‘The Pitt’ Season One Rocks!

Noah Wyle in The Pitt | Credit: HBO

The Pitt takes us into a day in the life of the emergency department staff of a Pittsburgh hospital. Throughout their shift, they encounter crises, traumas, and interpersonal moments that will test their skills and character.

I’m a sucker for a good medical drama. As a child, I wanted to a doctor (a brain surgeon, specifically), so any show that will take me into this world for a little while is interesting to me. I love the fast-paced nature of these shows and seeing how characters respond in some of the most tense situations imaginable. And being a doctor in an emergency room is one of the most tense professional environments I can think of.

The Pitt does an excellent job of capturing that feeling of tension. We are introduced to so many different characters, including some med students on their first day on the job. They are mostly clueless in this environment, providing a great introduction to this world for those of us who aren’t doctors. And their uncertainty in this fast-paced workplace is captured so well as they rush from patient to patient.

This show also uses a lot of long tracking shots as the characters move about the department. This choice is so effective in helping us feel like we’re there and also helps to enhance the fast-paced nature of their work. The fact that our characters are constantly moving makes everything feel more tense and frenetic.

I also love the choice for this season to take place over the course of one shift. This is so smart! The narrow scope of this show provides some helpful constraints that highlight just how good the storytelling is. We spend so many hours with these characters, and we feel like we know them pretty well by the end, but we don’t know everything. Instead, we learn what we need to as they respond to all of the tragedies that they encounter as part of their job.

The Pitt is also really focused on the medicine, which is the source of most of the drama on screen. While there are plenty of moments of friction between the characters throughout the season, that’s not the point. Instead, the show is interested in using these medical crises to reveal things about who these people are. This prevents the show from falling more into the trap of Grey’s Anatomy or other medical dramas that become more about the drama than about the medicine itself.

Katherine LaNasa in The Pitt | Credit: HBO

The show moves at such a breakneck pace that there are times when you feel like you need a break, which is exactly what the characters are feeling. But they can’t afford to take a break, so the show just keeps going. And things continue to escalate.

At one point, a mass casualty event happens, and they are the nearest trauma care facility. We watch our characters have to scramble to be ready to respond to a series of horrifying injuries and even deaths.

Those episodes are grueling and heartbreaking. These incredibly talented doctors, who have just worked for hours and hours—they are near the end of their shift—have to give so much more to care for these patients, even though they have very little left in the tank. In these moments of intense pressure, we learn even more about who each of these people is. The Pitt so effectively uses these moments to show the way they respond in the most dire of circumstances.

Each performance is excellent, especially Noah Wyle as Dr. Robby, the leader of the team for this shift. We learn that this is a really difficult day for him as he is reminded of the anniversary of the tragic death of his mentor. And everything else that happens piles on to the grief that he tries to push to the side, just so he can get through the day. Wyle has gotten a lot of praise for his performance, which is absolutely deserved. I hope that he gets some nominations when awards season rolls around.

Shawn Hatosy and Noah Wyle in The Pitt | Credit: HBO

From start to finish, The Pitt is excellent. While not for the faint of heart, it’s still a great watch. If you can handle some blood, exposed bones, and some gnarly medical procedures, this could be the show for you.