Let Me Show You My Reverse Tracheotomy: “The Pitt” on Max or HBO or whatevef

“The Pitt” on Max starring Noah Wyle: this medical drama fucking RULES and we should talk about it

https://picen.tvmao.com/images/8f/5d/a0724e31d5cdc68d96cb07f051ad507380155d8f.jpg

i’m caught up and cannot wait for ep 6. notes so far

- pvmic but grizzled Noah Wyle is hot af
- i love the 1 hour= i episode structure
- no music! maximum intensity
- i understand like 5% of the jargon but i am fucking RIVETED to my seat
- the plate spinning of all the building storylines is fantastic
- love the chemistry btw Wyle & Dr Collins
- love Dana the head nurse
- i need Princess to crack soon bc i haaaaaate her character so much (but i know at least 2 versions of her irl)

i never was obsessed w ER or House & dont usually care abour medical shows but i am full heart-eyes emojis for this show

episode 4 really proves how good the show is imo

We've watched the whole thing so far as a family (well, most of us), including my daughter, a near-future medical professional. We love it, and while there are a few TV moments here and there, it seems pretty level-headed and relatively realistic. Ironically, the person that reminds me the most of a legit young doctor (in training) is Brian Cranston's daughter, who nails the right level of nerdy competence.

1) I didn't even notice there is no music!
2) I wonder if the doctors that wrote/consulted kept notebooks of all the random or mundane cases they had, because some of the stuff the show depicts is so very specific without coming across Very TV Doctor Show.

I used to watch ER, back-when, but not House or Grey's Anatomy or whatever, so can't compare to those. But as good as ER was in its prime, this seems different and in many ways better.

My good friend’s wife was an ER nurse in NYC was telling us they really captured the vibe and feel of a busy urban emergency room.

yeah the specifics feel very true to irl experiences on the writing staff or consultants or something — my BiL was a paramedic & i have ER nurse friends

like even the way Wyle ducks into the bathroom to kinda cry for like a nanosecond (about something genuinely devastating) but then looks at himself in the mirror & laughs felt so truthful

love Cranston’s daughter, she’s so competent and handles her shit so well in those intense procedures!

I am not usually a fan of doctor shows — I watched a few episodes of ER back when Linda Cardellini and Parminder Nagra were on it, because... well, Linda Cardellini and Parminder Nagra. And I have seen a few episodes of House, but never Grey's Anatomy. The hospital show I've probably seen the most is Chicago Med, which is... OK. But yeah, The Pitt is pretty compelling. Some of the kid doctors are annoying (the one who's a huge bitch who thinks she knows everything, and the one who keeps getting splattered with blood), but some of the others are just dumb kids and entertaining about it. They're setting up some interesting plotlines that I hope resolve well and not as horror.

the one who keeps getting splattered is kinda fun imo. waiting for him to run out of scrubs of ~any~ kind lol

oh and i said i hate Princess -i meant Trinity! I hate Trinity!

princess boned a dave navarro dude under the stars -she’s cool as hell lol

I might have said this in the other tv thread, but I started this show with a fair amount of ambivalence and maybe even skepticism. I was especially wary of the 15 eps = 15 hours of one shift; it just sounded like it was going to get really tedious. And the whole plot of the woman with the moody son who may or may not become a school shooter just felt very forced.

But lo and behold by the third or fourth episode all my reservations went away and I think this show has only gotten richer with each passing episode. I’m impressed with the depth it’s developing - a long simmer of a show.

