Welcome to “The Pitt”

I have never watched "ER." I was too young to watch it when the show was airing, and 15 seasons feels overwhelming to commit to right now, so it's not one I will be getting to any time soon. I bring this up because there have been a lot of comparisons between "ER" and the new show on Max, "The Pitt."

"The Pitt" follows Dr. Robi (Noah Wyle) and the doctors in the ER of a Pittsburg hospital. Each episode is going to cover one hour in a 15-hour shift.

I pivoted to this as my review this week because the first two episodes dropped this past week, and I love it so far. As a fan of "24," I appreciate the real-time element of the show. They don't lean as heavily into it as "24" did-there is no ticking clock on the screen or anything like that. It is more the types of cases or small, off-handed comments that orientate you on time (beyond a title card at the beginning of the show). This adds to the feeling of chaos in the emergency room. Doctors are juggling multiple cases at once, and new patients keep coming in. Many medical dramas rely on the "case of the week" format; a sick person comes in, and the episode is about figuring out what is wrong with them. "The Pitt" cannot do that. Each episode has several cases; some get solved quickly, while others will take multiple episodes.

There are some interesting characters as well. Dr. Robi is working on the fourth anniversary of his mentor's death from COVID. He is a great doctor, but he and the hospital administrator butt heads often. There are other doctors and three residents on an ER rotation who we are slowly getting to know. I worry that because we have so many characters, there will not be enough time to develop them fully. The cases are what take up most of the episode's running time.

I would love to know how accurate this is to life in an ER (maybe the medical professionals in my audience who share my last name can enlighten me). The big question I have is, are things that crazy all the time? I am sure not every case is as interesting as the ones presented here, but I can forgive that to make an entertaining show.

"The Pitt" airs every Thursday on Max.