Introduction: While previous research suggests that television portrayals of physicians may influence viewer satisfaction with their own healthcare providers, the vast majority of this research has focused on medical-based programs. In addition, research examining communication behaviors during patient-provider interactions on television is limited. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the frequency and nature of patient-centered communication (PCC) behaviors on the most popular primetime television programs. Methods: Using a sample drawn from Hollywood, Health & Society's TV Monitoring Project, we examined 203 patient-provider interactions across 84 episodes of 22 programs that aired during the spring of 2016 and spring of 2017. Of the 22 programs, 2 were medical-based (Grey's Anatomy and Chicago Med) and the remaining were non-medical dramas or comedies. We used a coding instrument adapted from a previous study to code each interaction for the presence of 21 different PCC behaviors. Cohen's κ ranged 0.77-1.0 after double-coding. Chi-square tests were performed to assess differences between medical-based and non-medical programs. Results: The most frequently observed PCC behaviors were "provider had good eye contact with patient" (93%), "provider had good manners" (90%), and "patient asked questions from provider" (80%). The least frequently observed PCC behaviors were "provider provided educational material to the patient" (5%), "provider asked patient to repeat" (4%), and "patient asked provider to repeat" (0%). Relative to non-medical programs, providers in medical-based programs were significantly more likely to exhibit certain PCC behaviors such as asking the patient questions and displaying good manners. Conclusion: Patient-provider interactions on television often feature PCC behaviors, although they rarely depict behaviors such as repetition and providing patients with educational material. In addition, healthcare providers on medical-based programs were significantly more likely to exhibit certain PCC behaviors than providers in non-medical programs. The television programs in our sample attract between 9-16 million viewers per episode, and the average American watches about 2000 hours of primetime television each year. Therefore, future research is needed to examine how the depiction of PCC behaviors on primetime television programs influences patient expectations of real-life experiences.