For those excited about Max’s upcoming medical drama, The Pitt, settle in for the wait.
The cast is set, the scripts are written, and the primary cast is named, but the series starts filming for the first time this month and is not expected to wrap until February 2025.
There are several medical dramas out there, but they’re not the industry’s most dominating genre.
(Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images)
The Pitt will have to bring something new and exciting to the table, especially if the showrunners want to reach the heights of House, ER, and Grey’s Anatomy (to name a few).
Fortunately, the showrunners have much to work with, especially post-pandemic, when most existing franchises had to adapt on the fly. Max is the perfect home for a new, popular medical drama, which will stream alongside ER, The Knick, and a host of reality medical shows.
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With Grey’s Anatomy, The Good Doctor, and Chicago Med on the scene, The Pitt will have its work cut out for it, attempting to capture the hearts and minds of a new audience.
What Will The Pitt Be About?
Most are familiar with the medical procedural format, and The Pitt will not disappoint on that count.
However, the show seeks to separate itself from the competition with an emphasis on healthcare workers in today’s environment. The healthcare industry in the United States is a complex web, politically, scientifically, and economically.
Noah Wyle attends the Opening Night Red Carpet For “Inherit The Wind” at Pasadena Playhouse on November 05, 2023, in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Many of the most popular shows present character studies amidst the action. The Pitt is stepping away from individual and limited intertwining dramas between characters to focus on the broader challenges healthcare workers face.
Realism is the word of the day on set. This makes sense, considering the location — an urban hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. What better way to represent the accomplishments and plights of American workers in the healthcare industry than in an urban setting?
The chaos of serving a high-density population concentrated in a small area should make for entertaining TV, and that’s before the dramatic elements. It’s not hard to imagine The Pitt taking on the persona of Hulu’s The Bear within a hospital setting.
How Many Episodes Will The Pitt Season 1 Have?
If there’s one thing we’re growing more accustomed to in modern television, it’s the shorter series run. Once upon a time, a 20-episode season was par for the course. Now, a 6 to 8-episode arc is common, with the occasional stretch to 10.
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Surprisingly, The Pitt found a happy compromise between the golden age of massive seasons and the severely truncated, budget-conscious shows of today. Fifteen episodes is the magic number. If you’re keen on a high-octane, exhausting medical drama, you’ll get plenty of it.
Of course, medical dramas, by the nature of the setting, do not need the CG extravaganzas prevalent on the small and big screens today. Spending less money on replacing green screens with eye-dazzling displays opens up new avenues of longevity.
It also has an interesting correlation with ER (a show that has much to do with The Pitt’s existence) since ER aired for 15 seasons.
Related: Chicago Med Season 10: Everything We Know So Far About NBC’s Flagship Medical Drama
Is There a Trailer for The Pitt?
Filming will wrap up in February of 2025, so there’s no trailer expectation until sometime next year. However, the moment the trailer drops, you’ll find it right here, along with our take on it! Trailer releases are a little different from television versus their movie counterparts.
Each episode features its own mini-post-production routine, but there’s still a lot to wrap up in the actual post-production process. With multiple directors, writers, and producers for each individual episode, it’s a little more chaotic.
(Photo by CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images)
It’s also important to note that February 2025 is an estimate. Throughout production, many things can happen, any of which may push the date back. Unfortunately, it never seems to work the other way.
Who Will Star in The Pitt?
From a distance, The Pitt looks like nothing more than an extension or remake of ER. In fact, the former was originally the plan. The original showrunners behind ER are mostly intact, with Noah Wyle taking the lead spot.
R. Scott Gemmill, one of the creative minds behind NCIS: Los Angeles and ER, is reuniting with John Wells, also of ER fame. With Noah Wyle in the picture, Max’s new series is in capable hands with plenty of experience. The rest of the cast was announced in mid-July.
- Noah Wyle (ER, The Librarians)
- Shabana Azeez (Birdeaters)
- Katherine LaNasa (The Campaign)
- Tracy Ifeachor (Treason)
- Supriya Ganesh (Grownish)
- Patrick Ball (Law & Order)
- Gerran Howell (Catch-22)
- Taylor Dearden (American Vandal)
- Fiona Dourif (Child’s Play)
- Isa Briones (Goosebumps)
(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for People)
Of course, that’s just the main cast. The nature of a medical procedural/drama necessitates new faces, cameos, and recurring characters we don’t know about just yet. There are sure to be plenty of them.
Where To Watch The Pitt
The Pitt is exclusive to Max, and the series premiere will occur there. Max ordered the 15-episode season, and little is known about how the release will take place.
Shows like House of the Dragon are proving that streaming platforms aren’t abandoning the weekly episodic release formula, which is incredibly frustrating at times.
Related: ER Set the Medical Drama Standard in the ’90s: Has Any Series Come Close to Measuring Up?
It’s likely we’ll have to patiently work our way through 15 weeks to see the entire thing, though there’s no reason to rule out a multi-episode release. It’s wishful thinking, for sure, but it happens.
In the meantime, ER is available on Max. Due to the close creative relationship between ER and The Pitt and Noah Wyle, ER is a good way to get your mind into the style and flow the showrunners create.
(Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Cirque du Soleil ECHO)
When Will The Pitt Premiere?
As with the trailer, there is no set date for the premiere. The series is set to complete filming early in 2025, so there’s plenty of time remaining for a 2025 release. As noted earlier, however, things happen on and off the set that can change the entire paradigm.
Promotional strategies, Max’s streaming scheduling, and post-production complexities will all play their own roles. Fortunately, a medical drama like The Pitt is not likely to have many heavy special effects moments, which will cut down on the time between wrapping filming and release.
As always, once the trailer and premiere dates are set, we’ll post them here, along with our take and opinions. You know where to find us!
Is Max’s The Pitt on your “must-watch” list?
If not, let us know what is in the comments below!
