The Pitt (Season 1)

Creator: R. Scott Gemmill
Starring: Noah Wyle, Tracy Ifeachor, Patrick Ball, Katherine LaNasa, Supriya Ganesh, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden, Isa Briones, Gerran Howell, Shabana Azeez, Shawn Hatosy, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Kristin Villanueva, Joanna Going, Deepti Gupta, Michael Hyatt, Jackson Kelly, Krystel V. McNeil, Alexandra Metz, Drew Powell, Brad Dourif
Original Airdate: 2025

★★★★ (out of ★★★★)

It's a safe bet that once you've seen a single episode of The Pitt you'll find it impossible to watch another medical drama again. Of course, this might not be much of a surprise considering how tired the genre's become since executive producer John Wells and writer R. Scott Gemmill broke new ground in the mid-90's with ER. But while introducing a formula that would be cribbed by most major network police and legal procedurals, it slowly became a victim of its own popularity, straying further from the life and death stakes the series was originally built on. 

Watching The Pitt, it's easier to believe this is the show those two always wanted to make, sharing more in common with the prestige TV we've been spoiled with over the past decade than Michael Crichton's original creation. How much Gemmill's series resembles a scrapped ER reboot the late author's estate is now suing over is anyone's guess, but in terms of look, pacing, structure, and even how it's shot, this doesn't recall any medical show that's ever aired. 

Unlike so many others in the genre, it isn't a soap opera, but a suspense thriller focused on the ongoing crises faced when treating a litany of patients in an emergency trauma center. That's not to say these doctors don't have personal lives, just that we only see them through their work in the tumultuous confines of this overcrowded, underfunded facility.  

A hospital in every sense, the latest batch of rookies check expectations and medical textbooks at the door to endure a trial by fire on their first day. Risky procedures are shown in agonizing detail, doctors clash over protocol, mistakes are made and lives are lost and saved. And with enough Emmy-worthy turns to fill entire categories, there's an unpredictability that accompanies the discovery of a largely unknown cast of talented actors. Or in the case of one notably brilliant exception, a familiar face returning to give the performance of his career. 

On the fourth anniversary of his mentor Dr. Adamson's death during the COVID pandemic, senior attending physician Dr. Michael "Robby" Rabinavich (Noah Wyle) starts his shift at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital's ER, better known as "The Pitt." As friend and senior resident Dr. Heather Collins (Tracy Ifeachor) expresses concern about him working that day, he insists on it, meeting the four new faces he'll be supervising.

Panicked third-year med student Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez), fourth-year student and Nebraska farmboy Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell), sarcastic, overconfident intern Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones) and socially awkward second-year resident Dr. Melissa "Mel" King (Taylor Dearden) all arrive green as grass for their first day. Immediately thrown into the fray, they're shown the ropes by arrogant senior resident Dr. Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball) "slow poke" Dr. Samira Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) and beleaguered single mom Dr. Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif). 

Charge nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) is the ER's den mother, holding this department together as doctors face off with disgruntled patients, family members and even each other over how to best provide life saving care while red tape and funding issues hinder resources. And as Robby gradually unravels by the hour, he'll also have to deal with chief medical officer Gloria Underwood (Michael Hyatt) badgering him over low patient satisfaction scores. But just when everyone thinks this shift can't possibly get any worse, it does, in the form of a catastrophic mass casualty event.

Each episode unfolds in real time, playing out over the span of 15-hour shift that, despite a breakneck pace, actually seems longer because of the attention given to every character. As the physicians persevere to treat one life threatening case after another, patients come and go, some sticking around for what amounts to a season long arc over the course of this single chaotic day. The gripping format allows cases to be depicted from the moment of a patient's arrival to completion, no matter how tragic or uplifting the result.

After different physicians exhaust a variety of options in attempting to pinpoint a diagnosis, deciding on the best possible treatment often leads to blowups among staff and uncooperative patients. But some of the most explosive confrontations take place in the packed waiting room filled with fuming patients who go unseen for hours, taken in order of priority. The show's structure also toys with our perception of time, like when Robby just can't get to the bathroom for an episode and a half. Amidst the mayhem, we've already forgotten along with him, until he finally makes it, only to be interrupted again.

The most memorable cases are serious, complicated ones that span multiple hours. They include an elderly man with pneumonia whose adult children are trying to override his DNR request, a mother who made herself sick in order to get psychiatric help for her troubled teen son, a woman suffering from sickle cell disease, a college student left brain-dead after overdosing on Xanax laced with fentanyl, a man drugged by his wife after she suspects him of molesting their teen daughter and a little girl battling to survive after saving her drowning sister. And while that doesn't cover nearly an eighth of it, all usually involve ethical dilemmas that extend well beyond the parameters of strict medical care. 

As senior attending, everything goes through the seemingly unshakeable Robby, who has final say, or as much of one as possible under the circumstances. A great teacher, he'll also listen to conflicting viewpoints before putting his foot down, occasionally falling prey to his own stubbornness. And while he won't hesitate to bend or break the rules to save a life, he'll discourage others from doing the same if it carries unnecessary risks. This is especially true of new residents needing protection from their own worst impulses. 

