HeartBeat is an American medical drama television series that premiered on ABC on March 23, 1988, and ran for two seasons.

[7] HeartBeat debuted on Wednesday, March 23, 1988, at 9 p.m. (Eastern) as a special two-hour pilot; moving to its regular broadcast time of 10 p.m. the following week.

[1] HeartBeat is praised by LGBT television historians for its inclusion of Marilyn and Patty as a couple, and for their sexual orientation being treated as a non-issue.

However, ABC received criticism because unlike the heterosexual characters, Marilyn and Patty were not permitted to be sexual or physically affectionate with each other.

[citation needed] It received the first-ever GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 1990 (shared with L.A.