User reviews

I never watched many medical shows until I retired. Didn't want to bring the hospital home with me. Shows like House may have had good actors but were unrealistic fantasies when it came to real medicine. After retiring I watched all 15 seasons of ER over a few months. That show captured the reality of ER medicine as well as hospital politics, although it compressed time. Things happen fast, but not that fast or intense over an entire day, and not nearly as many open chest heart massages occur. But you really did get to see what it was like. Now The Pitt brings the same flavor of show as ER was. So if you enjoyed watching ER, you will like this.

I'm a board certified EM physician who has worked in big trauma centers and small but busy community ER's. Most medical shows are hyper unrealistic, which normally leads to absurd requests from patients. I'm only one episode in, but this is the first show (besides scrubs) that paints an accurate picture of what it's like to work in emergency medicine. Bravo to the consultants they got for this one; clearly they consulted an emergency medicine physician or three. I look forward to watching the rest of the series. Future medical series should follow in The Pitt's footsteps and actually consult a real physician if you want it to be accurate.

Absolutely amazing! Only 2 episodes in and I can't stand the week long wait to find out what happens next. Innovative, captivating, charming, exciting, & very intriguing. I'll update when episode 15 comes in for a landing, but so far I can say that I have not enjoyed medical series or any series this much in a long time. Noah Wyle didn't miss a beat. Dr Carter was fantastic, but Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch is next level. All of the limitations of network television be damned. This show has heart. This show has guts. This show has brains. This show has balls! The surrounding and supporting cast share chemistry like television hasn't seen in years. Keep it up guys. I am eagerly awaiting episode 3.

I work in healthcare and this show is an accurate depiction of what takes place in a very busy urban Emergency Department. The scenes of intubation, codes, and family grief are real and something that happens on a daily basis if not hourly. People complaining about camera angles need to realize that healthcare workers that are part of the "action" often feel disjointed and out of control we just have a better way of disguising it! This show shows that there are always subplots to the action that is occurring and occasionally that are bright spots! With only 2 episodes so far I say give it a chance you might learn something about healthcare. Noah Wylie is a great person to headline this show.

I worked in EMS after training at a large teaching hospital. I rarely watch medical shows because the portrayal of medicine is so dumbed-down and inaccurate. I understand that it's a show and some license will be taken, but at least put in some effort to help me suspend disbelief. The Pitt puts in major effort to get it right (which I expect from creator of 'Southland' John Wells, one of the few cop shows that did it more accurately than most). ER's are places of extreme excitement, sadness and humor (the rat scene alone beat many comedies made today). It's fun to be a couple episodes into a medical show and looking forward to more instead of rolling my eyes and moving on.

Being Hollywood we get the usual moralizing, but most shows lecture while delivering inane dialogue with one dimensional characters. Give me a solid story in a realistic setting with great characters and I can sit through a fair share of finger-wagging. It's great seeing Noah Wylie in a hospital again, especially as a veteran doctor surrounded by fresh-faced medical rookies like he was in ER. The acting has been great from everyone. I recognize so many of these personalities from a career around this environment. The Pitt is a great new show.

This is ER on steroids, I can't believe they did it and brought back my fav tv doc of all time!

I'm ecstatic!

I'm only 1 episode in and this is getting better by the minute, it's the first time I'm so happy that I'm 42 and have had the privilege to watch ER and now we get this gem.

Only thing that could make this better is adding the OG ER into theme.

Noah waily is charming, his character is much less dark that I thought they would make him, there's no non-cringy way of saying this but he's like an older, more mature and evolved Dr. Carter.

I wish I could see the look on his face when he got a call to show up for this role.

I'm a physician / psychiatrist, and I am so happy to have a medical show I enjoy!

I spent three months in the trauma bay of a busy inner city ER, as a med student, and many more many more years in the ER for other rotations and for work.

It's refreshing to see the ER portrayed in a realistic way. Also, mental health patients and their issues are handled appropriately and with empathy. I wish they showed psychiatrists and other specialists as they consult in the ER.

I experienced burnout and took time off, this show has been a major factor in me reconsidering returning to work. It has reminded me of the redeeming part of my work and all the wonderful colleagues I had. As medicine becomes increasingly monetized and scrutinized for productivity and bled dry by private equity it helped me remember why I have so much to do this job.

