It’s time to scrub into the 2025 TV schedule once again, as Max’s new medical drama The Pitt has debuted, and with it Noah Wyle’s drama series comeback. Working with some of the people that helped him make a name in his ER days, this new project has been a hot button topic, especially when it comes to how close it hews to the Michael Crichton created legacy medical drama.
Now that the first two episodes are available to stream with a Max subscription, reviews have started to pour out from TV critics throughout the internet. And while the similarities to ER are only part of the initial wave of critiques, that’s not the only thing that has people talking. For starters, take a look at what EW critic Kristin Baldwin had to say about The Pitt:
Created by ER alum R. Scott Gemmill, The Pitt takes a ruthlessly realistic approach to its depiction of our beleaguered/broken healthcare system — but it’s also the most engrossing and addictive medical drama to come along since Grey’s Anatomy and, well, ER.
To be fair, from the moment Noah Wyle was announced to be starring in The Pitt, the presence of former ER writer R. Scott Gemmill and showrunner John Wells in the mix made fan comparisons between ER and The Pitt pretty much unavoidable.
However, you don’t need to have enjoyed the long-running NBC medical series to dig into this new program. That being said, The Los Angeles Times’ Robert Lloyd had his own legacy drama comparison to make from that same network’s canon:
In its mix of cool authenticity and hot theatricality, of cases to solve and personal business to arrange, The Pitt reminded me of Homicide: Life on the Street. I never watched enough ER for it to remind me of ER.
Even with Noah Wyle sharing the differences between his ER and The Pitt protagonists, that spectre of comparison still stands. However, it’s nice to see that Max’s new series actually works for audiences who aren’t read into the history of Cook County General Hospital.
However, some dyed in the wool ER fans might be in for a bit of a ride. I say this because Benjamin Lee - a TV critic at The Guardian - had a unique critique as a long-time viewer of that series. Lee's take on The Pitt is as follows:
… the main cause of bother is that The Pitt just isn’t anywhere near as effective. … The 24-aping gimmick is that it takes place in real time, each of the 15 hours (10 of which were made available for critics) being part of the same hellish shift, and it can’t quite figure out if it’s going for immersive verité or primetime soap.
In our final bit of feedback from Variety’s Alison Herman, it’s time to address the elephant in the hospital. With the Michael Crichton estate legal drama over The Pitt’s implied similarities to ER, people are going to be wondering how valid those claims are.
While that subject is severely subjective, Herman’s opinion of the series addressed that matter thusly:
…there are signs that the Max series is not a copy-and-paste of its predecessor … most notably, where episodes of ER would often cover an entire shift, “The Pitt” plays out in close to real time. In short: While you can see why the estate of ER creator Michael Crichton has claimed The Pitt is an “un- authorized reboot,” the show itself quickly undermines the allegation.
As you can see, there are a lot of voices in the room discussing Noah Wyle’s new medical drama in varying tones. What seems to be the consensus though is that you don’t need a background in ER to enjoy, and your mileage may vary based on the intensity and format of this streaming newcomer.
If you’re ready to learn how to watch The Pitt, you should know that the first two episodes are currently on Max. From this point on, new episodes will debut on a weekly basis, with April 10th set as the finale. However, this schedule is subject to change, as at the time of this reporting this Max Original is one of many productions delayed due to the L.A. wildfire.
