The success ofThe Pitthas sparked a renewed interest in underrated medical dramas, especially those that don’t play by the genre’s usual rules. With its tense hour-by-hour format,The Pittfeels more like24in a trauma bay than a typical hospital series - and fans can’t get enough. Its adrenaline-pumping structure, relentless pace, and bold character choices have proven that there’s still room for reinvention in a TV space that often leans on well-worn formulas. What’s more, as fans ofThe Pittwait for season 2, they’re finding themselves hungry for medical shows that bring the same level of urgency and edge.
That’s why there’s never been a better time to discover another medical drama that rewrites the genre’s rulebook (but in a completely different way). WhileThe Pittmodernized the genrewith its real-time narrative style and gritty realism, there’s a 2014 medical show that dials things back more than a century to paint a radically different portrait of medicine under pressure. With only two seasons and a highly stylized, uncompromising vision, it’s an experience that’s as unique as it is unforgettable. For fans ofThe Pittlooking for their next obsession,The Knickmight just be it.
The Knick Is A Period Medical Drama Set In 1900
This Gritty, Stylish Series Plunges Viewers Into The Brutal World Of Early 20th-Century Surgery
One of the most underratedand best medical dramasof the 2010s,The Knickpremiered on Cinemax in 2014 and quickly became a critical darling. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Clive Owen as Dr. John Thackery, the show delivered a visceral look at medicine in the year 1900, long before antiseptic techniques and antibiotics became standard. Owen’s Thackery is a brilliant but deeply flawed surgeon (grappling with an addiction to both cocaine and adrenaline), whose obsession with pushing surgical boundaries comes at a heavy cost.
InThe Knick, the operating room is more bloodbath than miracle chamber
Set at the fictional Knickerbocker Hospital in New York City,The Knickoffers a fascinating snapshot of a rapidly changing world.While other shows glorify the advances of modern medicine, this series pulls no punches in showing just how dangerous and experimental healthcare used to be. InThe Knick, the operating room is more bloodbath than miracle chamber, and even the most routine procedure can turn deadly in seconds. Every episode is steeped in the tension of uncertainty, and the stakes always feel crushingly real.
Across its two-season run,The Knickbuilt a small but loyal fanbase and earned praise for its striking visual style, layered performances, and rich period detail. Yet despite acclaim, the show never became a mainstream hit, which cemented its status as an underrated medical drama that still hasn’t received the attention it deserves.Clive Owen’s performance is a career best, and the supporting cast - including André Holland as pioneering Black surgeon Dr. Algernon Edwards and Jeremy Bobb as hospital administrator Herman Barrow - adds depth and nuance to a story steeped in pain, power, and progress.
The Knick’s Unique Setting Makes It Different From All Medical Dramas
Early 1900s New York Turns Every Medical Breakthrough Into A Fight For Survival
WhereThe Pittweaponizes time to keep viewers on edge,The Knickuses its settingto create a different kind of pressure, one rooted in the unknown and the unspeakable. At the turn of the 20th century, hospitals were caught in the growing pains of modern science. Germ theory was still controversial, anesthesia was primitive, and many surgical procedures were essentially guesswork. That makesThe Knicknot just an underrated medical drama, but a terrifying history lesson.
The show’s atmosphere is drenched in the grime of old New York - horse-drawn carriages clatter down filthy streets, and electricity is unreliable at best. The Knickerbocker Hospital itself is caught between the cutting edge and chaos, with surgeons like Thackery forced to improvise with crude tools and limited knowledge. Patients routinely die on the table, and it’s not due to doctor incompetence. It’s because no one, not even the experts, fully understands how the human body works yet.
This sense of uncertainty and danger permeates every storyline.Even moments of triumph are tinged with horror, like when Thackery performs a ground-breaking cesarean section in season 1’s “Get the Rope” under near-impossible conditions. Every success comes at a cost, both personal and societal. From the racial tensions facing Dr. Edwards, to the systemic corruption plaguing public health,The Knickdives deep into the social contextof medicine, showing how science and ethics are rarely in sync.
Ultimately,The Knickisn’t about how far medicine has come, but how much was risked to get there. It’s a haunting, unflinching depiction of the people who laid the foundation for modern medicine, told with the kind of stylistic flair and historical insight that few other series can match. That’s what makesThe Knicksuch a uniquely powerful - and still massively underrated - medical drama.
The Knick Is Nothing Like The Pitt, But It Is Just As Intense
What These Two Shows Share Is A Raw, Relentless Energy That Refuses To Let Up
On the surface,The KnickandThe Pittcouldn’t be more different. One is a stylized period piece steeped in turn-of-the-century squalor; the other is a real-time thriller set in a hypermodern trauma center. However, despite their opposing aesthetics and pacing, both shows share one crucial trait: intensity. It’s this spiritual kinship in tone that’s exactly what makesThe Knickessential viewingfor fans ofThe Pitt.
IfThe Pittthrives on time pressure and moral dilemmas in the heat of the moment,The Knickbuilds its tension through desperation, ego, and ambition.
IfThe Pittthrives on time pressure and moral dilemmas in the heat of the moment,The Knickbuilds its tension through desperation, ego, and ambition. Every operation is a high-wire act, not because of strict time limits, but because of the sheer impossibility of success. Watching Dr. Thackery attempt to solve 20th-century medical mysteries with 19th-century tools is just as nerve-shredding as the countdowns inThe Pitt.
Both shows also excel at pushing their characters to the edge. LikeThe Pitt’s Dr. Robinavich (Noah Whyle),The Knick’s Thackery is a man who sacrifices everything for his work, even his sanity. The emotional toll, the ethical compromises, and the constant friction between personal beliefs and professional duty are just as prominent inThe Knick, they just play out in candlelit halls instead of fluorescent trauma bays.
So whileThe Knickmight not follow a ticking-clock format, it more than matchesThe Pittin sheer emotional and psychological stakes. It’s a reminder that great medical dramas aren’t just about what happens in the operating room - they’re about the humans who dare to change the world with each incision. In that regard,The Knickremains one of the most intense and underrated medical dramas ever made.
The Pitt
Cast
The Pitt is a gripping drama set in Pittsburgh’s Trauma Medical Center, where dedicated staff tirelessly work to save lives in a busy and underfunded emergency department. Released in 2025, the series highlights the challenges and relentless efforts of medical professionals in a high-pressure environment.
The Knick
Set in New York City in 1900, The Knick is a medical drama series that follows the staff of the Knickerbocker Hospital at the beginning of the century as they navigate the medical field during a time of limited advancements in technology. The show mostly centers on Dr. John W. Thackery who strives for greatness and inspires others to reach it with him, but struggles with addiction and a self-destructive personality.
