For decades, television treated mental illness like a twist, a joke, or a temporary crisis conveniently resolved before the credits rolled. Then something shifted. Writers stopped glossing over the mess and started showing the parts of mental health that are slow, uncomfortable, and often painfully human.

For decades, hospital corridors have been the backdrop for some of television’s most gripping storytelling. Medical dramas have always thrived on tension: the ticking clock of a trauma bay, the moral tightrope between saving lives and losing one’s own sanity. From prestige network staples to streaming sensations, these are the shows that dissected more than anatomy and examined what it means to care, to fail, and to heal in the spotlight of primetime.

These sitcoms from the 1980s and 1990s taught questionable lessons, broke plenty of rules, and still managed to define a generation—earning an unforgettable place in our collective memories.

Ask around comedy clubs and you’ll hear stories about Shandling’s gentle nudges and big ideas. His approach helped performers rethink their voice, leaving a blueprint for how modern comedy grows.

Legal dramas have always had a special place on television. They merge moral conflict with human vulnerability, high-stakes strategy with personal crisis. Whether set in a sleek corporate firm, a gritty public defender’s office, or a courtroom filled with tension, the best legal shows don’t just argue cases—they dive into ambition, ethics, corruption, redemption, and the razor-thin line between right and wrong, all while delivering some of TV’s most unforgettable characters and stories.

There’s no passport required to travel the globe these days—just a comfy couch and a Netflix account. From Spanish thrillers that’ll make your heart race to Korean dramas that’ll make you cry, the streaming giant has become a world tour of storytelling genius. Let’s take a spin through the best international shows that have taken Netflix by storm.