Forget Severance, Adolescence, even The White Lotus – the most talked-about show so far this year in the US has concerned the life-and-death dealings of an inner-city emergency room and a doctor that looks suspiciously like John Carter MD.
No, time hasn’t turned back to 1994 (however much we might wish it would). We’re not talking about ER here, but The Pitt, a strikingly similar medical drama starring Carter himself, Noah Wyle, but that for legal reasons we probably shouldn’t describe as a spin-off. Since its debut in January, The Pitt has become a slow-burn sensation in the states, thanks to its realism, accuracy and timeliness, but most of all it’s high-concept, high-stakes conceit: the show takes place in real-time, across one, gruelling 15 hour shift in a Pittsburgh emergency department. So it’s not just ER, then, but ER meets 24. Can you imagine a more moreish prospect? You want to watch it right now, don’t you? Well … you can probably guess what I’m going to say next: you can’t.
