‘The Pitt’ Review: Season 2’s Ticking Clock Is More Urgent Than Ever

Dr. Robby is stuck. The E.R.’s attending physician at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center (played by recent Emmy winner Noah Wyle) is one shift away from a much-needed vacation. Officially dubbed a “sabbatical,” the good doctor plans to spend his three-month excursion(!) on the back of his new motorcycle(!!) cruising across the northern United States — a dude-bro’s dream trip that doubles as a macho cover for its delicate motivation: Dr. Robby’s pandemic-induced PTSD. Given he’s still overworked and under-supported all these years later, taking a little “me time” to grieve and get his head right sounds like just what the doctor ordered.

But now there’s Dr. Baran Al-Hashim (Sepideh Moafi). Before he can hop on his hog and ride off into the sunset, Dr. Robby has to make sure his replacement is up to speed on his their the E.R.. That means not only giving “Dr. Al” the lay of the land, but handing over the reins, which becomes a bit harder to do when she starts implementing new policies (“patient passports”), preaching the benefits of artificial intelligence (for faster charting and administrative efficiency), and generally pushing the outgoing attendee out of her way.

“The Pitt” Season 2 is far more than just Dr. Robby vs. Dr. Al. While there’s a fair bit of fun to be had in their professional pissing match — with an emphasis on “professional,” since the dueling docs’ decorum never dips past a curt acknowledgment here or a passive rebuttal there — what their dynamic really does is deepen the show’s superficial conceit: time. While Dr. Robby is trying to get through one last shift filled with the immediate demands of patients in crisis, Dr. Al represents the bigger picture. Change is coming. How much change and how long isn’t yet known, but whether it’s as short as Dr. Robby’s sabbatical or as long as a career amputated by A.I., everyone can feel it coming.

For someone like Dr. Robby, who’s as proud of his accomplishments in the E.R. as he is desperate for reinforcements, change is scary. He wants to believe it will work out for the best, but he’s experienced enough to have seen that hope get trampled time and time again. And now, the stakes are higher. In addition to all these operational changes, he’s also trying to change himself.

Adding these existential ticking clocks to a narrative that plays out in real-time is a clever means to amplify the suspense driving “The Pitt.” Just like Season 1 and unlike so many of its peers, R. Scott Gemmill’s medical drama doesn’t dwell on melodramatic backstories, mysterious diseases, or romantic subplots. Its urgency stems from the job’s incessant demands, illustrated by the steady flow of patients flooding The Pitt. (A temporary antagonist rather than an actual enemy, Dr. Al wanting to kill off the discouraging nickname — aka, that she wants characters to stop using the name of the show — may be her most damning characteristic.)

Accordingly, its satisfactions come from seeing those demands met. “The Pitt’s” tense-yet-rousing escapism serves as medicine for the streaming-addled (or simply stressed-out) brain. Witnessing leaders really lead, like Dr. Robby does when rallying the troops or fighting for his staff? Watching professionals act professionally, like Dana (Emmy-winner Katherine LaNasa) does when treating a rape victim? Observing an onslaught of relatable setbacks get rectified by a sprawling group of people who are barely hanging on, like the residents and interns who are only just starting to glimpse life’s myriad inequities — and just starting to learn how to right them, whenever they can? All this adds up to an absorbing viewing experience, which makes each episode a rewarding break from reality.

Noah Wyle, Katherine LaNasa, and Sepideh Moafi in ‘The Pitt’Warrick Page/MAX

Although that’s not to say “The Pitt” ignores reality. Far from it. Not only do the lived-in performances and convincing dialogue keep things grounded, Season 2 addresses topical issues like the A.I. invasion, malnutrition in prisons, the health insurance crisis, precarious cyber security, deficient human security, and the unforgiving effects of a country intent on working its citizens to death. Gemmill has described the E.R. as society’s safety net, and Season 2 once again hooks many of society’s ills in its cases and character studies. It acknowledges the hardships of living through what feels like unprecedented times, while rooting every second in a reality that’s as urgent as it is familiar.

Periodically, “The Pitt’s” relentless pace can get the better of its more compact messaging. Too many episodes end with arbitrary cliffhangers meant to propel you forward, and too few hours in Dr. Robby’s shift feel appreciable on their own. The unabated push forward can override slighter episodic arcs, and the drab, unchanging hospital setting (while lifelike!) remains over-sanitized and uninviting. Together, these concessions to forward momentum can make the solution to TV’s content problem feel a bit too much like content itself.

Still, some of these foibles are easier to forgive when seen in service of the greater good. Through nine episodes, “The Pitt” Season 2 seems intent on confronting the consequence and temporality of the present. Everything Dr. Robby does in his shift carries massive ramifications for his patients, his colleagues, his hospital, and himself, and yet, at the end of the day, he’s still expected to punch out and walk away from every one of those concerns. Can he do it? Can he accept that he needs to do it? And can the system he’s established really keep running the way it has to without him?

“The Pitt” excels at finding the universal in the particular, and Season 2 is no different. Who among us hasn’t wondered if we’re replaceable? If we’re needed? If when we take care of ourselves, we’re not neglecting care for others? The answers may be obvious, but enacting them is never easy. Through overwhelming competence, “The Pitt” inspires us to unstick ourselves — or I hope it will. Dr. Robby deserves a break.

Grade: B

“The Pitt’ Season 2 premieres Thursday, January 8 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO Max. New episodes will be released weekly through the finale on April 16.