Have I got the new show for all you medical drama fans. Stepping into the emergency room in a Pittsburgh hospital, The Pitt (2025) shows what a 15 hour shift is like for its staff. Each episode spans an hour and is one hour in the fictional universe, meaning no time jumps — everything flows from one problem to another in real time. Dr. Robinavitch — or Dr. Robbie (Noah Wyle) — takes the lead as the senior attending in the ER, making difficult choices for both patients and staff.
The first question I had when I looked into this show was: how realistic is this going to be? Now, I don’t work in a hospital and never have (thank goodness), so I have no authority to say whether or not it is realistic. That being said, this show is the closest thing to what I imagine working in an emergency room would be like: the long lines of disgruntled patients, horrific incidents, snap decisions, and death. The gore factor is real. Some of the special effects look too real. I highly recommend not eating while watching.Â
To distract from the terrible injuries, I focused on the brilliant camera work. Long sweeping shots walking from room to room gave the show a sense of urgency that wasn’t too fast-paced. Sometimes when things heat up camera work can get choppy, flipping from one angle to another, which disorients the viewer. Using longer shots gives time to fully process the show’s events but still captures how quickly everything is happening. In a way, the camera is our body, walking with characters from one scene to the next.Â
The show feels natural. Characters are established quite quickly, which in another show could feel forced — especially when you only have one season guaranteed to tell your story — but The Pitt does it subtly. Playing on tropes like the young prodigy or the surgeon with a huge ego, viewers can easily identify the characters while they build dimension.
Further, the characters are written to be realistic, the kind of people whose lives you can imagine outside of the hospital. Even the way they interact feels like co-workers who are just starting to get to know each other (in the case of the interns) or who have long-standing beef (in the case of the residents). Either way the banter is incredible.
I do have to apologize to all the Grey’s Anatomy (2005-) fans: there is significantly less interpersonal drama than what you’re probably looking for. But that’s okay because the drama outside of the show makes up for it.Â
In August 2024 the estate of Michael Crichton (creator of ER (1994-2009)) filed a lawsuit against The Pitt. According to Forbes there was a deal in the works with Warner Bros. that would accredit Crichton as a creator. After years of negotiations, neither parties could come to an agreement, so the motion picture entertainment company switched the setting and changed the name of the show, prompting the lawsuit. Crichton’s estate essentially stated that the show was a copy of ER due to its similar premise and the fact that a number of those involved also worked on ER, including Noah Wyle, R. Scott Gemmill, and John Wells. Warner Bros. has motioned to have the suit dismissed as it’s a completely different show. At the time of writing this, there are no further developments.
So wait in anticipation with me for the next episode and to see if this real life drama gets any messier than an operating room floor after surgery.
