50 Fun Facts About ER

Which best-selling author created ER, based on a script he had written in 1974?

The Harvard-trained doctor's pilot script drew on his own medical training; the networks passed on it for twenty years.

Which director's company, Amblin Television, co-produced ER after steering it toward TV?

Constant c Productions and Amblin made the show with Warner Bros. Television, with John Wells as showrunner.

ER premiered on NBC on 19 September of which year?

It ran until 2 April 2009: 15 seasons and 331 episodes.

How many episodes of ER were made across its fifteen seasons?

Most seasons had 22 episodes; season 14 was shortened to 19 by the writers' strike.

ER is set in the emergency room of which fictional Chicago hospital?

The finale's last shot pulled back to show the whole hospital exterior for the only time in the series.

Which actor played Dr. Mark Greene, the lead of ER's first eight seasons?

Greene died of a glioblastoma in Hawaii in 2002, the only original main character to die during the series.

Where does Mark Greene spend his final days in the season 8 episode 'On the Beach'?

He grew up there and takes his estranged daughter Rachel along; 28.7 million watched Anthony Edwards' last regular episode.

George Clooney's character Doug Ross was a doctor in which specialty?

His storm-drain rescue of a boy in 'Hell and High Water' drew 48 million viewers, the show's peak.

At the end of which year of the show did George Clooney depart as a regular?

He left in 'The Storm' in 1999, then secretly returned in the season 6 finale when Carol Hathaway flew to Seattle to find him.

Julianna Margulies played which nurse?

She and Clooney returned together in the 2009 episode 'Old Times' as a married couple working in Seattle.

Noah Wyle's John Carter starts the series as what?

Wyle appeared in 254 episodes, more than any other cast member, and won his first Emmy in 2025 for The Pitt.

Which patient stabbed Carter and medical student Lucy Knight on Valentine's Day in season six?

Lucy died of a massive blood clot in 'All in the Family'; Carter survived with kidney damage and later a painkiller addiction.

Which actress played the ill-fated medical student Lucy Knight?

Kerry Weaver found the two of them bleeding on the floor as the staff's Valentine's party wound down.

Which country did Carter travel to for humanitarian work, where he met Kem Likasu?

In season 15 he returned to County General needing dialysis and a kidney transplant, arranged by old colleagues.

Which two-part live broadcast opened ER's fourth season in September 1997?

It was performed twice, for the East and West coasts, and drew 42.7 million viewers, a record for a drama premiere.

The live season-four premiere was framed as what?

Thomas Schlamme directed with 11 cameras; the episode also introduced Alex Kingston as surgeon Elizabeth Corday.

Which five-Emmy season 1 episode sees Greene lose a mother during an emergency delivery?

Lance Gentile won for writing and Mimi Leder for directing; TV Guide ranked it third-best episode of all time in 1997.

What condition did Greene miss in the pregnant patient in the Emmy-winning season 1 delivery episode?

She was first thought to have a urinary tract infection; the episode is still shown to medical students.

How did surgeon Robert Romano lose his arm in the season 9 premiere?

A season later, in 'Freefall', a helicopter fell off the hospital roof and killed him outright.

Which actor played the abrasive Dr. Robert Romano?

One critic called his death by falling helicopter one of the silliest moments in ER history.

Eriq La Salle played which ambitious surgeon who left the show in season 8?

Benton left to spend more time with his son Reese and returned for the finale.

Which Croatian actor played Dr. Luka Kovac, whose family was killed in the Balkan war?

Kovac eventually married Abby Lockhart, who had risen from nurse to doctor.

How does Mekhi Phifer's Dr. Greg Pratt die in the season 15 premiere?

Angela Bassett joined the same season as new ER chief Cate Banfield.

Laura Innes played which crutch-using ER chief who appeared from season 2 to season 13?

Innes also directed several episodes and returned for the finale.

Gloria Reuben's physician assistant Jeanie Boulet dealt with which storyline before leaving in season 6?

The show was praised for its handling of HIV at a time when few dramas touched it.

Which Full House star joined ER in its later seasons as paramedic-turned-doctor Tony Gates?

Two other later additions played nurse Sam Taggart and Neela Rasgotra in the same era.