None of the patients they lose are merely tagged and shipped to the morgue without thought or reflection as the ramifications of their deaths are respectfully acknowledged by Robby and his team. While these experiences can serve as teachable moments, more often than not, it's no one's fault, even if that rarely stops the doctors from blaming themselves or each other. 

If Robby's day is rough, the quietly confident Collins has it worse as she attempts to keep her pregnancy a secret in the middle of an increasingly stressful shift. The charismatically rebellious Langdon plays favorites, forming a warm bond with one resident while mercilessly riding another, kicking off a feud that could lead to his own undoing. Singled out by Robby for her slowness, Mohan must balance his criticisms of her pace with an emotional desire to comfort and reassure her patients. And as McKay butts heads with Robby over his handling of a potentially dangerous teen, her own legal challenges become an open secret, rearing its head at the worst possible time. But these physicians are constantly jumping from case to case, shutting out external distractions to effectively perform complicated procedures under extreme pressure.

Much of the show remains fixed on these newcomers, each of whom brings something different as they try to find their sea legs. Briones's Santos emerges as the most abrasive, her insults and pushiness masking an insecurity that propels her to go over superiors' heads and take wild chances. But she'll find a valuable backer in strict, hard-nosed surgeon Dr. Yolanda Garcia (Alexandra Metz), who likely sees her younger self in this brash, eager resident with poor bedside. 

It's only after Santos is humbled by a humiliating error does she dial back the attitude and impulsiveness long enough for us to appreciate her instincts. She may carry a lot of baggage, but Briones takes her controversial resident on a journey that finishes in a better place than it started. On the other hand, prodigal med student Victoria is intimidated by the shadow cast by her mom, a respected senior attending at the hospital. Nervously searching for the "special sauce" that will distinguish her as a doctor, she displays an almost comic knack for saying or doing the wrong thing at the most inopportune moment. But even while radiating a relatable goofiness in social situations, her skills are plainly obvious.

The underconfident Whitaker isn't only the most likable of the four, but shows the most potential, even earning Robby's early endorsement. And Howell is superb in a role that sees his character pulled in every direction, partially due to understaffing, but also because they know he can do this, whether or not he realizes it yet. Gaining courage as the shift wears on, he proves adept at connecting with patients on a basic human level, especially the ones you'd least expect. And him having to constantly change scrubs after each new encounter covers him in a different deluge of bodily fluids is the season's best running gag. 

Despite or maybe partially because of her awkwardness, Taylor Dearden's neurodivergent resident Mel is a walking medical encyclopedia, meticulously focused on coming up with the right solutions and implementing them without hesitation. As the caregiver for her autistic sister, she also listens intently to patients, displaying an astounding level of knowledge and sensitivity that leaves an impressed Langford scratching his head. It's an unusually nuanced part Dearden already seems to have mastered, with her character justifiably emerging as a fan favorite.

The series reaches explosive, pulse pounding heights in episodes 12 and 13 when an active shooting sends an influx of patients into the ER, forcing the hospital to implement mass casualty protocols. With all hands on deck, multiple stories converge as Robby's trauma finally bubbles over, bringing him to the brink. With painful personal ties to this tragedy, he'll find himself at his lowest point, until rescue comes from a surprising source. In a season full of them, this is Wyle's most shattering moment.  

If Clooney was immediately tagged as ER's next big movie star, most know that Wyle and Anthony Edwards carried it from the jump. But Wyle was always the show's character actor in disguise, reaffirming that here with a deeper, more intensely complex role that has little in common with his Dr. John Carter other than a stethoscope. The beating heart of this series, he's a down-to-earth, flawed, but honestly empathetic everyman struggling to save every life and maintain his own sanity in the face of overwhelming odds. 

Though Robby's the captain, he won't dare ask for help, but gets it anyway in the form of close friend and colleague Dr. Abbot (a terrific Shawn Hatosy), who has some tricks of his own to show these overwhelmed residents. As critically wounded patients flood The Pitt, it transforms into a war triage unit equipped with a very specific system for assessing the severity of injuries. 

If the series was already moving at an impossibly fast clip, these two hours are its apex. And before it's over, the widely beloved Dana and far less popular Langford will find themselves at a career crossroads for entirely different reasons. Even Robby's beaurocratic nemesis Gloria isn't treated as a one-dimensional villain, but a person also trying to do her job, as thankless and unwelcome as it is.    

When it's over we're in disbelief that any of these doctors somehow survived the shift. A few don't want to leave while others just can't physically or emotionally bring themselves to. But once they do, we get the tiniest glimpse of their outside lives as they attempt to unwind. It's just enough, but not too much, as the show earns this with writing and acting that goes beyond anything else currently on TV. Left with more than a twinge of disappointment that our time with these characters has to end, it's softened by the realization all of them will return to do it again. And we'll still be watching.