The Pitt (Max)
'E.R.' meets '24' in this exciting, assured medical drama
What’s it about? The daily lives of healthcare professionals in a Pittsburgh hospital as they juggle personal crises, workplace politics, and the emotional toll of treating critically ill patients, revealing the resilience required in their noble calling.
Who it’s for? Fans of medical dramas, if you like high-stakes storytelling, fans of workplace dramas like The West Wing or The Bear, if you like ensemble TV shows
Who should avoid? Those who dislike graphic medical procedures or gruesome visuals, viewers looking for light entertainment, fans of slower-paced shows
Watch if you like: E.R., Grey’s Anatomy, The Bear, 24, House M.D.
News and Notes:
Two episodes released yesterday
11-episode series
Schmear’s Verdict: A high-stakes medical drama that combines relentless tension, naturalistic dialogue, and nuanced performances, The Pitt is an unflinching yet deeply human exploration of life in the ER.
I come to the new Max series The Pitt with no E.R. experience and no love of Grey’s Anatomy either. I’m an objective viewer with no preconceived notions of how a show like this should go down, but through two thrilling, detailed episodes of this John Wells exec-produced series, I can tell I’m ready to lock in for the entire season.
The Pitt takes place in the emergency room of a Pittsburgh hospital, and akin to 24’s hour-to-episode storytelling method, the series runs over the course of one grueling shift.
The show throws you into the deep end in the best kind of way, almost like The Bear does for its kitchen. I didn’t know half of what was being said, and I didn’t really care either—ditto for the character dynamics and relationships, as they’re far more fun to suss out than have spoon-fed.
Character introductions and explication arrive naturally, a credit to the talented ensemble cast as well as the naturalistic, yet still Sorkinian dialogue penned by showrunner R. Scott Gemmill (ER, NCIS: LA).
Leading the charge is Noah Wyle as Dr. Robbie, an actor I’ve never witnessed, but someone who I so deeply and immediately trusted for his calm and steady demeanor. Much needed, because the chaotic swirl of blood, pain, and procedure is dizzying. The camera roves naturally, almost from the perspective of another doctor (you) amidst the maelstrom.
Some shows have cases of the week; this one has cases of the minute—that’s how fast and pressurized this is. What’s most exciting is watching for the little bits of serialized storytelling sprinkled within the rigmarole, like a certain something in the air between Dr. Robbie and Dr. Collins (Tracy Ifeachor).
You must steel yourself for The Pitt. This show is gruesome, and it finds humor in having the young interns and med students serve as our audience conduits, seeing ghastly injuries and conducting horrifying operations for the first time just as we are.
The show excels in its diverse cast, which is somewhat archetypal, but with each character written with just enough nuance, performed with just enough difference, to have everyone feel unique. A 20-year-old nepo medical student faints in the first episode and has to shake off the moniker “Crash.” There’s her foil, the morbid, brash Dr. Santos (Isa Briones). Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball) is a matinee idol. Taylor Dearden (Bryan Cranston’s daughter!) is a believably awkward doc who just shifted over from the VA.
All these personalities are in an elegant, humorous, grisly dance, kept spinning in the air quite successfully through two episodes. Come for the attention-grabbing, sickening, singular cases coming in through the ER doors, but stay for the humanity within the minutiae.
Within The Pitt, the gamut of humanity is on display. For every thrilling save of a patient, there are sobering tragedies around the corner, emphasized by the practice of taking a moment of silence when someone passes, when pausing is the last thing these harried doctors should be doing.
These highly impressive two episodes have me ready to spend an entire shift with The Pitt.