Creator R. Scott Gemmill knows his way around the medical field via the classic series, E. R. Now gloves are off for The Pitt, showing warts and all in this adrenaline pumped hospital series where each episode is an hour of the day shift in an emergency ward. Within two hours (in 2 episodes) there is so much that happens, that it even makes the viewer overanxious! To top it all off, there are flashes to the pandemic chaos in the emergent ward, where even that is enough to trigger anybody with PTSD from that period. An intense series that reveals what the poor staff go through each hour of what seems to be an eternity in damnation. Glad it is a weekly screening, because I sure need that break, and I'm only watching this from the comfort of my armchair...

Now, I'm no medical professional but damn, after watching shows like house, greys and a bunch of others, this is topping them all. Start to finish medical action with wit and drama without the stars making out in closets and exploring the love triangles which are assumed to be present in all hospitals.

They jump right into the action with disregard to trying to tick off all the political correctness narratives and have focused on a solid story line. It sort of reminds me of a real ER documentary without the standard Hollywood procedural drama. It's got realistic people, gore, reactions and verbiage.

Bravo showrunners. Only one episode in and hoping this doesn't U-turn into the housewives of ER and Greys Anatomy that we have come to know.

And I can honestly say I have never seen another show with more realism about what life in the ER is really like. This show captures it all... bravo to the writers, directors and the actors. Well done!!!!

Yes, it is really that chaotic, busy and sad.. from the tight-knit group of doctors and nurses, techs, secretaries, EVS and security. We all band together to take care of sick patients, homeless patients, behavioral medicine patients, dying patients, trauma patients, nursing home patients, not sick patients, you name it we take care of it.

And we have a thing called ER humor, I really appreciate that the show has captured this because without it we'd cry every day. Again, thank you to the writers and the actors for portraying a day in our life.

I am giving this 8 stars after the first two episodes only because I don't want to get my hopes up. ER and Saint Elsewhere were my favorite medical dramas. They stayed (mostly) close to reality as far as medical procedures, but when shows like these veer off into ridiculous personal lives of the staff, I lose interest fast. I had a 20+ years career in various medical settings. There definitely is personal drama behind the scenes, but when medical dramas make that part more important, they venture into daytime soap territory. If The Pitt stays like the first two episodes, I might go to 10 stars. If it goes the way of ER, well, let's just say the stars will fall.

Enough already with everyone asking if everyone else is OK!

Well, this new series has all the vibes of the old 'ER', which frankly is curious because this show could appear on network TV. But, since it's on HBO MAX, why not make it more adult?!

That aside, the supporting cast, other than Noah Wyle (of course) are not of the caliber of the old 'ER', although there are some promising candidates. Noah, however, is on his 'A' game. I am further surprised that Shawn Hatosy is not more prominently featured and billed.

Otherwise, it has all the rhythms and pace of the old 'ER', and I did enjoy it, I just didn't love it. But, I will add it to my weekly viewing schedule.

The stories and procedural aspects are extremely engaging. You can go from a chuckle to feeling like your heart is being ripped out and back to a smile again. That is exactly as it should be. The acting is great! Every actor and actress does a fantastic job of giving depth to their character, no matter the size of the part......BUT........why do we have to have social justice issue naratives. These political naratives are a distraction from the story and don't have any bearing on the story. Many of us watch these television series to get away from the BS that politicians and legacy media exaggerate. It's a shame that writers do this to shows that could be so great.

As a life-long yinzer (that means Pittsburgher) I couldn't be more proud that this show was filmed in and represents a Pittsburgh Hopital. The show style, based on the format of 24, shows a daily shift in a busy EM department. One hour of show equals one hour episode. Very cool! The scripts, so far are great. A nice combo of excitement, stress, humor, pathos, delivered by some incredibly talented actors. The situations are taken right out of the headlines. Fentanyl OD's, homelessness, advanced directives, the cost of a decent education, family pressures and expectations. I feel pretty old seeing favorite actors like Noah Wylie, who played a young medical student in E. R. now heading the EM department as the veteran "old guy", and he's fantastic. Two "hours" down, looking forward to the rest. 9/10 rating from me. BRAVO!

Haven't watched a medical hospital based drama since ER & House. Almost in the style of a Docu-drama so interesting to see American hospitals are now just as overrun as everywhere else, despite the glossy private healthcare brochures saying otherwise!

They must have quite the staff of medical advisors to take actors through procedures and clinical reasoning with that level of detail, let's hope they were recently retired and not pulled from hospital shifts!

The pacing is non stop, but as it's often said would you rather be busy or bored to death at work? Wyle as the (hiding his post covid ptsd) dept head is cast well, even the medical students are written well..so here's hoping 🤞

As a long time EMT-1A, with first responder background, not load-n-go, it made my hairs stand up with its intense level of realism! From the staff, to the patients, to the medical emergencies, to the equiptment, it was on the money! I wasn't expecting a documentary, but the work done by the writers to keep it real was simply above and beyond.

