The Pitt’s First Season Offers a Gripping but Grounded Take on the Medical Field
Image Courtesy of HBO Max
By Luis Zonenberg
As we wrap up our look back at last year’s films and TV shows, I wanted to reexamine one last TV show that was highly acclaimed by both critics and audiences. No TV drama fit the bill better than HBO’s The Pitt, a brand new medical drama that offers a refreshingly grounded take on the genre. The show has been sweeping up all the major TV awards, so I figured it was time to check it out and see if this show’s first season was truly worth all the hype.
The show follows a unique story structure, following a 14-hour emergency room shift with each episode covering about an hour of the time. This particular structure worked wonders in shows like 24, immersing the audience in real-time as each episode progresses. This not only elevates the tension but also makes the environment all the more nerve-wracking and believable.
The series focuses on senior attending physician Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) as he returns to work at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital (nicknamed “the Pitt”). At 7:00 am, he welcomes the new trainees to the Pitt: second-year resident Dr. Melissa King (Taylor Dearden), first-year resident Trinity Santos (Isa Briones), and medical students Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez) and Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell). Throughout the day, Robby checks on each of the trainees as the Pitt gets swarmed with varying casualties.
To make matters worse, this particular day at the Pitt also marks the fourth anniversary of the death of Robby’s mentor, Dr. Adamson. Knowing how much Adamson’s death affected Robby, head nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) constantly checks in on him throughout the day to make sure he’s mentally stable enough to work. The day only gets worse when he has to organize the organ donation for a brain-dead teen, and when he fails to save the life of his step-son’s girlfriend, it elevates his PTSD to a whole new degree!
There’s also no shortage of dilemmas among the other attending physicians, like Dr. Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif) having to treat her ex-husband, Chad (Robert Hepps), while she battles for custody of her son, Harrison (Henry Samiri), with Chad’s 25-year-old girlfriend, (Jonetta Kaiser). There’s also tension brewing between Santos and senior resident Dr. Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball), who she believes has been secretly stealing pain medicine from the hospital. As more and more patients swarm in, each physician has to avoid letting their personal dilemmas prevent them from helping as many patients as possible!
There are a lot of moving pieces to this first season, with a plethora of memorable characters that are all distinct and quirky in their own way. There are lingering plot threads and patient cases that span multiple episodes, with the hour-by-hour story structure making it all the more enticing to binge the whole season in one go! At times, though, it did feel there were probably too many plots jammed in here, making it harder to deliver a satisfying conclusion to each lingering storyline.
By far the biggest highlight of the first season was the Pittfest mass casualty arc, which spanned over the last four episodes of the season. All the episodes prior had done a wonderful job of creating nerve-wracking suspense with no shortage of character development, but this particular story thread elevated everything to a whole new level! With each episode having a shorter runtime and showcasing a plethora of patients for the physicians to treat, it makes efficient use of its tight story, with the cast delivering some of the best performances of the entire season.
The entire cast was absolutely phenomenal, with Noah Wyle anchoring the show with his candid but charming demeanor. Wyle works well off his co-stars, making his character’s relationship with each one of them all the more believable. Katherine LaNasa was by far the highlight, though, working well as the voice of reason in a chaotic workplace environment. Other supporting actors like Fiona Dourif, Gerran Howell, Taylor Dearden, and Patrick Ball all play their roles to perfection, elevating both the drama and occasional humor.
The cinematography was outstanding, feeling tailor-made for the TV format. The tight closeups and occasional shakiness made the environment feel more cramped and uncomfortable, allowing the audience to really immerse themselves in the show. Despite being confined to one section of the hospital, the camerawork brilliantly follows each of the characters and transitions from one character to another with a simple focus change. These are simple but brilliantly effective tricks that made the show all the more engaging to watch.
Something else I wanted to address was the makeup and overall VFX, which was absolutely mesmerizing! From the burns on a patient’s leg to the color and dry skin of a coma patient, the makeup artists went above and beyond to make each wound look as realistic as possible. There was some minor CGI used for blood and wide landscape shots of the city, but it blended in seamlessly with the practical environment and practical effects used for the hospital patients.
While this season certainly has its flaws, it proves to be a brilliant medical drama while still feeling distinct from others like ER and Grey’s Anatomy. Showrunner R. Scott Gemmill grounds the show in a realistic environment, ensuring the hour-by-hour story structure works to fuel the tension and keeps the audience engaged throughout the season. While The Pitt’s first season might be a tad bit overstuffed, this trip to the hospital proves to be a wonderful delight thanks to the show’s devoted cast.
All episodes of The Pitt are now streaming on HBO Max.
Rating: ★★★★☆
