The 77th annual Primetime Emmy Awards happened last yesterday and it might have left you asking a few questions. One of which being “what the hell is this ‘The Pitt’ show that won best drama?”. Well, if you’ve not seen it, take it from someone who one weekend thought they’d try an episode and it somehow resulted in me finishing all 15-episodes in a single sitting. Mate, I had things to do that Sunday, but it was so astonishingly good I ordered dumplings from my local and threw caution to the window and just binged watched the most beautiful love letter to health care I had ever seen.
So, what is The Pitt? The Pitt is a grounded medical drama from HBO. But calling it that feels like a disservice. The term medical drama these days tends to feel a little bit “soap opera”. What stands The Pitt apart from every other medical drama is three things. Firstly, its depiction of medical work and diagnosis is heralded as ridiculously accurate to real life, not an overly dramatised and unrealistic representation of hospital workers. Secondly, it directly deals with the strain, trauma, and fall out of the health care system and the medical experts during COVID (even though it is set years after COVID). Lastly, the entire first season is set in a single 15-hour shift in a trauma ward. Each episode is one hour of a single shift so by the time you reach the end of the first season you’ll experience the staff show up for their 7am start in the first episode, with the final episode concluding with them leaving the same shift at 10pm.
The show is created, written, and directed by its lead star Noah Wyle, who you may recognise from his ER days as John Carter. Wyle plays Attending Dr. Michael “Robbie” Robinavitch, as he works a particularly troubling shift on the anniversary of the death of his medical mentor that he failed to save. If that wasn’t hard enough, he also has a batch of interns on their first day which he needs to mentor through their first experience in a trauma ward. The show deals with a wide array of subject matters from drug abuse, a failing health care system, gun violence, extreme PTSD, and much more.
The show in the end took away 5 Emmy’s including Best Lead Actor in a Drama (Noah Wyle), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama (Katherine LaNasa), Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, and finally Best Drama Series.
The show went to toe to toe with this year’s most nominated show Severance, and won best drama! Don’t get me wrong I’m a Severance die hard, it’s one of my favourite shows of all time. But The Pitt was the right choice. If you haven’t yet seen it now is the time.
Hope you’re not squeamish!