That being said, I just hope that things don't devolve in typical Hollywood fashion, with the distraction of an unnecessary romantic entanglement. In my experience, ER professionals tend to be VERY passionate, due to the intensity of their work, but for the most part, romance/hook-ups are left to after hours. Since the show takes place within the context of a 15 hour day, let's hope it stays that way.

I end by saying BRAVO! So far, so GREAT!!

Not 100% perfect, but of the dozen other medical shows I've seen, this one is especially well done. I have worked in an ER for the last two years, and there are many little details included in The Pitt that most medical shows miss or leave out that always irk me. While it is a little dramatic because it's tv, a bad day in my ER looks shockingly similar to how it is portrayed here. Lots of little details are included from multiple aspects like coworker interactions, patients interacting with other patients, first responders involvement, etc. Even down to the regulars that you know their name, chief complaint, and their food order before they check in lol.

Side rant: Thank god the CPR is reasonably decent. I've never understood how terrible the CPR is on nearly every medical show. It always shocked me that there was either nobody CPR certified to correct the actors or the show didn't care enough to make it accurate. Well done to everybody who worked on this series for putting in the effort and quality.

Noah Wyle will win awards for his performance!

Authenticity: The show nails the chaotic, high-pressure atmosphere of a real hospital. From the constant interruptions, overflowing waiting rooms, and the ever-present threat of the next crisis, "The Pit" captures the exhausting yet exhilarating nature of the job.

* Character Depth: The ensemble cast is strong, with believable portrayals of doctors, nurses, and support staff grappling with burnout, personal struggles, and the ethical dilemmas inherent in their work.

* Medical Accuracy: While dramatized for entertainment, the medical procedures and patient conditions depicted often feel surprisingly realistic, adding to the show's credibility.

Refreshing to finally see a show that gets it right. Emergency medicine is stressful and the show does a good job of capturing the busy and often chaotic nature of the ER physician role and the multidisciplinary approach to patient care.

Didn't feel like wasting my time or your time with a long drawn out review. Duplicated what I wrote above due to a character requirement to submit a review for which I do care to fulfill.

Refreshing to finally see a show that gets it right. Emergency medicine is stressful and the show does a good job of capturing the busy and often chaotic nature of the ER physician role and the multidisciplinary approach to patient care.

Noah Wyle is back, and I couldn't be more thrilled! His performance in this show is an absolute 10. I've loved him since his ER days, and it's such a treat to see him grace the ER once again. He has an incredible knack for building on-screen chemistry (remember Eric La Salle?!) with his co-stars, and this entire cast is phenomenal.

On a personal note, Pittsburgh has become a second home to me over the past couple of years, so I'm especially excited about that connection. The show captures the unique vibe of Yinzers so well. However, even if it were set in another city, I'd still be hooked!

This show is truly incredible. MORE, MORE, MORE, please and thank you!

Sigh. I was hopeful, but unfortunately the show has fallen under the category of yet another propaganda vessel. The not so subtle cheap digs of the characters who were inserted into the storyline spouting about masks, vaccines, hyper masculine as "stupid people" fat shaming due to an overlook and the additional leaning into of changing a pts chart to reflect their preferred pronoun. All steers the audience into yet another hypnotic and not so subtle directive of "who to behave" and anything less than what is to be tolerated by whomever is writing the show is a "less than" or " stupid person". It continues the political ideology that is off putting and polarizing. The idea that making people wait for over 12 hours or more with the expectation that the very sick, hurt, vulnerable population they are portraying should be well behaved lab rats who do what they are told is inhuman and detached from reality. Had an opportunity having Noah as your lead and dropped the ball inserting their one sided world view.

The show and the drama are enjoyable. They spend too much time and energy trying to shove ideological rhetoric down your throat. This is a perfect example of why the masses are abandoning mainstream television and Hollywood in general. Give it a break. Make a show because you want to make a show, not because you want a vessel for your social and political beliefs. Besides that the show is not bad. I don't have the issue other reviewers have with the camera angles or the sterilized emergency room. The acting is good, some of the characters are annoying but that is life, you aren't always going to like your coworkers in a high stress environment.

