Deep in 'The Pitt'

I heard about "The Pitt" from its fans. From folks who have posted about it effusively on social media to hospital social workers, nurses and doctors (in the United States) who say the show is pretty accurate and tackles so many present and pressing issues when it comes to health care.

Isa Briones is Dr. Santos in ‘The Pitt.' She is the daughter of Filipino-American actor Jon Jon Briones.PHOTO FROM MAX/WARRICK PAGE

The first episode aired on January 9 and new episodes were released every Thursday night (Friday morning here) in the US.

Each episode is devoted to an hour in a shift at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital where chief attending physician Dr. Michael Robinavitch aka "Robby" (Noah Wyle) must oversee doctors, student doctors, residents, nurses, patients and even their loved ones.

The ensemble cast is excellent, and you can't help but love a lot of the characters on the show. Among the talent in the cast are: Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif and Isa Briones — who happen to be the children of acting greats Bryan Cranston, Brad Dourif and Jon Jon Briones. They do a fantastic job of bringing Dr. Mel King, Dr. Cassie McKay and Dr. Trinity Santos to life. All doctors have interesting stories and distinctive personalities, but they're all highly intelligent and fearless.The pace of "The Pitt" is frenetic and often chaotic. There are cases that get moved out within the same episode, some take several episodes to find some kind of resolution and some run the full arc of the 15 hours and beyond. The elements and the storyline feel immediate, real and palpable. Visually, there's swelling, lots of blood, urine, bodily fluids, open wounds and a few rats.

"The Pitt" also goes to some very brave places. The show tackles issues like domestic abuse, addiction, anti-vaxxing, masking, assault on medical workers, racism, homelessness, mass shootings, emergency room crowding, understaffing hospitals and so much more.

What adds to the accuracy of "The Pitt" is the presence of Philippine nurses (Princess and Perlah). Finally, a show that sees their contribution to health globally. It's also mentioned Santos is a Filipino, and there's a med tech or orderly called Eusebio who I'm pretty sure is part of the diaspora.

What might be a bit on the 'fantasy' side of this show is despite their quirks and individual traumas, all of the doctors on the show are competent and compassionate; they're creative and dedicated problem solvers who face the pressures of the work environment head on. All the patients are treated like people and not cattle. There's a term to describe this genre: "Competence porn."

You want real life counterparts of these characters to be there for you when you or your loved ones are facing a medical crisis. We know this isn't always guaranteed.

A second season of "The Pitt" is already set for January 2026 with the action taking place over the Fourth of July.

kkkAll 15 episodes of "The Pitt" are available to stream on Max.