Netflix’s Unskippable 100% RT Medical Drama

Out of the many stellar medical dramas on Netflix, Daily Dose of Sunshine is one of the best. For decades, iconic medical dramas have been a staple of television, from soapy romance fusions like Grey’s Anatomy to hyper-realistic portrayals of healthcare like The Pitt. The best medical dramas, however, find the perfect balance of realism and escapism for the viewer.

In the streaming age, the genre has evolved due to burgeoning constraints like shorter seasons, aiming to deliver the same amount of content in far fewer episodes. As such, it’s all the more impressive when a single season can pack the same punch, like Daily Dose of Sunshine, one of the best medical dramas on Netflix that everyone should watch.

Daily Dose Of Sunshine Is An Acclaimed Drama Set In A Psychiatry Ward

A Bright Nurse Must Acclimate To Her New Department

Daily Dose of Sunshine centers on one of Park Bo-young’s best roles ever: Jung Da-eun. The series opens with a montage of Da-eun’s morning routine, wherein she wakes before dawn to get ready for her job at Myungshin University Hospital. As she reports to her charge nurse, though, the viewer learns it’s her first day in the hospital’s psychiatry ward.

The third-year nurse had a previous stint in internal medicine, but judgmental coworkers and overbearing bosses prompted Da-eun’s transfer. As a fresh-faced psychiatry nurse, Da-eun must acclimate to a new working environment and new code of conduct to properly care for the wing’s inpatients. As she soon discovers, however, her new position is far more perilous than Da-eun initially anticipated.

Alongside a small cohort of experienced nurses, Da-eun encounters a variety of new patients experiencing anything from schizophrenic hallucinations to manic episodes to chronic anxiety. Each case requires a different approach, but Da-eun finds she has a natural talent for de-escalating breakdowns and empathizing with her patients. Yet, the high-intensity work quickly begins taking a toll on the main character.

What Daily Dose of Sunshine does exceptionally well is play with contrast. The psychiatry ward’s bright pink walls disarm the viewer before the harsh reality of the real world seeps in with a well-timed uppercut. The complex storytelling makes for a truly engrossing watch, which unsurprisingly earned the drama a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes and multiple South Korean awards.

What Sets Daily Dose Of Sunshine Apart From Other Medical Dramas

There’s A Genuine Sense Of Respect & Empathy

At a glance, Daily Dose of Sunshine shares the same basic traits as countless other medical dramas. Each episode, a new patient is introduced with a medical mystery for the healthcare workers to figure out. Given that Daily Dose of Sunshine focuses on mental health, however, it feels far more complicated than diagnosing a rare skin condition or emergency surgery.

The cases in the psychiatry ward could easily come across as callous caricatures of mental illness, but every person the viewer meets— staff or patient— is fleshed out with the utmost care. Furthermore, the treatments are navigated with a much-appreciated sense of tact, which helps humanize the patients beyond their diagnosis and dismantle the barrier separating them from “normal” counterparts.

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Perhaps the most unique credit to Daily Dose of Sunshine is how it brings the viewer into the mind of the patient. When one man’s delusions conjure visions of a dragon, the audience sees firsthand how terrifying the image is. Similarly, when a woman feels overcome by her depression, any semblance of light and warmth is snuffed from the scene.

Daily Dose of Sunshine is such a refreshing twist on the medical drama genre, it has a global appeal despite being made in Korea. For those who are already fans of international titles, Daily Dose of Sunshine is one of the best K-dramas on streaming. Even the most hesitant viewer, however, would be rewarded for taking the risk and watching.

Daily Dose Of Sunshine Subverts The Viewer’s Every Expectation

The Drama Forces The Audience To Rethink Their Biases

While its visual presentation alone puts it in a league of its own, Daily Dose of Sunshine also goes against the grain within the story itself. The drama conveys a simple message that mental health impacts every demographic, regardless of age, gender, socioeconomic status, or any other identity marker that’s used to reinforce stereotypes.

There comes a point in the series where Da-eun herself struggles with her mental health, but it doesn’t take away all the progress she’s made as a nurse and as a person. The drama manages to capture an intimate snapshot of vulnerability, wherein someone who devotes their entire life to helping others must come to terms with needing help themselves.

Arguably the biggest aspect that subverts the audience’s expectation is the love interest. Typical K-drama male leads are effortlessly suave and romantic or cold and aloof. In stark contrast, Dong Go-yun (Yeon Woo-jin) is an awkward proctologist who exhibits obsessive-compulsive behavior. At first, some viewers may write him off entirely and assume he has no chance with the beautiful Da-eun.

That assumption is tested when Da-eun’s childhood friend, Song Yu-chan (Jang Dong-yoon), also reveals his feelings. Yet, even the handsome Yu-chan has his own battles, as his character arc is all about denial and the dangers of not seeking professional help when needed. Therein lies the core message of Daily Dose of Sunshine: mental health is a universal concern.

What Makes Daily Dose Of Sunshine Such An Important Watch

It’s An Invaluable Lesson Everyone Deserves To Learn

Daily Dose of Sunshine walks a precarious line between an idealistic world of healing and a realistic, albeit devastating, reflection of real-life stigmas. People line up to protest a depressed nurse treating their loved ones, patients are scrutinized for not being visibly disabled, and mental illness takes certain characters to the darkest places imaginable.

Nevertheless, Daily Dose of Sunshine cuts through its harsh reality with an unyielding optimistic edge. Mental health struggles can strike anyone, anywhere, at any time— but that doesn’t have to define them. The drama as a whole helps to break down the harmful stigma surrounding psychiatry, leveraging genre clichés to create striking dichotomies for the viewer.​​​​​​​

Daily Dose of Sunshine was adapted from a webtoon by Lee Ra-ha, who based the story off her experience as a former nurse.

​​​​​​​The cute boy-next-door, the independent female lead, the endearing side character— every archetype comes with its own connotations, and Daily Dose of Sunshine utilizes them to explore the uncharted territory of mental illness. There’s power in having the strongest characters ask for help, as it signals to the viewer that there’s no shame in them doing the same.

Everything in Daily Dose of Sunshine is handled with care, providing an insulated— if not incredibly emotional— outlet for the viewer to confront their own biases and skepticism. The series is a truly unforgettable medical drama, but Daily Dose of Sunshine is far more than a Netflix original masterpiece; it’s an invaluable call to action for everyone who watches it.