‘The Pitt’: Noah Wyle Is Back In the ER for an Addictive Second Season

Alci Rengifo

The very format of HBO Max’s “The Pitt” makes it gripping on a unique level. Each season takes place during the course of one shift (roughly fifteen hours) at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, and a single episode counts for an hour. This creates the show’s real time ambiance that helped make the first season both a popular hit and an Emmy winner. Season two releases with the same excellent writing and acting, as it continues to find drama in grounded details as opposed to bombastic melodrama. Creator R. Scott Gemmill and executive producer John Wells have built an entire enclosed world that functions on its own. This time around, there may be less comparisons to Wells’ ‘90s classic, “ER,” which was reportedly the original inspiration for this series. Now “The Pitt” grinds on with its own force.

It is the Fourth of July at the Trauma Medical Center and chief resident Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) is coming in for one last shift before going on a much-needed sabbatical. He gets a look at how things will run in his absence with the arrival of Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), who will be taking his spot. The two doctors have differing styles. While Robby relies on learned instincts and camaraderie, Baran is more detached and stern. She is also eager to introduce new AI technologies into the center and resents how everyone calls it “the pitt.” Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball), meanwhile, is returning from ten months in rehab, after Robby had to kick him out last season for his drug use.  Adjusting to his new reality means Langdon confessing to a patient that he took his pills. Most of the original gang is still here, including sarcastic Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones) and Dr. Samira “Crash” Mohan (Supriya Ganesh), whose surgeon mother still hovers over her shoulder.

“The Pitt” may take place in one setting, but part of its enjoyment is the feel that we’re being served multiple short stories in each episode. Introvert Dr. Melissa King (Taylor Dearden) starts liking the flirtatious banter of a patient before it turns out they are a wanted fugitive. A new staff member will need to get used to the smelly, unsavory aspects of treating all patients who come in, including the homeless. The patients also become their own narratives, like the divorced man who refuses to acknowledge he is having memory problems. This case develops into a truly moving micro story about his brain tumor and a bittersweet reconnecting with an ex-wife. Other stories have a familiar touch from episodes we used to get in “ER” (also starring Wyle), like the case of a bruised child raising concerns among staff that this could be a case of abuse. The writing uses such a moment to let Santos show that she does have a heart and is not all cynical joke cracking. 

Then there are the central narrative threads, which all tend to center on Robby as the leader who sets the tone at the trauma center. Last season had much to do with the lingering psychological toll of having lost his mentor during the pandemic. This season finds Robby having to learn that he can indeed step back just a little, especially when it comes to someone like Baran and her technocratic personality. Sepideh Moafi provides an entertaining counterbalance to Wyle, expertly becoming the perfectionist Persian obsessed with efficiency. Baran may be a focused machine, but she will also face the more human challenge of truly being accepted by a team she now hopes to lead. Issuing commands can only go so far. She’s such a straight arrow that when Melissa bemoans being mentioned in a class action lawsuit, it turns out Baran is the only doctor on staff who has never been sued. The writing knows how to use such little moments to say everything we need to know about a character.

Amateur would-be doctors will also get more of the anatomical details of trauma medicine. As with the first season, “The Pitt” doesn’t shy away from showing what it does look like to open a chest, massage a heart or find maggots on a homeless man’s arm. This is never a graphic show, knowing how much to show. There is almost a documentary feel to these scenes, giving “The Pitt” a convincing authenticity. The only element that breaks the effect is that, in the end, this is drama, so the showrunners do feel compelled to give us “big moments” like last season’s mass shooting. Through it all, we care most about the doctors. A veteran like Dr. Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) has seen it all and knows how to make the younger staff feel comfortable amid the chaos. Dr. Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell) still looks like a baby when dealing with an Alzheimer’s patient not realizing her husband has died. Meanwhile, Samira’s mother drops by like a hawk, demanding to know when they can spend time together. Those moments keep “The Pitt” as one of the best shows streaming by keeping it real and relatable.

“The Pitt” season two begins streaming Jan. 8 with new episodes premiering Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO Max.