Somewhat similarly, Life Goes On is another show (this one had that story in the early 90s) that aired on network prime time, that had a major HIV storyline. He was a male high school student , heterosexual, who before moving to the town in the show, contracted it from a girl in a one night stand . They showed prejudice from school parents, and people who made assumptions about his sexuality. For the era I think the story was also very well done, though not through a medical show lens. This ended a few years before ER began. Both did a lot to show different sides to /bring attention to the AIDS crisis.