'The Pitt' is anywhere but in the pits
Two weeks before its season 2 finale last April, The Pitt hit a high: It reportedly was No. 1 overall in Nielsen’s streaming rankings. It averaged 15.4 million US viewers, a 50-percent increase over the first season over the same timeframe. The finale drew a series-high 9.7 million US viewers during its first weekend on HBO Max, according to Warner Bros. Discovery.
The Pitt (set in the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center) doesn’t have the dizzying love triangles of the long-running Grey’s Anatomy, where lead and supporting characters are sometimes sneaking in a moment inside the supplies closet. I don’t recall any torrid kiss exchanged in The Pitt. What was torrid in The Pitt, reportedly set for a season 3, was the raw emotion emanating from the characters, from the doctors to the patients, from the nurses to the families of the patients. And despite the absence of cleavages and abs because everyone is in scrubs and the private parts you see are exposed only when doctors are delivering babies or jumpstarting a heartbeat, the series was both a commercial and critical success.
Each season of the series follows emergency department staff as they attempt to overcome the hardships of a single 15-hour work shift at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, all while having to navigate staff shortages, underfunding, and their own personal crises. Each episode, set in real time, covers about one hour of the work shift. Each episode follows an hour of the 15-hour work shift.
The debut season of The Pitt (2025) won five Emmy Awards from 13 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Actor (Noah Wyle), Supporting Actress (Katherine LaNasa), Guest Actor (Shawn Hatosy), and Casting. Hence, the beloved Filipino actors (Isa Briones, Amielynn Abellera, and Kristin Villanueva) had their moment onstage with the rest of the cast.
The series has made stars out of them—Wyle as Dr. Robby was never this bright a star when he starred in ER decades ago. LaNasa as charge nurse Dana has said in interviews she was in a dark place before she got the chance to essay the role of the tough charge nurse with a marshmallow heart. One anecdote about Wyle related by his co-star Shawn Hatosy (Dr. Jack Abbot) was that when he witnessed someone fall during an event, he immediately rushed to the victim and took her vitals before the paramedics arrived.
The Pitt is said to be medically accurate, with wins at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards and recognition for Best Drama at the Golden Globes.
My main takeaway from The Pitt is that doctors, nurses, and paramedics are true heroes, superhuman and human at the same time. Often, human and humane. When ICE agents arrive with an injured detainee, nurse Jesse, played by real-life ER nurse and former rock drummer Ned Brower, intervenes during an incident. He is arrested as a result.
Risking their own lives, doctors save lives by making split-second decisions even while on their feet. They spend their own money to send care packages to patients who cannot afford hospital care. They pay for the Uber rides of unaccompanied patients. But they also need as much care as they give. Dr. Robby is visibly troubled, in a “dance of darkness” as Dr. Abbot puts it. The latter tells Dr. Robby he needs the ‘Pitt’ as much as it needs him
The ER staff have problems they try to, but sometimes can’t, leave at home. They have relationships that sometimes distract them—with their mothers, sisters, partners. They get breakup texts in the middle of a shift. The young ones are on Instagram and TikTok.
They also commit errors in judgment just like everybody else. One particular incident that struck me in the series was when male paramedics failed to detect an ongoing heart attack in a female patient because they put the ECG sensors way below her large breasts. As pointed out in the episode, some paramedics get sued for inappropriate sexual behavior when it comes to the female anatomy, whether warranted or not. So they are very, very careful, almost too careful. Dr. Robby, perplexed by the condition of the heart attack patient, pulls down her blanket and upon seeing the placement of the sensors vis-a vis the woman’s breasts—gets it. He orders a repositioning. That’s why in an emergency room — especially in an emergency room—as in any place where there is a goal, especially a life-saving one, teamwork is crucial. And the captain of the team must be very sharp. It takes a trained eye to spot even an inch of a mistake, and an understanding of why miscalculations occur. And woe to “ambulance chasers” and needless lawsuits.
Season 2 of the series takes place over the Fourth of July weekend in the United States (read: fireworks) with a nearby hospital shuttered because of a cyberattack. Soon, the Pitt also goes analog to prevent a similar occurrence. In the wake of an IT shutdown, nurse Princess (Kristin Villanueva) must manage a completely analog ER while Dana tends to a sexual assault victim.
The series ends with fireworks—literally. The staff gather on the rooftop to watch the fireworks. Filipino-American nurse Perlah (Abellera) is overcome—her face a canvas of emotions and unspoken words. Her expression transmits messages that are both apparent and inscrutable at the same time. Was she crying for her deceased patient Louie, for nurse Jesse, for all immigrants trying to find a new life in the Land of the Free? Was she happy or disappointed? Whatever is going through her mind, her emotions speak of a hugot so deep nurse Dana senses it, walks to her side and gives her a reassuring hug. The ending also features Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones) prominently, having her own version of a catharsis in a karaoke joint.
As for Dr. Robby, do we see him still in the “dance of darkness” at the season’s end? We see him hugging Baby Jane Doe (the baby abandoned in a hospital toilet in the beginning of the second season and whom Dana has been trying to find someone to foster), telling her, “You’re going to be okay. It’s okay.”
Life, like an ER, can be unpredictable.
