The Pitt - The New Medical Drama That's Taken Over Television
I know I'm not the only one obsessed with this show.
I had seen several ads for The Pitt before I actually watched it. It looked interesting and I like medical dramas, so it went on my very long list of things I wanted to watch. I figured I’d get to it eventually. And then I was in one of my classes for grad school and one of my friends told me that I needed to watch it immediately. Personal recommendations hold a lot of weight to me, so I spent most of the next two days binge watching all thirteen episodes (at the time of this writing there are thirteen, but the full first season will have a total of fifteen). It’s safe to say that I really loved the show, because now I find myself eagerly waiting for the next episode. It seems a lot of people feel the same way. So, why do audiences love this show so much? What makes it so special?
The Pitt premiered on Max earlier this year and falls into the ever-present genre of medical dramas. Many people I know, myself included, consider medical dramas to be a guilty pleasure – something they love or find enjoyment in, even if it’s a little embarrassing to admit. But The Pitt doesn’t have that same audience relationship. One of the reasons for that is that many medical dramas, like Grey’s Anatomy and The Resident, often have a lot of soap opera elements to them. In other words, while they take place in hospitals and feature important medical cases, the focus tends to be more on the romantic relationships of the characters, and often in a melodramatic way. While The Pitt does have some of those relationships sprinkled in, the focus truly is on the drama of working in the emergency room in a more realistic way.
What is The Pitt about, then? Each episode in the first season covers one hour of the same fifteen hour shift in the emergency room. So, the first episode covers the first hour, the second episode covers the second hour, and so on. This particular format is new and unique for medical dramas, which brings a new twist to the genre that audiences may find interesting.
The characters are led by Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch (Noah Wyle, of ER fame), the head of the emergency room, compassionate but worn down by the stress of running an emergency room that can never quite meet the overwhelming demands of the patients. Other characters include:
Dr. Frank Langdon - (Patrick Ball) A senior resident who is a bit cynical and more pragmatic in his practice).
Dr. Collins - (Tracy Ifeachor) Another senior resident who butts heads with Robby’s more spontaneous decisions.
Dr. Mel King - (Taylor Dearden) An enthusiastic resident who is good at what she does, but terrible at social cues, though she brings special personal experience that helps her connect with autistic patients.
Charge Nurse Dana - (Katherine LaNasa) The glue that holds the entire emergency room together, tough and no nonsense, but compassionate towards the doctors as they struggle through the shift.
Dr. Samira Mohan - (Supriya Ganesh) A resident nicknamed “Slow Mo” due to her slower nature in taking care of patients. She takes her time so that she can understand her patients’ stories and empathize with them.
There are many other characters as well, with quite a large cast to keep track of, and these are just a few. If you want to get to know the others, I highly recommend you watch the show.
Something else that makes The Pitt unique is the realism that it brings to the genre. Obviously, it isn’t perfect, but it aims to show the shocking realities of a busy emergency room. One of the larger topics that it covers is the horror of an overflowing waiting room of frustrated patients, while the doctors are trying and failing to get everyone seen quickly. This is something everyone can relate to if they’ve had to go to the emergency room, and the show points out that many hospitals are understaffed despite the needs of the community. Additionally, it covers very relevant topics in current times, such as fentanyl overdose, mass shootings, abortion access, and racial disparities in medicine. These are all very real topics, but they are covered in a way that feels more realistic and matter-of-fact, rather than a melodramatic and in your face kind of style.
The show is also very fast-paced, quickly moving back and forth between patients as doctors are pulled in every direction to help others. It brings a sense of intensity that doctors may face on a day-to-day basis, along with their personal biases and issues that can get in the way at work. I won’t be specific about what exactly those issues are, though, because it would just be a list of spoilers.
If you like medical dramas, fast-paced shows, and plenty of complex characters, I think you’ll really like The Pitt. If you’ve seen it or you end up trying it out, tell me what you think! I’d love to hear your thoughts. I, personally, am really excited for the final two episodes so that I can examine the character arcs and the overall story of the season. I’m sure I’ll post more about this show once it finishes airing!
The Pitt drops episodes weekly on Max.