The 2024-2025 TV season has seen a comeback for the medical procedural across all streaming platforms since last September.
‘The Pitt’ leads the medical drama resurgence, garnering over 10 million global viewers per episode according to Warner Bros Discovery. Hailed by critics and fans alike for its realistic depiction of an emergency room, it’s difficult to believe the show originated as an ‘ER’ (NBC) reboot.
While Netflix debuted the romance-heavy, low-stakes ‘Pulse,’ NBC hedged its bets on two medical shows. ‘Brilliant Minds’ tackles some of the world’s most puzzling neurological disorders, while ‘St. Denis’ is a mockumentary sitcom. Beyond comedies, networks have begun experimenting with other genres within the medical field.
‘Watson’ on CBS is a Sherlock Holmes-inspired medical procedural, ABC’s ‘Doctor Odyssey’ thrusts viewers aboard a fantasy luxury cruise ship, and Fox’s ‘Doc‘ features a protagonist with memory loss. None of them, however, have generated Emmy buzz quite like HBO’s new procedural.
Season Overview of the New Medical Drama, The Pitt
Don’t worry, longtime ‘ER’ fans, you will get to see Noah Wyle in scrubs again! He knocks it out of the park as Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch, attributing his performance on the show as an ode to health care workers still suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Season one takes place over one shift. So, every episode is one hour of a fifteen-hour shift. The pilot is titled ‘7:00 am’ and the finale, ‘9:00 pm.’
Quickly, the show establishes the consequences of COVID-19 as the staff at the Pittsburgh Trauma ER commemorate the fourth death anniversary of Robby’s mentor and boss, Dr. Adamson. He insists he’s alright, but his senior residents and charge nurse Dana Evans aren’t buying it. By the end of hour one, Robby is experiencing PTSD flashbacks of Adamson dying in the trauma department under Covid protocol.
Before we dive into the deep stuff, however, let’s meet the trauma center’s key players.
Key Players
Dr. Heather Collins is first introduced to us while vomiting her guts out in the bathroom! Don’t worry, she’s not ill, just secretly pregnant. Nurse Dana knows, of course—she knows everything that happens in the hospital. Still, she promises to keep her secret after a conversation implying Heather has struggled with infertility in the past.
There’s also major chemistry and palpable tension between Heather and Robby—but the twist? They’ve already broken up. Bold move for a hospital drama, skipping the usual moony-eyed “I’m your boss” flirt-fest. Grey’s Anatomy, we’re looking at you.
The medical drama also spotlights Dr. Frank Langdon, the other cocky yet intelligent senior resident, who seems to have a long-standing friendship with Robby outside of the workplace. We also meet Dr. Cassie McKay; a 42-year-old second-year resident and a single mom with a mysterious backstory, if her ankle monitor is anything to go by.
Last but not least, Slo-Mo, or rather, third-year resident Dr. Samira Mohan. The nickname stems from her spending too much time on each patient. It’s heartening to see how deeply she cares for each patient, but Robby disagrees. He has to scold her about wait times and patient satisfaction scores, since that’s all the hospital administration seems to care about (not, you know, hiring more nurses or paying them a livable wage).
Are You New to Medical Procedurals? So Are They:
The pilot introduces four newcomers to the trauma center, starting their first day. Victoria Javadi, a third-year med student and child prodigy whose mother is a surgeon at the hospital; Dennis Whitaker, a fourth-year med student struggling with self-esteem and confidence issues; Trinity Santos, a brash and arrogant first-year resident; and Melissa “Mel” King, a neurodivergent second-year resident with sharp instincts and a big heart.
While many of their seasonal arcs are predictable, the ever-increasing stakes make the journey to the finale anything but boring.
The Pitt’s New Take On Classic Medical Drama Storylines
When it comes to the season’s major storylines, the show makes a real effort to avoid preaching. Yes, even when tackling hot-button issues like mass shootings, sexual assault, human trafficking, and anti-vaxxers. The dialogue is basic but effective.
There’s no flashy mood music, and sometimes the good guys don’t win, no matter how hard they try. ‘The Pitt’ provides viewers with equal opportunity to witness patients with insignificant or recurring minor health problems, separating it from other medical dramas. Louis Cloverfield—the friendly, neighbourhood alcoholic—proves that ‘The Pitt’ doesn’t care about what’s cool, it cares about what’s real.
Climax vs. Cliffhanger
Langdon and newbie resident Trinity Santos butt heads repeatedly throughout the day after he takes a dislike to her brash, obnoxious temperament and she notices something off with his patients. The volcano erupts in episode ten, ‘4:00 pm,’ when Trinity gives Robby proof that Langdon has been stealing medication.
By the eleventh hour, Heather has suffered a miscarriage (yes, right after she finally allows herself to buy her dream stroller for the baby). Oh, and her next patient? A surrogate mother with shoulder dystocia. The graphic, painful emergency delivery leaves both the baby and mother near death, but Dr. Collins pushes through to resuscitate the unresponsive infant. Seriously, Tracy Ifeacher (Dr. Heather Collins) deserves all the awards!
Of course, just as the trauma center goes two senior residents down, Robby faces a mass shooting. The location of the shooting? PittFest—the music festival that Robby’s unofficial stepson and his new girlfriend are attending. On top of that, Robby has to convince two anti-vaxx parents that their dying son needs treatment for measles.
Meanwhile, David, a troubled, violent (in a potential shooter kind of way) teenager who ran away from the hospital after his mother faked an illness to get him professional help, is still missing. Robby’s PTSD induced meltdown comes as a surprise to absolutely nobody. But the array of dead bodies littered across the peds wing drives the stake deeper into our hearts.
What We Know About Season 2:
Near the end of the finale, the ever-suspicious Santos follows Whittaker up to an abandoned hospital floor. It turns out he is homeless—or “in between places,” as he would call it. She offers the empty second bedroom in her apartment to him if he promises to clean the house. We can already picture the comedic hilarity about to ensue.
Now a resident, Whittaker will be paid for his work in season 2. Victoria will begin a sub-internship (anything to avoid joining surgery with her mother, but honestly, who could blame her). The season 2 premiere is confirmed to focus on Langdon’s first day back in the ER. His return was contingent on attending a 30-day inpatient treatment program, with several NA meetings, so it’s safe to assume he’s clean and ready to rock again. Needless to say, the drama between him and Robby and him and Santos is going to be off the charts.
Dr. McKay and Dr. Collins are also slated to return. However, fan favorite Nurse Dana’s fate is up in the air. Last we saw, she was contemplating retiring from “The Pitt” after being assaulted by a patient, but knowing HBO, we are going to have to wait for newest season of medical drama to find out.
