The last time I wrote about The Pitt, I’d only seen four episodes of the new medical drama and already I knew it was something special. Things had not quite heated up, though already I found myself emotionally invested in all the characters, each of the various cases and the incredible way this story was being told.
Now, I’m all caught up and boy-oh-boy have things reached a boiling point. Or perhaps a breaking point.
The Pitt takes on the real-time format made famous by 24, but it’s a very different show. Instead of dealing with terrorist plots and national security, the show takes us into the dramatic events of one day in a Pittsburgh trauma center emergency room. We follow head ER doctor, Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) and his staff of attending physicians, student doctors, nurses, medics and social workers as they handle the steady, often chaotic, flow of new (and returning) patients beginning at the start of the 7am day shift.
As intense as the last two episodes have been, as the already strained to the limits ER deals with a flood of new trauma patients, it’s the rest of the series prior to these events that really made me fall in love with the show.
The Pitt does several things really exceptionally well:
- It feels authentic. I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but I often forget that these characters aren’t actually medical professionals. Noah Wyle is so convincing as Dr. Robby that I’d probably forget he wasn’t a real doctor if I showed up to an appointment with him. I realize that this is a drama, a work of fiction, but the series does such a good job at creating plausibility and immersion that you really do feel like you’re in an actual ER. As someone who has spent too much time in the emergency room, I have enough experience to say this show does a great job with realism, even if it doesn’t get everything exactly right.
- The ‘24’ format creates a sense of real urgency. While there is room for some interpersonal conflict and drama between characters, this isn’t a melodrama like so many other medical dramas. There just isn’t time. Every moment in the show is spent on the floor outside of some very brief flashbacks. There’s never really a break from the action. New cases come in and the waiting room is always full. Some are more urgent. Some are horribly tragic. Others are simple fixes. The real-time format gives everything a sense of palpable tension and urgency.
- The characters are wonderful. Even the ones you don’t like, and I think we can all agree that Dr. Santos (Isa Briones) has a grating personality, feel real and well-crafted and developed. Charge nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) is the anchor of the ER, a tough but compassionate presence on the floor. Dr. King (Taylor Dearden) is impossible not to love, with all her quirks and deep sense of empathy toward people on the spectrum. The joker, Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball) has his problems, but you can’t help but root for him even after you learn that he’s been stealing meds. Dr. McKay (Fiona Dourif) wears an ankle bracelet, but her rough past also gives her deeper insight into patients who come from the street and face extra scrutiny and stigma. Dr. Collins (Tracy Ifeachor) and Dr. Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) and Dr. Javadi (Shaban Azeez) all manage to be incredibly distinct characters with complex stories and personalities. Dr. Whitaker (Gerran Howell) is a great source of comic relief, with the running scrubs gag, but he’s much more than that. The list goes on. This is a show with rich, well-realized characters with flaws and strengths and lives outside the ER that we only glimpse, but that we know matter.
- The story is easy to follow, in spite of the chaos. It’s a sprawling cast if you only consider the staff, but then there are all the patients. All the cases. New ones are introduced every episode, often several in each episode. Some stick around for many episodes, or even the entire season. Some only come in much later. Some are here for minor wounds, others for maladies that seem innocuous but develop into much more serious problems. Some make it while others don’t. It sounds like it would be nearly impossible to keep up with as a viewer, but the show’s creators do the impossible, deftly weaving each story together in a way that makes it easy to follow, even if you aren’t familiar with all the medical jargon. This is a masterclass in tight writing, pacing and editing. When you come to the end of an episode, it’s always kind of shocking that time has passed.
- Student doctors make for great storytelling. One way they achieve this cohesion is a very clever storytelling gimmick: Include several student doctors in the mix who are learning on the job. This gives the older and more experienced doctors and nurses a reason to explain things, not just to the student doctors, but to the audience. This is handled carefully, without squandering time in exposition, and it allows us to follow along with many of the procedures as though we were learning also. Instead of just watching things happen, we’re given at least a little information that helps us understand what’s happening that much better, even if we don’t understand all the medical terminology being thrown around.
- The patients are treated with humanity. Every single case is taken seriously not just by the doctors but by the writers of the show. An elderly man in his dying moments is not sidelined by the fentanyl overdose death of a teen. Both deaths are treated with respect and humanity. Patients are people, not just cases to be solved. I really appreciate this about the show, which could easily have taken a different approach.
- It’s emotionally powerful, but still funny in a very human way. This would be a far-too exhausting series, too demoralizing, too sad, if there wasn’t comic relief. When I’m not outright bawling, I often find myself getting teared up and emotional even during scenes that aren’t that tragic. It’s just a very powerful, very moving show. But The Pitt throws in just enough humor to keep us on our toes. You’ll be crying one moment, only to find yourself laughing out loud the next. That’s no easy feat for a show this serious.
- Social issues are mostly handled well. The show tackles a lot of social issues, from mass shootings to transphobia and racism, to issues surrounding homelessness (they use “unhoused” but I prefer “people experiencing homelessness”) and sexual abuse. I think this is mostly done well and the show strikes a good balance, but I do wonder if maybe they’ve taken on a bit too many issues for one season. Then again, these are all things you could certainly encounter in one 12 hour shift in a busy ER. They also touch on the COVID crisis, violence against healthcare workers, nursing shortages, the dangers of for-profit takeovers, overcrowding in hospitals and much more. It’s all important stuff and I’m glad the show doesn’t shy away from it or get too bogged down in any one issue.
Watch my video review below:
Spoilers ahead. Don not read further if you aren’t caught up or haven’t started The Pitt yet.
The big mass shooting that’s serving as the capstone of the season has certainly turned up the heat, giving a struggling, overwhelmed ER an almost impossible crisis to deal with, but I think the show would have worked even without such a dramatic turn of events. I’m not saying the writers shouldn’t have taken us in this direction, only that I think a more “normal” day in the ER would have been just as powerful and profound. That speaks more to the excellence of the series up through Episode 11 more than as a criticism of the last two.
In any case, this is a brilliant medical drama. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before. The cast is phenomenal, and Noah Wyle in particular is putting in one of the best performances I’ve seen in years. Dr. Robby has instantly become one of my favorite characters on TV, and Wyle’s funny, earnest, heartbreaking performance should win him the Emmy for Best Actor. I hope this show wins a bunch of awards and gets tons of fanfare, because it deserves both the praise and recognition, as well as another season. We have two episodes left, though I think we may have reached the dramatic peak in this week’s episode, as Robby finally reaches his breaking point, collapsing in tears after he fails to save the life of a teenage girl shot at PittFest.
End spoilers.
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