And now for better or worse I’m expecting the school shooter plot to come back in a more unexpected way - like maybe an attempted suicide rather than a bunch of injured kids… something less predictable. Hoping for something less on the nose, at least.

the way this show handles death so matter of factly but with so much empathy is like nothing i have seen on tv in a long while

like maybe Leftovers was the last show i can think of

Only thru ep3 so not reading the board yet. Love Noah Wyle in this. Hopefully he gets to pee in ep4 :) Also appreciate casting and acting from the patients and family members. Adds to the verisimilitude

i still have not gotten over them uh, popping out the dent, in that dude’s FACE in episode 1

like

i didn’t know faces could do that. that was hardcore

my fiancé and I are both physicians and we both thought this was the most realistic medical show we’ve ever seen — or at least that I’ve ever seen, since I don’t usually gravitate toward them. it’s really tightly scripted and well acted, super enjoyable. the medical student who’s the daughter of one of the surgeons is a bit of a caricature but having known a lot of similar people it is fun to root against her.

Is this too-much intense like the Bear? or heartbreakerly so like This Is going to Hurt? Or a more general ER meets 24 kinda idea?

I have a feeling my other half will inevitably want to watch this lol. Though he's just started on 6 feet under of all things so it might be a while.

More general ER, I'd say. It's got its sad spots (so far) but nothing terribly melodramatic and intense yet. It's pretty grounded.

yeah cosign that

Yeah, it's a very grounded show. Blood, tension, anxiety, but they haven't resorted to a single "no one's ever seen this disease before" or "if we don't get this contained, the whole city will be at risk" plotline yet.

Tonight's episode was good. Very glad to see the student doctor I dislike the most fuck up badly (without harming a patient) and get slapped down for it. Frankly, I was beginning to wonder whether sexual tension was building between her and the surgeon, or if it was just the beginning of a mentor/mentee relationship, but neither of those things is happening now, ha ha.

haven't seen this but is is v. curious to me that two shows set in pittsburgh debuted in january: this and the latest sherlock holmes spinoff (watson, 'a medical drama with detective elements' on cbs)

that watson show is a goddamn lie: thinly veiled sherlock notions but it’s basically just “Morris Chestnut IS House” zzz

tbf i just want artistic shots of the mighty allegheny and monongehela confluencing into the ohio river. and decent scripts i guess

who had primanti bros on their bingo card

I read a few interviews about the show, mostly with Wyle, and I think the pivot from making a new ER to the episode-per-hour format has been very clever. ER was a melodrama partially by necessity because it was really focused on the medical staff with the majority of the cases being one and done.

The individual patients have so much more room to breathe (until they're intubated?) in the script and they feel just as important as the staff.

I really like this

can't wait for Data's daughter to get slapped down some more as the day winds on

I really love the rhythm of this show, how there's no traditional rising or falling action structure, how each episode doesn't really conclude so much as pause the story.

yeah same, makes it very enjoyable and sort of cliffhangery, more like old fashioned serialised plays and stuff

"Sort of" cliffhangery is pretty much right, because rarely does an episode end on or even aim for an "oh shit!" moment, at least not so far. I forget how each episode of "24" ended, with, like, snapshots of whatever four conflicts/cliffhangers are going on at once?

But with this, so far there's been no "tune in next week to find out what happened!" sort of suspense, because there is a lot going on at once.

Could do with the show cooling it on the med students embodying clichesarchetypes bit.

We're still learning about them, though. Who was the person Cranston's daughter was talking to on the phone, for example? And arrogant student has a back story we haven't gotten yet, too. And Huckleberry, I feel we have a lot to learn about him as well. And of course surgeon's daughter is being set up for ... something.

mainly i just need propofol and ketamine stat

rarely does an episode end on or even aim for an "oh shit!" moment, at least not so far

The biggest one was "that's not the pregnant girl's mom, that's her aunt — the screaming angry lady is her mom".

