The Pitt, HBO Max's hospital-set drama, back for a second season, is a throwback in every sense of the word: formulaic, propulsive, topical. Each episode represents a single hour of one shift in a Pittsburgh emergency department presided over by Dr. Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch (played by Noah Wyle) and the charge nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa), immersing viewers in the relentless stress of crisis medicine. Season 1 detailed how Robby'a crinkle-eyed stalwart whose stethoscope seems made of thorns'was still suffering from PTSD from his experiences working during the coronavirus pandemic, while a violent attack from a patient made the otherwise flinty Dana reconsider whether her job was still bearable. None of this was unfamiliar to viewers of ER, the groundbreaking NBC hospital drama that ran for 15 seasons, introducing Wyle as the haplessly green medical student John Carter, and that tackled an array of social issues including HIV, sexual violence, and drug addiction. 'The...
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