![]() Elsewhere episode remains a template for how shows like E.R., House M.D., and Grey’s Anatomy have gone on to tackle HIV and AIDS story lines in the decades since, using medical professionals as gateways to inform and educate a mainstream audience. A married rising political star, the patient earns the interest of the press and threatens the success of the hospital’s blood drive (one staff member refuses to go anywhere near a needle until “Mr. Eligius Hospital saw how fear and shame operated when treating a patient diagnosed with AIDS. In a December 1983 episode titled “AIDS and Comfort,” the staff at the fictional St. Elsewhere, was tailor-made to deal with story lines about the misconceptions about HIV and AIDS. The genre, then being revolutionized by NBC’s St. ![]() It’s no surprise that AIDS first appeared on prime-time television in a hospital drama. Elsewhere were tailor-made to deal with story lines about the misconceptions around HIV and AIDS. In the early days of the virus, hospital dramas like St. Take a journey with us through close to 40 years’ worth of TV stories about HIV and AIDS. It offers a glimpse into the way television creators have used the tools of serialized storytelling and the powers of network distribution to grapple with one of the defining crises of the last half century. While unscripted television has broken major ground in this regard - see the impact of The Real World, Project Runway, and RuPaul’s Drag Race, to name but a few - the following history, brief and protracted as it may be, deals exclusively with scripted fare. ![]() From medical dramas and procedurals to cable movies and period pieces, American television has as easily reflected as reshaped public opinion on these issues, one fictional character at a time. It is not an exaggeration to say that television has played an integral part in how many of us came to understand what the letters HIV and AIDS stand for. Photo-Illustration: Vulture, HBO, FX and Fox ![]() From cable miniseries ( Angels in America) to period pieces ( Pose) to Very Special Episodes ( Beverly Hills 90210), narrative television has reflected and reshaped the public perception of HIV/AIDS for nearly four decades. ![]()
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