‘The Pitt’ Review: Noah Wyle Scrubs in for Max’s Effective ‘ER’-Adjacent Medical Procedural

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As a longtime fan of medical dramas, I must say that “The Pitt” has certainly piqued my interest and managed to carve out its own niche among the genre greats. While it may not be an “ER” redux per se, it undeniably benefits from the rich legacy left by its predecessor. The ensemble cast, led by Noah Wyle‘s compelling performance as the troubled yet dedicated Dr. Robby, brings a level of authenticity and grit that resonates with me.

What sets “The Pitt” apart is its commitment to tackling the real-world issues plaguing modern healthcare systems in America. Understaffing, underfunding, and the creeping influence of privatization are all explored through the lens of a hospital struggling to survive in 2024. The one-dimensional characterization of the hospital administrator Gloria may be a weak point, but her presence serves as a stark reminder of the systemic flaws that need addressing.

The real-time format, while challenging at times, lends an exciting and unpredictable edge to each episode. It’s not often you find a medical drama where a character spends an entire hour trying to make it to the bathroom only to be constantly thwarted – a running gag that had me chuckling throughout.

Despite my initial concerns about learning everyone’s name and developing affection for the characters, I found myself becoming invested in their stories as they unfolded over the first hour. The growth of character arcs may not always track logically within the confines of a 45-minute episode, but the performances are strong enough to carry the audience along.

In the end, “The Pitt” is more than just an homage to its predecessors; it stands as a testament to the resilience and dedication of medical professionals striving to care for their patients in a system that often seems stacked against them. And if you can’t appreciate a good medical drama that doesn’t take itself too seriously, well, you might want to check your pulse – because it appears you’ve just been diagnosed with a case of the living!

During the pandemic lockdown, many people spent long hours binge-watching medical dramas like ER and House, among others. Now, it seems that time invested has been rewarded with a surge of new television series set in hospitals. Some notable ones include NBC’s moderately superior Brilliant Minds, ABC’s intriguing St. Denis Medical, the quirky ABC show Doctor Odyssey, and Fox’s offering, titled Doc.

As a longtime fan of ER, I’ve always been eagerly waiting for a revival of this iconic medical drama. However, what we’re getting instead is Max’s The Pitt, which, despite featuring Noah Wyle as a key player, executive producer, and writer, along with a team led by ER veterans John Wells, R. Scott Gemmill, Joe Sachs, and more, doesn’t seem to be the much-anticipated revival that fans like me have been hoping for. In fact, it’s not an ER revival at all, especially from a legal standpoint. It feels more like a spin-off or a reimagining, which is a bit disappointing given my deep connection with the original series and its characters.

Absolutely not! “The Pitt” stands as a self-governing series, offering a fresh urban landscape seldom explored, an eclectic group of characters who are somewhat familiar yet new, and a storyline that blends elements of “ER” and “24,” thereby distinguishing it, at least to some extent.

In essence, if The Pitt were truly ER: Pittsburgh Edition, it likely wouldn’t require the sluggish start it seems to have, spending unnecessary time on character introductions and setting up a situation that doesn’t strictly need such extensive setup. However, once it picks up pace, The Pitt reveals itself as a competently produced medical drama, created by people familiar with crafting such productions. It offers a structural twist that can be quite effective at times but may also become somewhat bothersome and distracting on occasion.

Under Gemmill’s creation and Wells’ direction of the pilot episode, The Pitt plunges us into the tumultuous world of the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. The series unfolds at 7 a.m., with the narrative spanning across 15 episodes (the first 10 have been shared with critics). This storyline follows a single shift, overseen by Wyle’s character Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, and lasts for an hour in real-time per episode. However, each installment is typically around 45 minutes long, omitting the time skips due to commercial breaks, which could be frustrating if one contemplates it excessively.

Today marks the anniversary of the day when, amidst the peak of COVID, Robby’s mentor sadly passed away. Coincidentally, today is also the day that our trauma center admits a fresh batch of interns and residents, flooding the ER with enthusiastic novices much like John Carter was in the initial episode of ER. This scene isn’t unlike that seen in Grey’s Anatomy or numerous other medical dramas as well. The “First Day of Work” scenario is a common trope – something we have to accept and navigate.

During the initial hour, we encounter Robby’s prominent residents such as Collins (Tracy Ifeachor), who is pregnant; the sarcastic yet intelligent Langdon (Patrick Ball); Mohan (Supriya Ganesh), affectionately known as Slow-Mo due to her compassionate care towards patients; and single mother McKay (Fiona Dourif), whose past events will significantly impact the upcoming episodes.

The newcomers on the team consist of farm lad Whitaker (Gerran Howell), spirited yet clumsy King (Taylor Dearden), assertive Santos (Isa Briones), and young prodigy Javadi (Shabana Azeez). Some are learners, some are trainees. At times, their status doesn’t make much of a difference.

