The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy is an American adult animated science fiction comedy series created by Cirocco Dunlap for the streaming service Amazon Prime Video.
The series centers on two intergalactic surgeons and best friends as they treat illnesses throughout the galaxy, and was produced by Amazon MGM Studios, Animal Pictures, and Titmouse, Inc., with Dunlap as showrunner.
The series stars the voices of Kieran Culkin, Stephanie Hsu, Natasha Lyonne, Keke Palmer, Maya Rudolph, Andrew Dismukes, Gary Anthony Williams, Lennon Parham, and Sam Smith.
[8] The series had been renamed as The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy by December 2023;[9] the name originated as a tagline for the show, before being turned into its title at Amazon's request, something Dunlap agreed to.
[5] The series' depiction of LGBTQ+ representation and its lack of focus on the characters' sexual orientation and gender identity were inspired by Dunlap growing up in a LGBTQ+-friendly environment.
[4] Additional inspirations for the show include Aliens and Grey's Anatomy, with Dunlap seeking to combine science fiction with medical dramas.
[5] Additionally, Dunlap wanted the show to have an emotional honesty that would ground the series, with the leads generally talking to each other through "conversations we all have with a good friend that we might work with".
[4] For the aliens, Eisenberg drew inspiration from sealife, watching images of different sea creatures and combining them to conceive their designs, before giving them to the art team, who would come up with their own ideas.
[15] Eisenberg also wanted the color palette to "have this sense of fun" without being too "soft" in order to reflect the series' comedic tone.
[15] The artists added details such as "tiny bits of tape on things" in order to give the series a sense of realism.