Judging from its trailer, The Pitt may be TV's most realistic medical drama

Have you ever watched a medical show and thought, “This can’t be realistic”? On Grey’s Anatomy there’s a lot of sex; on The Good Doctor there’s dubious representations of autism; on Scrubs there’s crazy shenanigans. You may argue, justifiably, that fictional television doesn’t have to be realistic. But Max’s The Pitt trailer released on Thursday will challenge those notions by offering a compelling but grimly realistic portrayal of the healthcare profession in the 2020s. 

The new medical drama takes a page out of the 24 handbook by having its episodes play out roughly in “real time”—the 15 episodes take place over 15 hours of one shift in the emergency room of Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital. But here’s another little trick of timing: releasing next year, The Pitt premiere coincides with the five-year anniversary of the COVID-19 epidemic. The fictional frontline medical professionals are still recovering from the real-life trauma of that event. In fact, according to the trailer, Dr. Robby’s (Noah Wyle) specific coronavirus PTSD played out “five years ago today” from this one eventful shift. 

The Pitt trailer begins with Dr. Robby talking a colleague off the ledge of the hospital roof (“If you jump on my shift, that’s just rude, man”). By the end of it, he’s standing there himself. (Perhaps this hospital should have less easily accessible ledges.) As his boss points out, there’s a nursing shortage across the country, and the busy ER—which is only going to get busier as those 15 hours tick by—threatens to overwhelm the hospital’s resources. Indeed, it may be overwhelming to watch, particularly for anyone who has the kind of real-life medical traumas playing out on screen. But The Pitt trailer proves writers don’t have to layer on soap opera drama to a hospital setting. The real-life trials and tribulations of being a health care worker are plenty dramatic enough. 

The Pitt premieres with two episodes on January 9, with new episodes airing every Thursday through April 10.