Why I'm thankful The Pitt is the modern-day ER

During a weekend headlined by winter weather, I decided to venture into the streaming world to see what was new to watch and settled on the new series The Pitt, available on Max. As an avid watcher of medical dramas, I wanted to see what the latest series in the genre had to offer, and boy I’m glad that I did.

I had high hopes for tuning into the first two episodes, as The Pitt is produced by super TV producer John Wells. For those who don’t know, Wells produced both The West Wing and ER, not only two of the best dramas to ever hit network TV (both are on WTW's 100 best TV shows of all time list), but also two of my personal favorites. There's another ER connection, as The Pitt is headlined by a former star of the Emmy-winning series, Noah Wyle. In the new series, he's the head doctor of the trauma unit.

Even with the overlap in genre, producing and on-screen talent, I didn't expect ER to birth a “TV baby” in The Pitt almost 16 years later. But that’s exactly what has happened, which I frankly appreciate. In a TV and streaming landscape full of medical comedies and dramas that follow similar formulas depending on the seriousness of the show, it’s refreshing, yet nostalgic, to see The Pitt follow in its predecessor’s footsteps. ER had a lot to offer in its heyday that I miss.

Part of what made ER such a phenomenal show and kept it on the air for all those years was the fact that the storylines were rooted in traumas. Sure, great medical dramas like Grey’s Anatomy, House and other new entry to the genre Doctor Odyssey also have their foundations in medical crises, but the ones offered on ER usually slanted to the more common diagnoses rather than rarities and anomalies. Yet they were no less heart-wrenching and captivating to watch.

Another aspect of the ER allure was that while viewers followed the personal stories of the doctors, the hospital drama was always more exciting to see. Don’t get me wrong, I love rooting for "showmances" just like the next guy, but there are occurrences when romance overshadows the original premise of the series. While that’s not always a bad thing, ER was able to strike a good balance.

These points lend to my final one about the realism of ER. Now admittedly toward the final seasons of the series, the plotlines sometimes teetered on unbelievable fiction. However, by and large, the stories were ones that you could unfortunately find happening to hundreds of thousands of people across the US, which made the show as a whole relatable.

Having said all of that, The Pitt has the qualities that made ER successful, at least from an initial take. In the first two episodes, Dr. Michael Robinavitch (Wyle) and his team saw several emergencies ranging from a severely broken leg, a terrible burn, a possible gallstone patient, a gunshot victim and more. These aren’t “abnormal” medical occurrences, and yet, I was still glued to my screen.

While only a few episodes of The Pitt have been released, I’d venture to say that romance isn’t at the forefront. So far, I’ve seen no characters on a date, in bed with each other or even attempt to steal a few kisses. While there is some obvious flirting going on here and there, and perhaps some romantic history between Dr. Robinavitch and Dr. Collins (Tracy Ifeachor), love has remained in the background.

Lastly, having talked about the drama with a few viewers, I know the realism element is there as they have been able to relate to some of the medical issues already shown. That may be why some aren’t up for naming The Pitt one of the better new shows of the TV season, but again, it's why it’s scoring major points with me.

So consider this my official glowing recommendation to watch The Pitt on Max if you haven’t already locked in. Additionally, if you’ve never watched ER, the series is streaming on both Max and Hulu.