Doctor Robby (Noah Wyle) is working his last shift today before going on sabbatical from his motorcycle. That leave is also necessary, given his grumpy outbursts that do not suit his equanimous character. These failures mainly affect Doctor Langdon (Patrick Ball), who appeared in the first season of The Pitt got caught stealing benzos. This second season he has kicked the habit and is making his cautious return to the emergency department of the hospital in Pittsburgh. But Doctor Robby hasn’t forgiven him yet.
And then there is his replacement, doctor Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), who immediately wants to introduce all kinds of innovations, such as artificial intelligence. And can’t the name ‘The Pitt’ be changed? That means ‘The Pit’ – not a pleasant association for the patients. Doctor Robby is very catty towards her, while she immediately proves to be a knowledgeable and pleasant manager; possibly even one in the future love interest for him. But that’s not how Dr. Robby sees it. Not yet.
It was early last year The Pitt a big surprise hit for HBO Max. A long-running hospital series – an ailing, not highly regarded genre – with a new episode every week. The series is from R. Scott Gemmillwho became famous in the 1990s ERand is built around actor Noah Wyle, also known for ER It initially sounded like an unpromising return to the glory years of network television.
But The Pitt turned out to be fantastic. Very realistic, witty, exciting and with enormous speed. One season covers one day shift, each episode is one hour of real time running around from emergency to emergency. And within this hectic pace, the fantastic ensemble also has plenty of room to profile themselves as people of flesh and blood. Heroes, but heroes with problems and flaws. The Pitt won five Emmys, two Golden Globes and about twenty other TV awards.
In the second season, almost everything is the same. The patients and their ailments are new, they are acting rude again and they are flirting with the staff. The interns are new, they have moved on from last season, the replacement doctor Al-Hashimi is new. And the aggravating problems are new. Last time they had to deal with an attack on a festival. This means, among other things, that the computer system breaks down, meaning that doctors have to work with paper on a clipboard again. Furthermore, it is Independence Day, the Fourth of July, which causes revelers to overheat, drink too much and suffer from fireworks injuries.
A peculiarity that contributes significantly to the realism is the prolonged zooming in on open wounds and other imperfections. For sensitive viewers, there should actually be a warning signal, so that you can close your eyes in time. Attention, cut open chest in the fourteenth minute! Excellent bone in the fiftieth!
Once again, American social problems arise that have worsened considerably under President Trump. An uninsured diabetic flees from the hospital because a longer stay would bankrupt him. A little boy who was playing with fireworks turns out to be living unsupervised because ICE suddenly deported his parents to Haiti. „This is the dark ages,” says one doctor.
Above all, I was struck by the deep humanity that… The Pitt breathes. The series subtly shows what society can be like. A skilled, culturally diverse group works together to make people better, upholding the principles of empathy, courage and human dignity.
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