“The Pitt” beat out “Severance” for Outstanding Drama Series at the Emmys on Sunday night. This essay about the first-season finale — which originally aired in April — explains exactly why the freshman HBO Max series deserved to win.
Gun violence. Racial bias. Anti-vaxxers. Opioid abuse. Abortion access. Mental health. A national nursing shortage. Understaffed hospitals. Lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. And an overwhelmed emergency medicine system. These are just a few of the many topical issues tackled in Season 1 of “The Pitt,” Max’s hit word-of-mouth hospital drama that couldn’t have arrived at a better time.
I remember when I finally started watching the show earlier this year, shortly after its Jan. 9 premiere, and having doubts that a show whose entire season takes place during one 15-hour, stress-inducing shift at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center could pull off such an elaborate plot.
That uncertainty quickly melted away once I saw more people talking about “The Pitt” online, week after week. Much of that buzz has to do with the TV drama’s of-the-moment appeal and an impressive performance from “ER” alum Noah Wyle, who scrubs back in to play lead man in charge, Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch.