How many Primetime Emmy nominations did ER receive, a record for a drama?

It won 23 of them plus a Peabody Award.

Which 1995 ER episode, with Doug Ross rescuing a boy from a storm drain, drew a record 48 million viewers?

The media coverage within the story helped Ross keep his job at County.

In which of its years was ER television's number one programme, averaging over 35 million viewers?

Ratings slid gradually after that, but the finale still pulled over 16 million.

What was the title of ER's two-hour series finale on 2 April 2009?

Rod Holcomb directed and John Wells wrote it; Mark Greene's daughter Rachel appears as a prospective medical student.

Which Hollywood veteran earned an Emmy nomination for playing a dying woman's husband in the ER finale?

Benton, Corday, Weaver and Susan Lewis all returned for the send-off.

Which fellow John Wells series crossed over with ER in a 2002 storyline about Susan Lewis's missing niece?

The story began in ER's 'Brothers & Sisters' and finished in Third Watch's 'Unleashed'.

What was the title of ER's two-hour pilot episode?

It shares its name with Crichton's original 1974 script and drew 23.8 million viewers.

The show's creator based his original 1974 pilot script on which of his non-fiction books?

The networks were unenthusiastic in 1974; two decades later the show won the 1996 Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.

Which sitcom actress played nurse Sam Taggart in ER's later seasons?

The Freaks and Geeks star joined in season 10 and stayed to the end.

Which Bend It Like Beckham actress played Dr. Neela Rasgotra?

She joined as a medical student in season 10 and became a surgical resident.

Which Oscar-nominated actress joined the final season as new ER chief Dr. Cate Banfield?

Her backstory included losing her son to a rare illness at County years earlier.

Which British actress played surgeon Elizabeth Corday, who married Mark Greene?

Kingston later became River Song in Doctor Who; Corday left in season 11 and returned for the finale.

Roughly how many viewers watched ER's series finale in April 2009?

A one-hour retrospective aired first, and ratings climbed as the two hours went on.

Which 2025 medical drama brought Noah Wyle his first Emmy win, more than 15 years after ER ended?

He plays Dr. Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch, having earned five straight Emmy nominations for Carter without a win.

Which actress played nurse-turned-doctor Abby Lockhart from season 6 to season 15?

Abby began as a guest character in the first half of season six. Her exit episode, 'The Book of Abby', sent her off to a new job with Luka and their son Joe.

Which streaming service struck a 2018 deal to carry all 15 seasons of ER?

The show landed on HBO Max in January 2022. Its DVD box sets are all widescreen, even though the first six seasons aired in 4:3.

Which CBS medical drama launched the same season as ER and was constantly compared to it?

One Daily News critic conceded ER would win the Nielsens but argued the rival told better stories. Both were set in the same city.

Which actor played the slacker-turned-attending Dr. Archie Morris in ER's later seasons?

Morris arrived in the same era as Neela Rasgotra, Sam Taggart and Ray Barnett, part of the near-total cast turnover after the originals left.

ER's two-hour pilot aired opposite which ABC programme before the show moved to Thursdays?

NBC had ordered only six episodes and was nervous about medical drama after St. Elsewhere. It then sat at 10pm Thursday for its entire run.

Which original cast member was first to quit, reportedly because she disliked the fame?

Producers assumed she was angling for more money. She came back as Susan Lewis from 2001 to 2005.

What happened to Dr. Ray Barnett in the season 13 finale, 'The Honeymoon Is Over'?

Shane West's character went home to Baton Rouge to recover, and returned for three season 15 episodes to reunite with Neela.

Michael Crichton's 1974 screenplay was titled 'EW'. What did the initials stand for?

The script shot in 1994 was nearly unchanged; the big edits were making one doctor a woman and making Peter Benton African-American.

When Abby and Luka left County General in season 15, which city were they headed to?

She tried to slip out quietly, but the staff made sure she knew she would be missed. Luka had earlier gone home to Croatia to nurse his father.

'Urgentni centar', a 246-episode licensed remake of ER, was made in which country?

Warner Bros. began selling the format abroad in 2012; Colombian, Ukrainian and Turkish versions were also announced.