamos and Angela Bassett.
According to Crichton’s official website, the screenwriter wanted to do “something completely different” when he got the idea for ER in 1974. “I wrote a documentary-style movie about what happened during 24 hours in an emergency room. I thought the screenplay was terrific, but nobody would make the movie, finding it too technical, too chaotic and too fast-moving,” he said.
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“It sat on the shelf for the next nineteen years – brought out every five or ten years, for updating, and for the studios and networks to look at, and reject yet again. Finally, NBC made it as a TV pilot. And then it became a series.”
Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show in 2022, Clooney, who left the show after five seasons in 1999, noted that ER forever “changed” his career. Asked why the experience holds so much meaning, the actor replied: “I guess it was the friendship I have with all of them and that I continue to have.
“I had Tony Edwards [and his wife, Mare Winningham] at the house in Italy a couple, three weeks ago. I’m still really close with Julianna [Margulies] and Noah [Wyle] and Eriq [La Salle]. They’re really good friends, and so I feel that was the job of a lifetime.”
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Beloved by fans, many have also taken to IMDb to rave about ER. “This show will live long in TV history, that’s for sure and quite rightly so,” wrote one. Meanwhile, another said it was “still the best medical drama EVER!!!”
“It’s fast-paced, emotional, and suspenseful. The cast is unbeatable,” agreed a third. “Composed of some of the best actors and actresses Hollywood has ever seen, including George Clooney. The show is extremely realistic down to the smallest detail, yet easy enough to understand. There is a lot of drama, but also some comic relief.”
ER will land on Netflix.
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Megan is a freelance news reporter for Digital Spy.Â