Hersholt had earlier portrayed the character Dr. John Luke, based on the real-life Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe, the Canadian obstetrician who delivered and cared for the famous Dionne Quintuplets children, in the 20th Century Fox studios movie The Country Doctor (1936) and its two sequels.

[2] Dr. Christian practiced in the Midwest town of River's End with the assistance of Nurse Judy Price (Rosemary DeCamp, Lurene Tuttle, Kathleen Fitz, Helen Claire).

The small-town physician's good humor, innate common sense and scientific training helped drive off a series of villainous types who tried to interfere with the peaceful lifestyle of River's End, as well as dealing with personal problems among his many patients and the majority of those who lived in town.

Among the series' guest stars was Mason Alan Dinehart, who played Danny Martin in the 1957 episode entitled "Typhoid".

In the episode "The Sprained Thumb" of the 1950s TV show The Honeymooners, Ralph Kramden sarcastically asks Trixie Norton, "Well, Dr. Christian, have you got any more suggestions?