Considering its setup and lead actor, plenty of people have been wondering if Max’s new medical dramaThe Pittis a spinoff of the long-running seriesER. The series is set in the emergency department of the fictional PTMC, a trauma center hospital in Pittsburgh. Overthe course of 15 episodes,The Pittwill follow the story of the doctors and medical workers in PTMC’s ER, sarcastically nicknamed The Pitt, as they deal with cases from the mundane to the life-altering.
Prior to its release,The Pitthad gotten a solidly positive Rotten Tomatoes score, with reviews praising the unique format and the great acting. It’s a testament to the strength ofThe Pitt’s cast of characters, particularly lead Noah Wyle, that they’re able to anchor the medical drama in humanity. It’s reminiscent of another huge show that changed the landscape for medical dramas,ER, leading some to wonder ifThe Pitthas any ties to that series.
Max’s The Pitt Is Not An ER Spinoff (But Was Supposed To Be A Revival)
It Was Reworked To Be An Entirely Different Show
It’s fair to wonder, butThe Pittis not, in fact, anERreboot or spinoff. It certainly seems like it could be, especially considering the hospital setting and the fact that lead actor Noah Wyle also anchoredERfor years. Interestingly,The Pittwas the result of what was initially conceived as anERrevival. Wanting to do something new, Wyle got in touch with formerERshowrunner and executive producer, John Wells, and he, in turn, brought in formerERwriter R. Scott Gemmill. Not wanting to step onER’s legacy, Wyle’s idea was that it would be a much smaller, contained character piece focusing on either hisERcharacter, John Carter, or another character in the modern day.
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Ultimately, though, the idea fell through. Though they came up with a concept, it never really got off the ground and negotiations fell apart. Instead, the trio reworked their idea into a completely new medical drama that had nothing to withER, and that idea eventually becameThe Pitt. Outside of the formerERveterans and the fact it’s a medical drama set in a hospital,The Pitthas no ties toER, does not exist in that world, and isn’t a spinoff or continuation of the previous show in any way. It’s entirely its own thing.
The Pitt Has Several Big Differences From ER
The Format Sets It Apart From All Other Medical Dramas
Aside from seeing Noah Wyle in the role of a doctor who is not John Carter,The Pittmade a few significant changes to separate it even further fromER. For starters, its format is closer to24thanER: each episode of the first season covers one hour in Dr. Robby’s 15-hour shift at the hospital. The almost real-time format makes it that much more intense as the viewer is dropped right into the action. The lack of commercial breaks and time jumps means that it never stops; Dr. Robby and his staff never get a break, and neither does the audience.
Likewise, with it being on a streaming service,The Pittis a little more gnarly in terms of showing gruesome injuries thanERever was, and there’s more cursing allowed, too. WhileERwas an intense medical drama for its time,The Pitttops that intensity in terms of realism, not afraid to go all-in on the gorier truths of working in a trauma center hospital. Though it may not be a sequel or spinoff of the earlier show, in ways,The PittisER’s grittier, tenser spiritual successor, making it a great watch for those who love medical dramas.
The Pitt - Season 1
The Pitt is a medical drama developed by veterans of the television series ER. The series will follow healthcare workers set in Pittsburgh, showing he challenges faced in the modern-day United States by nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals.
