'ER' Turns 30 This Year — And It Is Still As Riveting As It Was When It Premiered

We’re in the middle of another dark pandemic winter, the U.S. is facing a massive COVID surge, and, impossibly, we’re at the start of a presidential election year. The time has never been better to make the beloved medical-drama “ER” your next comfort binge show.

“ER,” which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, is exactly the kind of show that seems to have gone extinct in the streaming era: a long-running network drama complete with special guest stars, holiday episodes, and dramatic, cliffhanger season finales throughout all 15 seasons of20-plus episodes each.

I started an “ER” rewatch just before the pandemic hit and completed it this past fall (I took a little time off in the middle, OK?). Having now watched all 331 episodes plus the pre-series finale lookback special, I can confidently say that “ER” was a much-needed escape during some dark periods.

In an era when prestige shows take years off between seasons and fan-favorite shows are abruptly canceled by streaming services without resolution, there was something infinitely comforting about settling in every day to watch a show that really takes its time building a complete world and developing characters whose growth spans, in some cases, through hundreds of episodes. And I’m not alone in craving the cozy consistency of a long-running show; the legal drama “Suits,” which aired on USA from 2011-2019, was one of Netflix’s most-watched shows this past summer.

The series premiere of “ER,” (often heralded as one of the best TV pilots of all time ), was originally written by show-creator Michael Crichton in 1974. But the script went ignored for years until Warner Bros. acquired the rights and began pitching it out again, buoyed by Chrichton and his collaborator