The character I'm keeping a close eye on is the angry guy who keeps getting sent back to the waiting room; a violent outburst would not be a total surprise.

cranston’s daughter i guessed was talking to her sister, so maybe she was not only caring for a mom (who passed) but a sibling still as well idk

The angry man is also a racist MAGA dude. I forget why he's (still) there. Chest pains?

have you guys missed the entire plot point where she has a sister that has special needs and has assisted living arrangements during the day? it's why she was trying so hard to relate to the lady with the schizophrenia-having mom

Yes. Though eventually I sort of pieced that together.

have you guys missed the entire plot point where she has a sister that has special needs and has assisted living arrangements during the day? it's why she was trying so hard to relate to the lady with the schizophrenia-having mom

Yeah, I caught that; my question is, how special needs is she supposed to be? She seems at least somewhat autistic, but it's not clear yet whether we're supposed to care about that or if it's just a minor character trait.

angry guy is there for chest pains

I'm surprised angry guy hasn't just fucked off in frustration yet. Also, of course, potential school shooter guy, will that come back in the form of victims or *his* return to the ER? A lot of stuff hanging out there.

it was floated on The Watch podcast that maybe the possible shooter story intersects w the music festival story?

Hmm. That would also rope back in Noah's son. I kind of hope it doesn't go supernova dark and tragic, though tis the world we live in, I guess.

honestly that storyline with the shooter kid & the mom irked me the most, like jeez lady why are you making this kid the ER’s problem? i understand not knowing where to go for help but this really should not be the move.

honestly that storyline with the shooter kid & the mom irked me the most, like jeez lady why are you making this kid the ER’s problem? i understand not knowing where to go for help but this really should not be the move.

I did actually think this was ER: The Next Generation for a good while and chalked up any wincy tropes to being an unavoidable inheritance before vaguely remembering the lawsuit by the Crichton estate. The main actors do a really good job physically inhabiting their characters versus the patients who seem like they're making the most out of their guest spot (though does that apply here when it's essentially one long episode?), which I also associate with ER!

Between the schizophrenic woman whose daughter abandoned her and the lady who's handcuffed for some reason, this show is slightly overpopulated with sassy senior citizens.

don’t worry, there are still some very tired and boring looking senior citizens in the waiting area

that demographic is probably the largest at the ER, right? that and parents with their injured/suddenly ill children

Making yourself sick to go to the ER to tell the ER doc your kid might be a school shooter was such a strange choice it seemed like a real life event one of the writers read about or something.

I enjoy hearing about asystole again, I haven't heard that word since ER

this show is slightly overpopulated with sassy senior citizens.

― Instead of create and send out, it pull back and consume (unperson), Wednesday, February 12, 2025 1:52 PM (six hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I invite you to spend 14 hours in an actual emergency room

Also, they need the staff. It's kind of amazing that more of the regular staff don't have the day off on a holiday.

quiet charting as a palate cleanser?

What - so EVERYbody gets to witness an emergency c-section for the first time?

good ep. only unrealistic thing is the nurses not lining up to get the ICE agents number

Great episode. Even more worried about Robby’s health and safety. Santos had some great lines even though she’s is barely staying above water. Also should be Dana’s Emmy submission episode.

Shout out to the badly sunburned woman, love that they had her in background wandering thru the ER.

And and I recognized the actor playing old guy who was there with his wife. Dann Florek - he was on Law & Order and various spinoffs

Shoutout guest star Geoffrey Owens! aka Elvin from The Cosby Show! (he’s the cardiothoracic surgeon that diagnoses Duke)
i was full Leo pointing at the tv meme when he showed up

and Mary McCormack as the neurosurgeon!

man the head-drilling & inter-crainial-draining was equal parts gnarly and cool af

still haven’t seen this week’s ep. but I continue to ask: where are the internists?? we’ve had diabetic ketoacidosis and end stage kidney disease in the past few eps, with the ER being overrun, this is where we shine, cmon

Credit where credit is due this season, it seems like almost every single character is being written to exit, lol.