The lead nurse, Dana (Katherine LaNasa), skillfully manages the entire hospital operation, even casually using the local term “yinz” to confirm the series is set in Pittsburgh. However, apart from occasional references like a Primanti Bros lunch delivery or a patient requesting a Pirates score, the show isn’t heavily influenced by Pittsburgh culture, as most scenes are filmed indoors, primarily on a soundstage. One noteworthy exception is an elderly patient who had worked as a production designer on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Overall, the series doesn’t have a strong connection to Pittsburgh.

Apart from the primary dozen characters, there are numerous nurses, technicians, and guest surgeons, some of whom are given names while others remain unnamed. Initially, I had concerns that the show’s fast pace wouldn’t allow for a deep connection with any of its characters.

The chaos, surprisingly, serves as the focal point. The program’s real-time presentation is masterfully utilized to convey the bustling nature of a trauma center, where multiple events occur concurrently. Unlike conventional medical series, this one doesn’t follow a structured A, B, C plot for each episode. Instead, patients move through the narrative at varying speeds and levels of urgency. On a functional level, the cases often start off as routine and repetitive, featuring drug overdoses, health issues affecting the homeless population, and workplace injuries. However, they soon develop in unforeseen directions, escalating with unanticipated levels of tension, emotion, and graphic content. Viewers with queasy dispositions should exercise caution, as there are scenes involving a “degloved” foot, full-body burn victims, various instruments inserted into different body openings, an insect in an ear, and even three rats in the ER.

Everything is unfolding simultaneously, and what I admire most about the set design is its spaciousness and brightness, creating an atmosphere where you can focus on the action both in close-up and the activity happening elsewhere in the scene. The chaos is intentional and serves to portray a sense of disarray and uncontrollable chaos, as The Pitt aims to convey significant, if not revolutionary, insights about the shortcomings of emergency medicine in America by 2024: overburdened hospitals, undercompensated medical professionals, growing privatization, and a system divided based on insurance coverage.

The shortcomings of the system are symbolized through the character of hospital administrator Gloria (Michael Hyatt), who frequently appears in episodes to deliver harsh remarks concerning patient satisfaction ratings to Robby. This portrayal is rather one-dimensional and grows even more questionable when considering the real-time context of the series. In a typical show, a villain appearing once per episode would equate to weekly or biweekly visits. However, if this antagonist has the opportunity to bother you every 45 minutes, perhaps it’s time for the character to acquire a more time-consuming role.

In simpler terms, the real-time format often struggles in developing character arcs effectively. For instance, on a show like ER, we can see John Carter’s transformation from an inexperienced fool to a wise doctor over several seasons. However, the growth or humbling experienced by characters like Whitaker or Santos within a single season, such as here, doesn’t seem realistic or believable. This format is more suitable for comedic one-off events, like Robby’s unsuccessful attempts to reach the bathroom throughout an entire episode, or dramatic turning points, but not so much for maintaining internal logic, as 24’s Jack Bauer might attest.

Despite not being a direct sequel, “The Pitt” undeniably draws significant advantage from its predecessor’s existence. Working in the same genre has sharpened Eric Roberts’ acting abilities, and he convincingly speaks medical lingo as if born in a hospital. Roberts skillfully portrays both the controlled and nurturing aspects of Robby, as well as his unraveling and dangerous qualities. The show might even manage without his COVID flashbacks, which seem to disrupt the format’s integrity.

In the beginning, I was apprehensive about remembering everyone’s name and developing feelings for the numerous characters. But surprisingly, it only took an hour for the main characters to emerge, each with their own flaws and intricate backstories. Although some may find Howell’s character development implausible, he handles it skillfully, maintaining a sense of dignity through the recurring joke involving Whitaker being drenched in various bodily fluids. Dearden exudes a delicate sweetness that balances nicely with Dourif’s vulnerable fragility and Briones’ tough exterior, which you can tell is hiding her own emotional scars. The character evolutions for Ifeachor’s Collins and Ball’s Langdon can be jarring at times, but both actors effectively portray these transitions.

The show avoids using recurring characters for dramatic effect throughout the season (often referred to as “stunt-casting”), but it’s filled with familiar faces such as Abby Ryder Fortson from “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” who portrays a pregnant teenager; Mackenzie Astin as the son of an Alzheimer’s patient; and Ashley Romans, known for her role in “Y: The Last Man,” plays a woman with sickle cell. This allows the series to tackle issues like racial disparities in healthcare.

In a somewhat chaotic atmosphere, The Pitt skillfully constructs its main plotlines, culminating in an emotionally powerful eighth episode that brings on tears that seem genuinely warranted. This is reminiscent of how ER used to excel in this area. Although The Pitt is not identical to ER, it occasionally performs similar tasks in a manner that will delight fans of the genre.

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2025-01-03 20:27