RIOTUS

Last year, one of the most surprising streaming television hits was HBO Max‘s The Pitt. The medical procedural drama series follows emergency department staff as they attempt to overcome the hardships of a single 15-hour work shift at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, all while having to navigate staff shortages and underfunding. It was one of my favorite shows of last year, as it felt like a throwback in terms of making a show that works episode by episode and as a whole. Much like the show, it’s a spiritual successor to the 1994 – 2009 series ER. The show connects you to the many characters’ personal stories and medical problems while having a sense of realism in how everything is portrayed.

Noah Wyle‘s Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, as the senior attending physician who is still reeling from his traumatic experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, is a core part of the show’s story, which helped it become the standout Drama at the 2025 Emmy Awards, winning many awards that night. Season two begins almost a year later from the events of the first season and follows the day shift at the Pitt on July 4^th during a heatwave on top of that. The thing Dr. Robby is bringing with him into this season is that this is his last day before he takes a three-month sabbatical – a big thing for a man who’s a workaholic. Still, he’s loving his new motorcycle, a big midlife crisis red flag to all his co-workers in the ER.

We get our young doctors back, now more experienced but still with a lot to learn, and helping teach two newer medical students to pass their knowledge on. With Robby going on a sabbatical, the hospital has brought in a new attending physician to fill in for him during that time. Sepideh Moafi plays Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi, who used to work at a VA hospital and has a more technological approach to practicing medicine and working with patients that does conflict with Robby’s preferences. What’s new in this season is that with younger doctors being more experienced and Dr. Al-Hashimi, a lot of his antagonistic traits toward the hospital management end up being a bit more directed to his peers and staff.

Wylie brings a bit more of an orney feeling to performance this season, which makes you feel like “yeah, bro, you need a vacation”. The show throws you back into the crazy medical scenes fast, with an improvement I didn’t think was possible in terms of practical effects of showing the inside of a human body. This show wasn’t for the faint of heart before, but this time, you might need to cover your eyes at some parts. It’s really impressive, but some parts border on gross, yet that’s part of the ER experience.

Katherine LaNasa is returning as Charge Nurse Dana Evans, who has one of my favorite storylines this season. Her performance is excellent, adding even more nuance and depth to the character than we got last season, with her character also taking a new nurse on her first day, named Emma, played by Laetitia Hollard, under her wing. We get to see Dana in more of a lead role than as a supporting one. The middle episodes of the season deal with a patient who has been sexually assaulted and goes through he process of a rape kit. The care the show takes in showing this is impactful. To essentially explain the process through a great narrative drama was eye-opening. All the actors and crew involved in the show should be celebrated for handling this part. Like a lot of the show, it’s delving deeper into showing you how things work, even while entertaining.

The overall focus on the nurses this season is welcome, with Amielynn Abellera‘s Perlah, Kristin Villanueva‘s Princess, and Brandon Mendez Homer‘s Donnie all getting more to do during the season. They really round these characters out more, and while I feel it takes away from personal Doctor/Student drama, it keeps the show fresh. I really liked Donnie’s new father angle; they brought with him as a POV on certain medical cases. There is a strong focus on Patrick Ball‘s Dr. Langdon’s return to the ER. It adds an unease as he tries to reintergrate into the ER with different reactions to his return.

I like Ball’s character, and honestly, the show does well to make you want to like him even after last season’s swerve. All the returning actors continue their outstanding performances from last season, but Taylor Dearden as Dr. King and Gerran Howell as Dr. Whitaker stand out a bit from the others as they still feel the most affable of the original group and have interesting continuing threads from the first season that anchor their story arcs. I also like Irene Choi as Joy, a new medical student in the ER who is very blunt in her responses to everything and adds the right amount of humor to the show.

The direction of each episode is very high; the set, while familiar, feels like a real hospital, and you know where you are from watching the show. Along with the editing, the show knows when to ramp up tension and slow down for the more personal moments. Each episode keeps a great pace and feels like a satisfying hour of television. While reviewing this series, I had to watch the episodes I had access to in a binge method, which is one I don’t really enjoy watching television in. When watching, I never felt like I had to watch it this way, as I feel some modern shows feel like they at least need to be watched in chunks.

I look forward to going back and rewatching these episodes in the weekly format so they can stick with me. The Pitt last year was the type of television show I was missing. As more and more shows like this disappear from linear networks and streaming services focused on other, shorter types of shows, I really connected with The Pitt in its first season. After watching a large portion of the second season, I have the same amount of excitement about this show in its second season as I did in the first.