Knit to This
The Pitt
You, like me, might be asking yourself if the world really, really needs another hour-long hospital show. After all, we have ER, which set a pretty high bar for the genre. We also have Grey’s Anatomy and Chicago Hope and The Good Doctor and eleventy-million others to stream. Isn’t there drama in other places? Like how about a series at the DMV? Or a big city public library?
Then came The Pitt, yet another hour-ish drama set in a big city hospital emergency room. My plan was to give it a pass but everyone (including one Ann Shayne and one Kay Gardiner) just kept talking about it. They wore me down—and am I better for it.
It’s not just because of Noah Wyle, whose Dr. Robinavitch is what his ER character might be like after 25 years in the increasingly broken American healthcare system. (It’s not a coincidence, mind. Two of The Pitt‘s producers also produced ER. This show is a sequel of sorts.)
While Wyle is The Pitt‘s beating heart, it’s the ensemble that gives it life. The core of nurses, med students, cleaners, and administrators each have their own stories to tell. Then there are the patients; some stay for just a few minutes, some we follow through the 15 episodes, each of which is one hour in one eventful shift.
The performances alone would be enough to make this a great show. However, the writing continuously digs deeper to find the humanity in what is someone’s worst day, as well as how sad and how funny the same moment can be. The writing team—Wyle wrote an episode or two, too—makes something hard look easy.
And not for nothing: The Pitt is set in Pittsburgh, my hometown. The production team did its research on the local color, including having one of the characters call a rude person a “jagoff,” which you’ll only hear around the Steel City. My only gripe is that more of the folks in the waiting room would sound like Myron Cope but one can’t have everything n’at.
As much as I adore The Pitt (and can’t wait for the next season), I still think we should look for drama in other places. I’m sure there’s plenty of stories at the DMV, the public library, or (hear me out) your local yarn shop.
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We found a dead patron in the library bathroom at closing time. That was dramatic enough for us.
I’m so sorry you had that experience.
CBS is debuting a show about the DMV in the Fall of 2025! https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33078075/
OMG. So much drama at the DMV!
As a current Pittsburgher, I cracked up at your “n’at” comment. So true. If someone asks for a gum band, I know they’ve nailed it. I’m amazed at the actors from the UK whose American accents are virtually flawless. Next season: July 4th. Sounds like fireworks at the Point, don’t you think?
I spent a good bit of my working years at a couple of trauma centers in Pittsburgh. I can testify to the intensity of teamwork when that trauma beeper went off. Going full tilt until a patient is stable is a feeling I remember well. As a Blood Banker, the scenes of people donating in the ER were pretty far fetched, but packing coolers full of products for transport to the Bedside or OR was a common activity. Restocking from neighboring hospitals was done by delivery drivers, not choppers.
I enjoy the scenes of Pittsburgh skyline and references to local landmarks and such. I hope we get more seasons to enjoy..love watching The Pitt!
Love The Pitt! My husband (retired ER physician) watches it with me and also enjoys it, often giving a play-by-play about how to handle patients’ medical problems, but is thankful none of the ER’s where he worked were quite that intense!
You are right there is always drama at the LYS! Tearful entrance – “please tell me you still carry (fill in the bank) that I saw here last summer?!” Or “dear just go down the street to the pub and I will meet you there.” Ooh I have to stop or I will be here this evening and this will be a 4,000 word essay!
Adrienne, Pittsburgh is my hometown too and I especially love your stories about the ‘burgh. The Pitt is great. I am a nurse and worked at nearly every hospital in Pittsburgh during my very long career, including Allegheny General. I know that most of the scenes are filmed on a sound stage far, far away from Pittsburgh but those scenes of the hospital, neighborhood, and even beer in the park make me fall in love with our city all over again. And thanks for the shoutout to Myron – yoy!!!
The Pitt is the best medical drama I’ve seen so far, in terms of medical accuracy. As a former NYC EMS Paramedic 1980-87, I found virtually all previous medical shows on TV were cringe worthy and impossible to watch but this one has that reality mixture of grit, accuracy and humanity. Plus Noah Wyle is so watchable!
I hear such good things about this show. Don’t think it’s on a network I subscribe to, but a girl can hope.
As a Pittsburgher, I’d also appreciate some authenticity with the accents.
I live in Pittsburgh and know people whose work has brought them in contact with the producers of the Pitt, including Noah Wyle. I keep hearing how kind and engaged they are, and how committed they are to getting it right in the storytelling.
I think a library or yarn shop would be a great place for a series. The stories would be varied, with lots of drama, but gentle. Not so much stress and high action. Like a “This is Us” kind of vibe. We can hope.
I’m sorry but I’ve spent too much time in hospitals and have had too much death and dying. I’ll give this a pass but look forward to future recommendations. ☮️
Oh my gosh I agree about the placement of dramas in a bigger variety of venues/businesses. Law firms and hospitals are covered. Since drama is interpersonal, can we not experience it at a real estate agency, at Citibank Paris, or at a fabulous landscaping firm. Or the Rambla market in Barcelona, or below decks on a cruise ship. A major soda company bottling line? Maybe the clothing wouldn’t be glamorous enough for some. But the Tahoe slogan game would be strong!!!
T shirt, not Tahoe.