Binge-worthy: Gritty medical drama The Pitt is one of the best things on TV (2025)

Table of Contents

The Pitt 1. Realistic medical drama 2. Real-time tension 3. Stellar ensemble cast

The Pitt

Max
★★★★★

Ever wondered what it is like to work in the emergency department of a major hospital? Medical drama The Pitt, which recently wrapped its first season after 15 episodes, will show you, hour by hour.

Each episode of the series streaming on Max covers one hour of an extraordinarily busy 15-hour shift, so the whole season takes place within one day.

Audiences follow the doctors and nurses working the emergency department, known as “the pit” at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Centre. The team is led by senior attendingdoctor Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, played by Noah Wyle, the star of the seminal medical series ER (1994 to 2009).

With a stellar cast, its gritty, realistic look at the state of healthcare in America and a relentless pace, The Pitt is simultaneously heartfelt and brutal. It takes a tired genre – the medical procedural – and makes it one of the best things on TV right now.

Here are three reasons to tune in.

1. Realistic medical drama

Real-life doctors have sung the praises of The Pitt for its highly accurate portrayal of medical cases, and the reality of life in a hospital. Such professionals were also heavily involved in the production of the series. Some of its background actors are real nurses and one of its writers is a trained doctor.

And that comes through in the viewing experience. Grey’s Anatomy (2005 to present), this is not. Aside from a brief mention of a past workplace romance, nobody is making out in on-call rooms. They are far too busy.

With a packed waiting room, there is an endless stream of patients. The doctors barely eat and Robby, who heads the department, is constantly pulled in so many directions, he struggles to find time to pee.

Viewers vicariously experience the unceasing rhythm of working the emergency department so they can fully understand why the characters are short-tempered, tired, irritable, hungry or frustrated.

That intensity is maximised in an episode when the doctors deal with an influx of casualties from a mass shooting, easily the season’s most memorable hour.

2. Real-time tension

While some medical cases – like an autistic man with a sprained ankle or a transgender woman with a cut on her arm – are wrapped up in half an episode, more complicated cases take multiple hours or the entire shift to come to a conclusion.

The real-time conceit may be a gimmick, but it is effective at building dramatic tension. In one case, audiences are there to witness how a man in the waiting room, upset about the wait time, grows more belligerent with every scene he appears in. The ominous undercurrent builds, and when it explodes, it feels like a gut punch.

3. Stellar ensemble cast

Binge-worthy: Gritty medical drama The Pitt is one of the best things on TV (1)

One may wonder how a series set solely within one hospital shift can show character development and depth, but The Pitt manages it – and not just for one character, but for most of its stellar ensemble cast.

There is Robby, traumatised by his mentor’s death during Covid-19 and working on his death anniversary; senior resident Heather Collins (Tracy Ifeachor), who is keeping her pregnancy hush-hush after a previous miscarriage; newbie resident Melissa King (Taylor Dearden), who has a gift for dealing with neurodivergent patients due to her special needs sister; and a whole host of other richly drawn personalities.

The standout is veteran charge nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa), the beating heart of the department who holds the fort and keeps it going, and who is equal parts loving and no-nonsense. She is passionate about her job, but is so exhausted by what it demands, and one can see how that push-and-pull breaks her heart over 15 hours.