Despite being several episodes behind, my mom (a retired MD) watched this one with us. She was impressed with the head surgery, the specifics of which she'd never heard of. Also impressed at seeing a female neurosurgeon! One thing she didn't buy was how crowded the ER was with staff, but once I explained it was transitioning to the night shift and also they were handling extra patients from other hospitals (that's still happening, right? they haven't mentioned it recently, but the internet only just went back up), she was ok with all the doctors and nurses spilling around. Her other criticism/question iirc was the use of EpiPens in the ER, but I figured if it's in the show that means they've done the research and it happens (tautological or no).

Ok, speaking of exitshttps://variety.com/2026/tv/news/the-pitt-supriya-ganesh-exits-season-3-ayesha-harris-1236705534/

The turmeric lady was Noah Wyle's wife

(and the woman whose eye was glued shut earlier in the season is the gf of Patrick Ball (Langdon))

Turmeric lady was a great moment for Santos, when she tells McKay that she researches online so she'll know the dumbest thing people could possibly do, because that's what it will turn out happened. That made me laugh out loud.

^ ditto

And sunburn woman wandered through a scene like in one of those “are you paying attention?” videos where a person in a bear costume ambles by while you’re supposed to be counting something

yeah Turmeric lady was great. (2+ grams of turmeric is a fuckload also)

also

i love Dr Mohan as much as anyone but the way online ppl are reacting to her leaving at the end of the season is kind of unhinged? maybe it’s just me & i should be more feelingsy but it seems unhinged

like the storyline has been seeding her dissatisfaction! i was bummed, sure, but also not shocked? it’s not like they’re pushing her into traffic jfc

As much as I’m bummed to hear any character is leaving, this show is extremely good at introducing brand new characters I’m immediately invested in. There were like 4 new doctors in this ep and I’m basically ready to follow them all into next season.

I liked Joi just refusing to be guilted into sticking around. but now I'm going to miss her

Of course, in the old days on ER, she would encounter some terrible accident on her way home and would stop to help, which would end up with her back in the ER, frantically giving CPR to some old taxi driver on top of a gurney, and that would be her redemption in the eyes of the rest of the staff. But I guess that's not going to happen here.

Luke Tennie is having a good year, isn't he? Three shows on the air: Abbot Elementary, Shrinking, and now The Pitt. Fair play to him.

a good way to become a superstar is to leave a hit tv show early, so i am happy for dr mohan

Also, any and all of these actors can always show up in a future season, just like Mateo showed up 2/3 through this one. Wouldn't be shocked if, for example, in season 3 Robby is not there for the first couple of episodes, leaving it ambiguous, but then he comes back.

Would watch the more chill, sexier spin-off The Pitt: Night Shift

yeah i have grown v attached to all the night shift folks, i was so happy to see them all back again

At the end of this ep my partner says "...aaaand now I hate Dr Robby", heh. I mean we know why he's like this, he's clearly completely at the end of his tether, but the way he is speaking to Samira and even Dana (!) was just terrible. Really curious to see how the'll stick the landing on this whole bike adventure thing.

BTW on IMDB one of the reviews notes: "Last season, he learned from Dr. Collins that she terminated her pregnancy (fyi, that was his baby) "

!!how did I miss this, it feels like a really fucking important detail?!

My 24 year old daughter: “OH MY GOD STOP SOFT-LAUNCHING YOUR SUICIDE, YOU ARE NOT FOURTEEN.”

xp At no point was it ever explicitly stated to be Robby's baby, we know that they slept together and some people (e.g. my wife) took his emotional reaction in the scene where Collins was talking about her abortion to mean that it was his baby. I think maybe we're meant to believe that *he believes* it was, but I saw nothing in the text (or subtext) to indicate whether he's right or wrong.

otm

Lolllll mattk hahaha.

woo hoo we are caught up! my retired RN wife loves this show. plus I can ask "wtf is (x term)" and she knows

sunburn girl was great:

"How are you feeling?"
"Stupid"

i love seeing sunburn girl still popping up here & there in the background

literally every episode has a moment where I have to cover my eyes, but I love the things like that shot of Duke's throat when they were checking him out

scalp flap was too much for me

The only time I've been completely unable to deal was the poo-blocked-up guy who they... uhhh... fixed.

