Casualty (TV series)

Casualty (stylised as CASUAL+Y since 1997) is a British medical drama series broadcast on BBC One. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin and initially produced by Geraint Morris, it first aired in the United Kingdom on 6 September 1986. Casualty is recognised as the longest-running primetime medical drama series in the world. The show has since become a significant part of British culture synonymous with its accurate depiction of the NHS.

Initially, Casualty aired during the autumn for its first six series, before increasing to 24 episodes annually by 1992. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the episode count expanded further, and by 2004, the series was running 48 episodes a year, with breaks around Christmas and major televised events. From 2023, Casualty introduced a regular autumn break due to rising production costs, settling on an average of 36 episodes per year.

The show is set in the fictional Holby City Hospital, focusing on the staff and patients in the Emergency department. It shared a close connection with its former sister programme, Holby City, a spin-off that aired from 1999 until its cancellation in 2022. HolbyBlue, a police drama set in the same universe, also spun off from Casualty and aired between 2007 and 2008. In 2027, the show is expected to move to a new fictional hospital based in Wales to reflect the Welsh NHS, with various Welsh characters set to be introduced. It will also align with where Casualty has been filmed in Roath Lock, Cardiff, since 2011.