Why I Think "The Pitt" is Outstanding

Maybe it varies from generation to generation.

Photo by Hush Naidoo Jade Photography on Unsplash

The hard-working staff here at Drezner’s World has enjoyed a variety of television this year. Paradise was entertaining — although Trump kinda ruined it. The White Lotus was superficially entertaining. Reacher was incredibly stupid but at this point I just wallow in its stupidity. The second season of Severance was mote affecting than I was expecting.

However, the 2025 television show that grabbed hold of me and refused to let go was something of a throwback: Max’s The Pitt:

Anyone old enough to have watched E.R. in its prime recognizes the DNA of this show. John Wells executive produced both shows; The Pitt showrunner R. Scott Gemill was a writer on E.R. Noah Wyle stars in both shows. Both shows are set in emergency rooms in major metropolitan cities. There is a lot of medical lingo that is thrown around. The similarities are strong enough to prompt at least one lawsuit from Michael Crichton’s widow claiming, “It’s not like ER, it’s not kind of ER, it’s not sort of ER. It is ER complete with the same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as the planned ER reboot. No one has been fooled.”

With respect to Crichton’s widow, however, The Pitt differs E.R. in both superficial and more substantive ways. On the superficial side, The Pitt adds a 21st century gimmick to the premise, set the entire first season in real time as 15 hour-long episodes of one emergency room shift, like 24. As a show set in the 2020s rather than the 1990s, the medicine is updated in interesting ways, as is the social work dimension of the emergency room. The ghosts of the Covid-19 pandemic haunt the Wyle’s protagonist, Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch in ways that do not track any of the characters on E.R.

It’s the more substantive differences that make The Pitt as good as if not superior to E.R.¹ The Max show makes good use of the real-time setting to let some of its plots play out in a manner that E.R. would have wrapped up neatly in a single episode. For example, one haunting early season arc involved seeing Robby manage the parents of a young man who was brain dead due to an accidental fentanyl overdose. It is made clear to the viewers that the person is brain dead early on. The degree to which the parents cling to the hope that their son would recover was both understandable and heartbreaking. It was affecting to watch Robby and his team, over the course of several hours, cushion the parents’ hopes while breaking the news to them in as gentle a way as possible. This enabled the parents to get to the mental space to allow their son to be an organ donor. The end of that story arc, after multiple episodes, packed a bigger punch as a result.

One of the interesting things about the show’s success is how it operates on different levels depending on the demographic. For example, there’s millennials like ESPN’s Mina Kimes:

For a different example, the New York Times’ Jessica Roy provides an, um, interesting explanation for The Pitt‘s popularity among Generation Z:

Part of the show’s success can be chalked up to its schedule: A relatively long season of 15 episodes, released every Thursday, mimics the network TV model and gives social media users the opportunity to discuss the last episode while eagerly anticipating the next. Most streaming offerings put out only eight to 10 episodes a season, which explains the show’s slow burn — it’s had the time necessary to build a stable of loyal fans, and to develop story lines and characters that viewers are getting attached to….

“The Pitt” is also a curious success, as it blurs the lines between network and prestige TV, procedurals and drama, leaving a little something for everyone. And it’s not afraid to tackle thorny issues: mass shootings, anti-vaxxers, size discrimination and violence against medical workers.

The show has also fueled discussion around its popularity with different communities. “You see this with Kendall Roy from ‘Succession,’ a little bit with the dudes from ‘Severance,’ all of the dudes from ‘Conclave,’” [film and culture critic Cody] Corrall said. “There’s such a fun relationship between young women and young queer people who engage with shows primarily on TikTok and through fan fiction who relate to these middle-aged men and their traumas and back stories in a way that’s like, ‘That’s my child. I will protect them with my life.’” According to Mr. Corrall, this phenomenon can also be deemed the “babygirlification of tortured adult men.”

Yeah, so as a middle-aged Gen X man that’s gonna be a hard pass on any further discussion of babygirlification for me. But if that’s what works for young women and young queer people far be it for the hard-working staff here at Drezner’s World to mess with their Gen Z enjoyment of the show!

Where I suspect all generations converge in their enjoyment of The Pitt is Taylor Dearden’s portrayal of Dr. Melissa “Mel” King, a neurodivergent second-year resident who is also the primary caregiver for her autistic sister.² Watching her cope with the various stresses of the emergency room can be stressful for the viewer — and at the same time, her emotional intelligence in dealing with patients and patient families is moving. For example, in one episode, Mel and other caregivers converse with the younger sister of a girl who died from hypothermia while rescuing her sister. When the realization of what is happening becomes clear, Mel leaves the room. The natural viewer reaction was to assume that Mel herself was overwhelmed. Mel’s actual reason for leaving the room, however, turns out to be different than expected — and even more emotionally devastating.

For those who subscribe to Max and have not started The Pitt yet, consider this a wholehearted endorsement. The show nails the drama and the medicine as well. Wyle anchors a great cast. And it has already been renewed for a second season, which means that in January 2026 there will be more drama for all generations to enjoy.

1. I don’t say this lightly. I rewatched the first few seasons of E.R. during the pandemic and while some of it has aged poorly, most of it holds up better than expected. The plotlines involving Sherry Stringfield’s Dr. Lewis and Anthony Edwards’ Dr. Greene are still trenchant. And “Love’s Labor Lost” remains one of the best episodes of network television ever.

2. The acting across the board on this show is great. Props in particular to Supriya Ganesh as Dr. Mohan and Isa Briones, who plays the cynical Dr. Santos and deserves this plum role after suffering through two seasons of really bad screenwriting on Star Trek: Picard.