Review: Noah Wyle Shines in Max’s New E.R. Medical Drama ‘The Pitt’

Watching Max’s new drama The Pitt inevitably brings thoughts of NBC’s innovative medical procedural E.R. Despite the different setting in Pittsburgh and the focus on a single intense fifteen-hour shift, rather than weeks and months, The Pitt clearly shares DNA with the iconic NBC show. Both series immerse viewers in a chaotic emergency room environment, following the struggles of medical staff as they navigate challenging shifts that involve saving and sometimes losing lives. Executive produced by John Wells and starring Noah Wyle, both The Pitt and E.R. introduce wide-eyed interns, showcase intense medical procedures, and delve into the personal lives of patients that rival their medical issues. Additionally, the legal battle over alleged similarities between The Pitt and E.R. invites unavoidable comparisons.

However, the true overlap between The Pitt and E.R. lies in the blend of high and low television elements. In the ten hour-long episodes provided for review, The Pitt delivers a mix of clunky dialogue, over-the-top cliffhangers, and on-the-nose messaging typical of primetime TV. Yet, the show also offers compelling storytelling, likable characters, and a standout performance from lead actor and executive producer Noah Wyle. Despite borrowing elements from E.R., The Pitt manages to create a unique drama that captures the complexities of healthcare experiences in 2025.

The Pitt kicks off during the first hour of Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch’s fifteen-hour shift at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital’s E.R., known as The Pitt. Immediately, viewers are introduced to the challenges faced by Dr. Robby, who is advised by colleagues against working on the fifth anniversary of his mentor’s tragic death during a past pandemic. Over the course of the provided episodes, Dr. Robby navigates traumatic memories while confronting a series of emotionally draining experiences in the E.R., including emergencies, accidents, revelations, and occasional moments of levity.

Making this day even more tense is the fact that a new quartet of student doctors and interns have arrived: the awkward, but eager Dr. Melissa “Mel” King (Taylor Dearden), the brusque and bullying Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones), twenty-year-old prodigy Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez), and earnest farm boy Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell). Helping Robby teach these newbs are the hunky Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball), poised (and secretly pregnant) Dr. Collins (Tracey Ifeachor), scrappy single mom Dr. McKay (Fiona Dourif), and sensitive third year Dr. Mohan (Supriya Ganesh).

It’s easy to get hooked on The Pitt‘s drama. The stakes are inherently high, literally life or death, and the frenetic pace is never-ending. As the season plods on, the sheer volume of heartbreaking cases, miraculous saves, and mundane tasks blur together, perhaps on purpose, to reflect how overburdened the characters and our frontline healthcare providers are.

The Pitt‘s biggest asset, though, is Noah Wyle playing an E.R. doc. Like watching Kenneth Branagh tear into Shakespeare, there’s something incandescent about following Noah Wyle as he shoulders the burden of an E.R. rotation in an hour long TV drama. Dr. Robby is somehow both jaded and hollowed by his years in these medical trenches, yet still motivated by a deep love for his patients, colleagues, and students. Wyle is able to effortlessly merge these contradictions, alongside all the inscrutable medical jargon, with grace. It’s a towering performance that lets you overlook many of The Pitt‘s pitfalls.

What makes The Pitt fall short is its sophomoric writing. The dialogue is so preachy in spots that it feels like watching an afterschool special. Instead of trusting that we’ll understand these characters are struggling to fight their way through fifteen hour nightmare shifts, the show has to repeatedly spell it out, letting characters cite national trends like they’re newsreaders. There’s a whole villainous character who just exists to stand in for the for-profit hospital owners. Patient issues run the gamut from a teen crossing state lines for an abortion to potential trafficking victims to fentanyl poisoning. The Pitt is a show spoon-feeding its plot points like medicine to the audience.

That said, every time I wondered to myself if The Pitt really needed to be so obvious with its messaging about how the sorry state of modern medicine isn’t the doctors’ or nurses’ faults, I reminded myself that we live in a culture that has responded to Squid Game with copycat reality shows and Dominos ads. Maybe there are worse things than a soapy Max drama that prefers blunt storytelling tactics to hit its targets.

After all, we live in a time where a healthcare CEO’s assassination in Midtown Manhattan drew shrugs from millions who have suffered at the whims of the current for-profit system. With discontent with our healthcare system at an all-time, feverish, vengeful high, The Pitt might be the perfect prescription: an easy-watch that villainizes the vultures preying upon the weak while lionizing the workers sacrificing themselves to save lives.

The first two episodes of The Pitt premiere on Thursday, January 9 on Max.