The year began with the premiere of a new medical series, which promises to be one of the best of the season, and from which I will give you more details, so you can tell me if you think the same.
Created by R. Scott Gemmill, one of the producers and writers of some seasons of ER (who also writes this first two episodes directed by John Wells and Amanda Marsalis, respectively), comes The Pitt, presenting its story in “real-time”, a format little exploited in the field of medical procedurals, and this is how we’ll get to see a full 15-hour shift, over the course of a season.
The creators don’t waste any time, because in the first 10 minutes they introduce us to the main characters one after the other and with just a few details we can get to know them a little. First we have Dr. Michael Robinavitch, aka Dr. Robby (played by another ER graduate, Noah Wyle), who arrives for his shift on a day that’s apparently not the best for him, as we discover that it is the anniversary of the death of his mentor and predecessor as head of the emergency department at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital, who died during the pandemic.
Noah Wyle as Dr. Michael Robinavitch / Photograph by Warrick Page/Max
With his first scenes and interactions with others, we can realize that Dr. Robby is a risk-taker, that makes decisions trusting his instincts and experience, and doesn’t like to give up, he is a bit cynical which puts him at odds with his colleagues (though they still trust him and show him their support), the hospital administration and even with the patients, because we learn the acceptance numbers in the emergency room are low, but this is caused by the shortage of hospital staff and that’s why on the upper floors don’t want to accept new patients, so they get stuck in the ER and make the work there more chaotic, and that’s one of the reasons he “affectionately” calls his workspace The Pitt (pun intended).
We also meet a group of medical students who will be helping out in the emergency room, and along with them we will learn how this area works and discover who and how the doctors, nurses and some of the patients are.
Gerran Howell as Dr. Dennis Whitaker and Taylor Dearden as Dr. Melissa King / Photograph by Warrick Page/Max
Among the medical cases we are introduced to in these first episodes we have a woman who fell onto the subway tracks, but it’s hard to tell if someone pushed her because the hospital staff can’t figure out what language she speaks. Others include a young athlete who suffers a heart attack, an old man from a nursing home whose children face a dilemma, an unconscious child who is found to have eaten some not-so-innocent candy, and a worried mother who makes herself sick to try to get help for her son, as well as a young man who is unresponsive and whose parents will have to face a difficult time.
Something different about this series is that, because of the type of format, not only can we delve into the stories and relationships of the doctors and part of the hospital staff, but also some patients become regular characters, unlike other series where the case ends at the end of the episode and the next week we have a completely new one.
Photograph by Warrick Page/Max
I find the real-time format very interesting because it gives a more realistic idea of the day-to-day life in an emergency room, in addition to the fact that the story becomes more dynamic and fast and makes the episode go by very quickly and you don’t feel the almost 50 minutes long. At all times, there is a sense of urgency, because there are always new cases, and although the previous ones have not ended, others continue to arrive: sad, serious, shocking, bloody cases and others that are more normal and simple. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why I have read several comments from people who work in health services who mention that The Pitt is very realistic, because they feel that it truly portrays the cases and problems they have to deal with in real life.
The story and the pace are very attractive and you don’t want to miss a minute, and leaving the cases open makes you want to keep watching the next episode, so I consider it to be a good binge watch product, though the drama could feel a bit heavy to watch all at once, so I think it’s good that it was set as a weekly series, so we can have a break before continuing with the story. So if you haven’t started this series yet and it catches your attention, you’re in time to catch up and follow it week by week through Max.
Now it’s your turn to leave your comments and impressions about this new series in the section below.