You know, sometimes when I'm driving through the Rust Belt, I ask myself, "Could Pittsburgh possibly get any more gritty?" Right then, some Hollywood exec decides to set up camp in Tinseltown to shoot a story about a Pittsburgh hospital, and-boom-along comes The Pitt. And ironically, not a single steel beam was harmed in the making of this show (most of the filming took place in Los Angeles, folks). But hey, that's the magic of television: illusions on illusions. They trick us into thinking anything's possible, like doctors who do everything from open-heart surgery to searching for a patient's lost slippers in the supply closet. But I digress. Let's talk about The Pitt-a spiritual sequel to ER if you will, or in my mind, what ER would've remained if it hadn't gone full daytime soap.

Setting the Scene

Remember that classic sequence in ER-the one that ended up with Dr. Carter diving into more personal tragedies than an entire Shakespeare anthology? You half expected that poor guy to see Macbeth's ghost in the locker room. Well, apparently, Noah Wyle had a vision to resurrect Dr. Carter in a new show. Only problem? He and John Wells forgot to bribe Michael Crichton's estate with enough stethoscopes. So they pivoted-did the old "change-a-roo." Now we have a hospital series set in Pittsburgh, except they filmed it in Los Angeles. It's a bit like eating vegan cheesesteak- you're not quite sure it's authentic, but you're willing to go along for the ride, hoping you at least get some sizzling drama to fill the sandwich of your entertainment needs.

In walks Noah Wyle-the man, the myth, the doc who carried ER like Atlas carried the world on his shoulders. He's now carrying The Pitt like it's a delicate tray of hospital Jell-O. And by "carrying," I mean if you took him out, this show might just roll into a standard-fare TV drama about angels in white coats who spit out medical jargon. Don't get me wrong-there are other talented folks in the cast (I see you, Tracy Ifeachor and Patrick Ball), but Wyle's the stethoscope that keeps the heartbeat pumping so far. Let's hope those diamonds in the rough get polished fast, because this is a cast that, with the right script, might sparkle like the Allegheny at sunrise. Otherwise, we might be left with yet another quick fix medical drama that's more forgettable than that weekly check-up.

Why The Pitt Works (So Far)

You know the first five seasons of ER, back in the day when they'd show raw, real trauma and the overhead speaker never seemed to shut up about GSWs, incoming traumas, or Dr. Greene's personal meltdown? That era of medical drama actually made you squirm in your seat. The Pitt does its best to replicate that tension. There's a grit here that says, "Hey, we're not just a bunch of model-perfect doctors sipping lattes between surgeries. We're dealing with the underbelly of real hospital life." I'm talking about legitimate medical cases, blood spurts, the beep of machinery that sets your nerves on edge, and that feeling that at any second, something can and will go horribly wrong.

While ER eventually paraded around with plot lines that might have fit better on Days of Our Lives, The Pitt sets up shop with the promise of, "We're going to show you the real stuff-the heartbreak, the panic, the drama that you can practically smell." It's like they combined the old ER tenacity with a dash of House cynicism (minus the cane-wielding hero), and threw in some of that docudrama camera style, where the lens shakes so much you're certain the cameraman just got off a roller coaster.

And that's the rub-there's an authentic vibe, a kind of handheld urgency. I appreciate it to a point. I love me some adrenaline in my TV shows. The tension keeps me from burying myself in a phone game of Candy Crush while the plot unfolds. Here's a show that demands your attention. It's telling you: "Blood, scrubs, heartbreak. Keep your eyes on the prize." And for the most part, it succeeds.

Where's the Nurses?

But for a show about an emergency department, you ever notice how in real life, nurses are basically the unsung heroes who hold the entire operation together? I come from a family of nurses. True story: I can't go to a family gathering without hearing about the nurse who had to MacGyver a cure for a patient whose IV stand decided to spontaneously implode, while the doctor was busy signing forms in the corner. The Pitt would have you believe that doctors do most everything-hanging IV bags, checking vital signs, even mopping up the floor if a patient yaks all over the hallway. Realistically, that's like telling me Tom Brady personally sets up the Gatorade cups on the sideline. Sorry, doc, that's not your gig.

Yes, doctors are important. But nurses? They are the blood pumping through the hospital's veins. I watch The Pitt and I'm like, "Where's the nurse who would be screaming at Dr. Overworked to get out of the way while they secure an airway?" Or the nurse who's telling the med student that "No, honey, you can't just jab a vein with a 16-gauge needle. Let me show you how a pro does it." The show's got great drama, but it needs a few more nurse characters stepping up to the plate-or in this case, stepping into the oncoming chaos of a level one trauma.

