When my mom first told me about “The Pitt,” I was hesitant to watch and immediately dismissed it as a typical medical drama similar to “House,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “ER.” I don’t necessarily dislike these shows and I did watch “House,” but I’m not always interested in the genre. What really pushed me to watch “The Pitt” was how it breaks the stereotypical medical drama mold by making every episode one hour of a singular shift.
“The Pitt” season two follows the deeply troubled senior emergency attending physician Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) and his team of doctors at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. This season takes place on July 4 and the team cares for everything from a glued eyelash to complications in childbirth.
The first season’s overarching problem was a shooting at a music festival. This time, the team has to balance dealing with a switch to analog medicine all while having internal problems of their own. Almost every doctor or nurse has personal problems with their career, family or friends. Overall, the emotional shift led to a moodier, and arguably better season.
In addition to focusing on characters over a mass casualty event, the second season of “The Pitt” also brought in more social commentary. Some of the cases included a sexual assault survivor, multiple patients who could not afford medical treatment, a deaf patient and a patient detained by ICE — all important messages that encouraged viewers to think about the current healthcare system and social climate.
Another one of my favorite parts of season two was the night shift team consisting of war veteran and amputee attending Dr. Jack Abbot (Shawn Hatosy), the Dunkin’ Donuts coffee lover attending Dr. John Shen (Ken Kirby), senior resident Dr. Parker Ellis (Ayesha Harris), fourth-year resident Dr. Crus Henderson (Luke Tennie) and intern Dr. Nazely Toomarian (Sofia Hasmik). The night staff displays a sense of functionality that isn’t always present in the day staff, and Dr. Abbot and Dr. Shen keep their crew calm and collected through strong communication.
In the future, I hope there’s a season focused solely on their team.
What truly makes “The Pitt” stand out is its ensemble. The doctors, nurses, surgeons and even the patients all play important roles in driving the show. Every character and the actor or actress behind them has a distinct personality they bring to the show, including the abandoned “Baby Jane Doe.”
After a season-long wait, it’s finally revealed that the new attending, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), suffers from absence seizures since having had viral meningitis as a child. Moafi offers a masterclass in the finale by breaking down her robotic barrier and being completely vulnerable with Dr. Robby and herself.
I don’t have many complaints about this season, but my biggest one is that I couldn’t binge the episodes within a few days. It was fun to engage with the online community in between episodes but the cliffhangers always had me begging for the next week. Aside from my impatience, it was sad to see the passing of frequent flyer and alcoholic Louie Cloverfield (Ernest Harden Jr.) due to a pulmonary hemorrhage connected to his liver failure. Louie was a wholesome man who saw the Pitt as his family.
The season finale titled “9:00 P.M” erased any negatives about this season. Noah Wyle continues the masterclass through Dr. Robby’s clear suicidal ideation. Dr. Robby is at the brink of another complete meltdown and hints to those around him that he might not be back from his sabbatical.
After another emotionally filled and necessary scene with his bro and emergency contact, Dr. Abbot, Robby is in the pediatrics room caring for “Baby Jane Doe.” Dr. Robby speaks to himself through the baby, reassuring both of them that they are loved and that they have a purpose.
For some, the finale may feel anti-climactic, but it makes sense. After all, “The Pitt” is only one stressful shift and the team’s problems can’t be solved in one day. The real climax in my eyes was the grim and depressing scene of charge nurse Dana Evans (Katherin LaNasa) embracing the teary-eyed Nurse Perlah Alawi (Amielynn Abellera) who looks on at the city’s fireworks, reflecting on a day of chaos, stress and loss.
My countdown for season three has already begun, as have the early stages of production. “The Pitt” season three is set for release scheduled for Jan. 2027.
