The Pitt Season 1

I’ve been on season 9 of ER forever and a recent visit to the hospital brought back memories of the show. A nurse mentioned The Pitt and after having watched the first two episodes when they originally aired, I decided to start it back up. A few days later and the 15 episode season is devoured.

This show is set in the Emergency Room of a Pennsylvania hospital. It’s underfunded, understaffed, and constantly busy. Each episode represents an hour long segment of a day shift from 7am to 9pm. It’s day 1 for a handful of new student doctors that we get to watch gain confidence as the day progresses. Noah Lyle stars as their attendee and it was fun to imagine him as an older John Carter.

The Pitt evoked all the emotions. I couldn’t help but build an attachment to every single cast member of the show. It’s hard not to feel close to people in such a chaotic setting. It’s a ludicrous comparison, but it really brought me back to my time in public accounting. Working long hours, constantly juggling and switching between tasks, speaking delicately to clients, and adjusting to various management styles. What helps you get through it is the people.

The main draw of the show is how it keeps getting crazier while still staying realistic and believable. This isn’t a show that will coddle you with everything always working out. People will die, things will go wrong, and your heart will break. Somehow, it will still find times to make you laugh throughout all this.

Noah shines in his ability to show just how beaten down and drained he becomes as Robby. He has PSTD from losing his boss during COVID and you can see it hitting him throughout the day. He has to deal with a million things such as a girl drowning from saving her younger sister, a kid dying from fentanyl-laced drugs meant for studying, and an insane mass shooting at a concert.

The part that absolutely destroyed me was when he couldn’t save his (like-sons) girlfriend. Jake was blaming him for it when looking at the body and Robby completely breaks down. He tells Jake all the deaths he’s seen today and how they’ll all stick with him, then says he’ll remember Leah long after he forgets about her. He realizes what he just said and wheels Jake out of the room before curling up against the wall and sobbing. The rawness and realness of this scene might have been top ten for me. We’ve gone through this whole day with Robby and it’s impossible not to see where he’s coming from and why it has overwhelmed him. He did everything to save Leah and Jake blaming him was the last straw.

The Pitt is also a sign of the times. It’s depressing to see just how angry and impatient people have become. The show addresses it when one of the nurses gets punched in the face from someone tired of waiting. The long wait times, low security for the workers, and staffing issues are products of just how neglected our health care system can be. How can you not empathize with their plight?

I just saw that The Pitt won the Emmy for best Drama, lead actor, and supporting actress. It deserves all the flowers and more.

Rating: 973/1000