Cameras on Shaky Ground

If you love the docudrama style, you'll be about as happy as a camera operator hopped up on three espressos. Personally, I get the narrative style. The unsteady camera mirrors the uncertainty of emergency medicine. But after fifteen minutes, I'm checking my living room for hidden tectonic plates. "Is that an earthquake? Or is someone applying a shaky cam filter?"

It's not like we can't handle a good handheld shot. I'm all for realism, especially in these urgent medical crises. But eventually the novelty wears off, and you think, "Alright, Steven Soderbergh, let's keep the ground stable, please." The actors are good enough to convey the tension without giving me motion sickness. Let them do their job. It's the same reasoning behind not over-seasoning a steak-sometimes less is more.

Characters in Their Infancy

Another reason to hold tight: these characters are basically newborns in the big ol' crib of primetime. Right now, they're still sorting out personalities, backgrounds, and what kind of coffee order defines them as unique individuals. We see glimpses: Noah Wyle as the jaded but kindhearted doc (surprise, surprise-some things never change). Tracy Ifeachor portrays a surgeon who exudes that stoic determination, and Patrick Ball is the new resident who's so wide-eyed you'd think he just stepped into Oz for the first time.

I'm not here to slam them for not being fully formed in episode one. This is how television works- pilot episodes and early arcs are basically lumps of clay, just waiting for the sculptor's deft hand. The question: will the writers be Michelangelos, shaping these lumps into a masterpiece? Or will they end up with something that belongs in a yard sale next to those old porcelain clowns nobody wants? Only time will tell, folks.

But if they don't hurry up and give us a real reason to fall in love, or at least in mild intrigue, with these doctors and nurses (if they add nurses, that is), we might all change the channel faster than you can say "stat." Because grit and adrenaline are a nice garnish, but you gotta have substance under the hustle.

A Whiff of Nostalgia

Let's talk for a minute about the ghost of Dr. John Carter that hovers over this show like Marley in A Christmas Carol. The Pitt was almost an actual ER revival. I can practically hear the old theme music, the frantic pace, the overhead P. A. system, the wail of ambulances. If you squint, you can imagine The Pitt is just ER in Pittsburgh, with a cameo or two from old cast members (Noah Wyle, obviously, and Shawn Hatosy who once guested as a guy with multiple personalities). So if you're an ER fan, you'll catch whiffs of that old magic. The set design, the tension, the battered staff lounge-it all reminds you of that 90s glory.

But as with any spiritual sequel, you have to gauge it on its own merits. Sure, the idea was to pick up where ER left off, but a decade or so has passed. New tech, new diseases, new crises. The Pitt is forging its own path. The question is: will it keep forging, or will it devolve into a knock-off, a mere clone that tries too hard to recapture the Carter glory? Let's hope for the forging. My heart can't handle another disappointment.

Pittsburgh or Bust

The funniest part of The Pitt is that, while it's set in Pittsburgh, it was basically shot in L. A. on sound stages. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Seinfeld was set in New York City, but shot in Los Angeles. Friends? Same story. It's part of the TV business. But ironically, The Pitt tries to incorporate a "Pittsburgh feel" that looks suspiciously like downtown Glendale if you tilt your head just so. But hey, they did apparently shoot a few days in Pittsburgh last September, so at least they gave the city a cameo. I guess that's better than the dreaded "fake establishing shot" of the skyline.

I'm not a cynic about the production value-if anything, it shows how well the set designers can transform a corner of Los Angeles into a small chunk of the Steel City. The real challenge is making it authentic enough that I can taste the Iron City Beer in the cafeteria. Maybe if they keep filming a few exteriors in Pittsburgh, we'll get some legitimate references. Next time, let's see an actual shot of the Duquesne Incline with a doc on a coffee break, or maybe the giant neon Heinz Ketchup sign cameo. A man can dream.

The Cast: Old Favorites, New Surprises

Noah Wyle: The centerpiece, the gold standard, the stethoscope that doctors all envy. He's bringing that classic "I've been in this chaos before" vibe. You can almost see the subtle nods to Dr. Carter, though it's obviously a new character. Wyle's still got the comedic timing and dramatic chops. It's like he's te.

This show is great. It's amazing to see noah wyle back in action seeing as how he was part of the golden age of ER. His work make's it believable, the aspects that have been covered so far have been realistically depicted. This is an amazing setup and cast. It seems medically accurate so far as the first 2 are concerned, which also is another plus. This show so far has been everything I have ever wanted from an ER spiritual successor.

Each character has their own personality, and it shows. The way everyone kind of of gels but doesn't mimics how real life works as well. So as far as this series goes.

I'll give it a 10/10.