Casualty (TV series)

For the forthcoming season, see Casualty series 40.

Casualty
Black text that reads: "Casualty", with the T stylised as an addition sign
GenreMedical drama
Created byJeremy Brock
Paul Unwin
StarringCurrent and former cast
Theme music composerKen Freeman
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series39
No. of episodes1,341 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Running time40–50 minutes
60–90 minutes (special episodes)
Production companiesBBC Bristol (1986–2011)
BBC Cymru Wales (2012–present)
BBC Studios Continuing Drama Productions
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release6 September 1986 (1986-09-06) –
present
Related
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Casualty (stylised as CASUAL+Y since 1997) is a British medical drama series broadcast on BBC One.[3] Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it first aired in the United Kingdom on 6 September 1986. The show was originally produced by Geraint Morris and has been a staple of British television ever since. Casualty is recognized as the longest-running primetime medical drama series in the world, having aired weekly since its inception.[4][5]

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 events like sporting competitions and the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2020, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television led to a temporary autumn break, but the series resumed its year-round schedule in the following two years. From 2023, Casualty introduced a regular autumn break due to rising production costs, settling on a schedule of 36 episodes per year.[6]

The show is set in the fictional Holby City Hospital, focusing on the staff and patients in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) 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.[7] HolbyBlue, a police drama set in the same universe, also spun off from Casualty and aired between 2007 and 2008.

  1. ^ Patterson, Stephen (14 November 2023). "Casualty appoints new boss ahead of TV return". Metro. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  2. ^ "BBC Studios appoints Chris Clenshaw as EastEnders Executive Producer". BBC. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  3. ^ "BBC One – Casualty". BBC. Archived from the original on 16 August 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  4. ^ "'Casualty' enters Guinness World Records". Digital Spy. 16 September 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Longest-running TV medical drama". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Casualty confirms reduction in number of episodes per year". Digital Spy. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  7. ^ Gibbs, Nicholas. Writing Television Drama: Get Your Scripts Commissioned, Teach Yourself.