A thriller series is usually pretty easy to identifier: blurry cover art, a tagline about some big conspiracy or fight for justice, Kiefer Sutherland running somewhere. But often, the best thriller series look nothing like you think. Sometimes they’re sci-fi series, melodramas, or even comedies.
One of the best thriller series of the decade is something completely different: a medical series that has turned into a pop culture phenomenon that harkens back to TV’s golden age.
The Pitt (allegedly) started as a spinoff of ER, starring Noah Wyle, who appeared on the long-running medical drama as Dr. John Carter. But due to rights issues with the estate of ER creator Michael Crichton (yes, the Jurassic Park Michael Crichton), the series had to be tweaked — but it may have been a blessing.
It’s the differences to ER that make The Pitt so amazing. Wyle stars as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, the head of an ER in Pittsburgh. Dr. Robby is completely different from the reformed WASPy rich boy Dr. Carter: he’s dealing with trauma, very empathetic to his patients, and holds his Jewish faith close to his heart.
The structure is also completely different: while ER episodes could span hours, days, or even weeks, each season of The Pitt covers a single shift, one hour per episode. That means that patients and characters are present for multiple episodes at a time, so you can follow a case in almost real time.
Season 1 followed the crew of the ER as they dealt with rats, a drowning, a hate crime, and an active shooting. In Season 2, now streaming on HBO Max, this shooting is now immortalized on a plaque, and Dr. Robby is working his last shift before a three-month sabbatical. However, that last shift happens to coincide with the Fourth of July, the return of a disgraced colleague, and the early arrival of his temporary replacement, whose ideas about using A.I. to streamline the clinical process rub him the wrong way.
Because of the chronological structure, don’t expect any fireworks accidents until the latter part of the season, but there are still cases of fecal impaction, infected casts, disability, and the horrific state of medical debt. It’s definitely a worthy follow-up to Season 1, and if you get onboard now, you can expect one episode and one hour every Thursday night from now until mid-April. Because even though a shift is usually only 10 hours, something is bound to keep Dr. Robby from leaving for his sabbatical on time — and it’s sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.
