I’m not a big fan of medical shows. I never watched ER. I’ve liked a couple of old television shows about doctors doing their thing, but House is the only one that comes to mind.
So at first I wasn’t interested in The Pitt, which was released by HBO on January 9, 2025. Then as December rolled around, I saw The Pitt was consistently featured in lists of 2025’s best television shows. I decided to give it a try. And am really glad that I did.
It’s set in a Pittsburg emergency room. The fifteen episodes in Season 1 mirror the fifteen hours in an emergency room shift, one hour per episode. Unlike Adolescence, each episode isn’t a single tracking shot of the actors, which was one of the impressive things about Adolescence.
In fact, quite the opposite. The Pitt jumps around frenetically, focusing on one E.R. case after another, returning to the most interesting cases over several hours/episodes. After watching the first 30 minutes of Episode 1, I wasn’t sure if I could handle watching The Pitt, because it was so unlike the usual streaming show where learning about the characters and plot proceeds in a fairly deliberate fashion.
You do get to know the main characters. And there’s sort of a plot, albeit an unusual one, given that The Pitt presents which sure seems to be a realistic picture of a very busy big city emergency department.
Crises occurring continually. Snap patient care decisions made constantly. Staff pulled this way and that as bigger emergencies take precedence over smaller emergencies. Humor, often dark, being a way the doctors and medical students relieve tension. Patients being mostly truthful but sometimes not. Tragedy occurring so often, there’s no time to grieve before moving to the next case.
After I got through the first episode, I was hooked on the series. I’m now on Episode 10, about two-thirds of the way through the 15-hour shift. I feel like I should have my first year of medical school waived, the dialogue being so seemingly accurate as the medical staff handle a wide variety of cases.
My firm conclusion is that however much emergency room doctors, nurses, and other staff are paid, it should be doubled, for sure. Working in a busy emergency room has to be one of the most demanding jobs in medicine. I can understand why some medical professionals love working in an E.R. I also understand why burnout must be common.
I don’t want to give the impression that The Pitt is only about fast-paced decision-making as patients are cared for throughout a single shift. The relationships among the medical staff unfold in the course of watching them interact. There’s a pleasing mixture of humor, tension, and tragedy in The Pitt.
The episode I watched tonight featured something I’d never heard of before: an Honor Walk of a recently deceased young man who had wanted to be an organ donor, and his parents who had to grapple not only with his untimely death but also with their uncertainty about whether to honor his organ donation request. I was moved almost to tears by the scene.
If you haven’t seen The Pitt yet, this is a good time to do so. The second season begins January 8, 2026, less than two weeks away.
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Absolutely love The Pitt!
As a huge fan of ER (I own a copy of the series) and several other medical dramas I was really excited to see Noah Wyle back in the er. I was also skeptical that it could live up to the standard ER set.
It does that and more.
There are a few Easter eggs for die hard ER fans, and from what I have read the medical reality is pretty spot-on, which is a good thing. I am glad they portrayed a mass casualty event as I think people need to be aware of the limits of ERs under those circumstances.
Glad you enjoyed it! I am looking forward to season 2.