All Saints

Set in the hectic emergency department of All Saints Hospital, the series tracks the doctors and nurses who keep the ward running as they handle a relentless mix of urgent cases and everyday medical needs. Episodes move between tense, high-stakes patient care and quieter moments in staff rooms, homes and hospital corridors, showing how long shifts, limited resources and split-second choices shape professional conduct. Relationships develop under stress, with friendships, rivalries and romances affecting how the team functions. The show keeps attention on procedure and personality, avoiding flashy twists while letting patient stories and staff conflicts drive each episode.

Created by Bevan Lee and first broadcast in 1998, All Saints arrived as an Australian medical drama that introduced several young actors who went on to steady TV careers. The series built its identity around the Emergency Department setting and steady ensemble casting.

It didn’t collect major international awards, though it did become a fixture on Australian television and earned industry recognition over time. Specific nominations and wins varied across its long run, mostly within national award circles rather than global ceremonies.

The series left a mark on Australian pop culture, partly because of its long run and memorable characters, like Judith McGrath’s authoritative Von Ryan. For many viewers the show defined a particular TV take on hospital life in Australia, and references to All Saints still surface in discussions about local drama from the late 1990s and 2000s.

Critical and audience response was mixed to positive, reflected in a modest user score of 5.7/10 from a small sample of votes. Reviewers and viewers often highlighted strong ensemble work and realistic emergency-room detail, while some pointed to formulaic plotting. Recurring themes include ethical choices in medicine, the strain of shift work on personal lives, teamwork under pressure and how personal history shapes clinical judgment.