So the entire ER is on Dr. Robby suicide watch at this point... holy hell. But that line about "he should have found a higher spot to jump from" was amazing.

yeah i kinda cant believe there’s only 1 episode left!

that neck manouever Langdon did was gnarly!!

lol at giving him all the heeeeeey that looks shifty moments. Stepping out of that bathroom looking a bit dazed just to walk over and de-paralyze a dude.

i thought for sure he was gonna kill the guy

I have a strong feeling that Langdon is about to get fired for missing his urinalysis. This will complete his redemption arc by showing Santos that he isn't the golden boy who is immune to getting a raw deal; it will also make Robby eat his words about how he was too forgiving or whatever he was saying a few episodes back. And Langdon will be all "It's fine, let them fire me, this was my screw-up, you don't owe me anything. You fought for me, and because of you I was able to be here for one day and save one guy from being paralyzed, which is all that matters. Apart from that, I've learned to accept the things I cannot change" etc etc

(Langdon to McKay) "I got my second chance, but a lot of guys I've met in recovery didn't get theirs" (McKay, turning to camera) "One day at a time. I know people with decades of clean time who are still waiting for their first second chance" (Nurse Dana joins the conversation) "If you ask me, the real drug problem in this country is the stigma around drug addiction"

Duke is giving off vibes of Sam Elliott’s character from the Big Lebowski - he seems like the only one getting thru to Robby.

The night shift staff are written to be competent and cool without the messy drama of our beloved day shift team

The Pitt is arguably just the vehicle here for the bigger points:

https://buttondown.com/NinaWatchesEverything/archive/the-pitt-vs-its-fandom/

Thanks for posting that piece. Makes me glad I only engage with discourse about The Pitt right here :)

When a show delights in being as didactic as this one I don’t know if I blame the fans for assuming things would be spelled out for them.

But also that scene was a bit out of the blue. The issue wasn’t that it relied on Boomer cultural references, it was that there was no lead up with Gilligan (I think Opie or Gomer would be more suitable tbh) chafing or showing frustration at Langdon.

Honestly, I found the Rumble Fish discussion earlier in the episode way more jarring. It was like something out of a mid 90s imitation-Tarantino movie where every crook was a pop culture trivia champ.

I wasn't surprised when I saw the episode was written by Wyle. Seemed like he couldn't help himself from inserting some cultural references from his youth into the script.

this doesn’t seem like a didactic show outside of the medical procedures and the declarative dialogue. you get details of a character and others opining on what that means, but it you aren’t bringing your own recognization of cultural signifiers, fandom extrapolation aside, to that, idk

I am kind of annoyed I didn’t spot the seizure thing because I have several friends who used to have absence seizures but they did do a “she’s just freezing!” bit but it’s both well telegraphed and also a good plot point. Not a twist, just an explanation

Stopping to yell at the EMTs with statistical explanation of women and heart attacks, the lesson about the Pittsburgh ambulance service, “don’t be such a boomer, actually her Tik Tok influencer side gig is cool because…” etc.. The Pitt loves an explainer even more than the West Wing.

The issue wasn’t that it relied on Boomer cultural references, it was that there was no lead up with Gilligan (I think Opie or Gomer would be more suitable tbh) chafing or showing frustration at Langdon.

I think he lashed out at Langdon because he's pissed off at Santos being pissed off at him (and calling him Huckleberry all the time and getting in his business, and refusing to admit that she actually appreciates him), and he's pissed off at Robbie interfering in his personal business, and then he lost his ID badge, and he was probably worried that people were going to start slagging him over that as well.

That fandom is lol article was mind boggling. "how dare you not cater to the FANDOM, we OWN you" is a bizarre take that says more about brainrot than it does anything else. Honestly I wish the internet would just blow up sometimes.