ER

NBC has just decided to pick up the Emmy Award-winning medical drama ER for a 15th and final season.  This news comes as a pleasant surprise to fans considering that that many were led to believe that the current season, which is the 14th for the show, would be its last.

"ER is one of the greatest shows of all time and we can't wait to deliver to the audience the fantastic stories the series is known for," NBC co-chairman Ben Silverman said in a statement.  "We will introduce new characters to the great ensemble."

Of course, most of the show's cast members, including hopeful fans, have always believed that the series will end with a proper conclusion.

"I don't think you can have a series that's been on for 14 years and have it end like that," Parminder Nagra, who plays Neela Rasgotra on ER, said in an interview earlier this year.

Created by novelist Michael Crichton, ER centers on the inner workings of an urban teaching hospital and the critical issues faced by the dedicated physicians and staff in the emergency room of Chicago's fictional County General Hospital.  The program premiered on September 19, 1994, becoming NBC's second longest-running drama series after Law & Order.  And with its current 14th season, it is now considered as the longest-running American primetime medical drama of all time.  It also holds the distinction of being recognized as the most Emmy-nominated series in the history of television with 120 nominations.

ER has been aired on Thursday nights at 10pm for its entire run, averaging a 3.8 rating, 10 percent share in adults 18-49 and 9.5 million viewers.

Meanwhile, fans can catch remainder of season 14 as ER returns with new installments beginning April 10, kicking off with the episode “Owner of a Broken Heart.”


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: NBC
(Image courtesy of NBC)