Nataley Davis | staff writer

Medical dramas are not few and far between in modern media, but few have been set in Pittsburgh. “The Pitt,” created and starred in by several “ER” alumni, debuted on Max in January.

The show’s name is a play on both the location of the hospital and trauma centers being commonly referred to by doctors as “the pit.”

Executive Producer John Wells said that realism was of utmost importance when creating the show, and it has paid off.

“The show is extremely realistic, very well-researched. Lots of physicians are involved, and the response that we’re getting from all of the people who work in emergency medicine is, ‘This is exactly what it’s like,’” Wells told Variety.

A lack of medical accuracy is amongst the main criticisms from some of the show’s predecessors like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “House.”

While these other shows focus more on the doctors’ love lives and hospital drama than medicine, “The Pitt” takes a different approach. The real-world struggles and scenarios that “The Pitt” portrays are what sets it apart from other medical dramas.

The show follows Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle), an overwhelmed senior attending at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, as he deals with PTSD from being a medical professional during the Covid pandemic and losing his mentor in the process.

Wyle also starred in “ER” as a series regular for 11 seasons. Bringing him back to star in another medical drama ran the risk of this show appearing like a reboot from 1995.

R. Scott Gemhill, the creator of “The Pitt” and a writer on “ER” said in an interview with Variety that this show would have to be “completely different” for him to work on another medical project.

Both Wyle and Gemhill were inspired during the pandemic by frontline workers and wanted to shine a light on their continued struggles. Thus, the show and the complicated character of Dr. Robby was created to give audiences a look into what a day in emergency medicine looks like post-pandemic.

The first season is broken up into 15 episodes, each one showcasing one hour of a single shift in the emergency room.

This drawn out timeline puts into perspective the long days that emergency room doctors spend on their feet, emphasizing the toll it can take on their mental health.

Along with highlighting the burnout of healthcare workers post-pandemic, the show also gives an accurate depiction of what it is like for student doctors navigating patient deaths, drug-seeking behavior, and the stressful atmosphere of an inundated emergency room.

Licensed doctor and YouTube creator Dr. Mikhail Varshavski (better known as “Doctor Mike”) evaluates the accuracy of various medical dramas. He took to his channel after the first episode of “The Pitt,” after a new resident introduced herself to Dr. Robby during her first shift.

“These types of introductions happen exactly like this. Sometimes it’s even during a stressful moment where you’re trying to not get in the way, but you wanna announce who you are,” Varshavski said.

Despite the show receiving praise for its accuracy and shining a light on pertinent healthcare issues, there are some all too familiar character tropes at play.

The cocky intern, the daughter of a well-known doctor in the hospital and a mysterious past hospital romance are all things we have seen before. Creating a medical drama that stands completely in a league of its own is nearly impossible due to the frequency of the genre.

However, “The Pitt” does a decent job of introducing an element of reality while showing mundane cases and commenting on systematic flaws, all while having intriguing storylines that slowly reveal lore about the characters.

This balance of showing the serious and not-so-glamorous reality of doctors, and being able to escape through dramatic storylines might make this medical drama appealing to a larger audience that wants to educate themselves in a digestible way.

Currently, five of the 15 episodes in its debut season are available to stream, with new episodes of “The Pitt” becoming available every Thursday on Max.