'The Pitt' is still the absolute best show on television – review Kelly Lawler, USA TODAYJanuary 8, 2026 at 11:00 AM 0 "The Pitt" is ready to admit you again. One year (really, just a single year) since it premiered on the thennamed streaming service Max as a seemingly humble new take on the medical drama, HBO Max's "The Pitt" returns for a second season as a cultural phenomenon.
- - 'The Pitt' is still the absolute best show on television – review
Kelly Lawler, USA TODAYJanuary 8, 2026 at 11:00 AM
0
"The Pitt" is ready to admit you again.
One year (really, just a single year) since it premiered on the then-named streaming service Max as a seemingly humble new take on the medical drama, HBO Max's "The Pitt" returns for a second season as a cultural phenomenon.
Hard to be anything else after five Emmy wins, including for best drama series, boatloads of critical acclaim and a genuine impact on our zeitgeist, from the memes to the fan fiction to all the chat at whatever your personal version of the water cooler is. And it feels giddy to jump back into the show for Season 2.
Noah Wyle and Supriya Ganesh on "The Pitt."
Set in a Pittsburgh emergency department always teetering on the edge of collapse, "Pitt" (Thursdays, 9 ET/PT, ★★★★ out of four) is the same deliciously tense, deeply human and deceptively funny series in Season 2 it was in its first outing (at least in the first nine episodes made available for review). The "real time" format of the show, in which every episode is one hour in a grueling 15-hour shift at the hospital, remains a source of wit and cleverness rather than a gimmick. The cast, including Emmy winners Noah Wyle and Katherine LaNasa, is immaculate and magnetic. The medical ordeals are traumatic and disgusting, but fascinating and full of the quirks of modern life. The themes are powerful and gut-wrenching. You won't want to − or even be able to − look away. And that's all we can ask for from our TV shows.
More: 'The Pitt' new doctor Sepideh Moafi on 'explosive' dynamic with Robby
At the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, it's the Fourth of July, 10 long months after the Season 1 shift we saw with the mass shooting that left the health care workers traumatized and beaten down. Now, as they clock in at 7 am, they're anticipating the influx of patients typical on Independence Day, from firework accidents to overdrinking to heatstroke to familial celebration debauchery. Things are further complicated when a nearby hospital mysteriously shuts down its ER, sending even more ambulances and patients to an already-overcrowded Pitt.
Katherine LaNasa as Dana in "The Pitt."
Dr. Michael Robinavitch, aka Dr. Robby, (Wyle) is on his last shift before a three-month sabbatical road trip, and he's getting to know his new colleague and replacement Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (newcomer Sepideh Moafi), with whom he instantly clashes (shocker). His clinical stress level is further elevated by the reappearance of Dr. Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball), who was suspended last season for stealing drugs from the hospital and patients and is back after a stint in rehab. Charge nurse Dana Evans (LaNasa) is also back after some time away; she tried to retire after she was assaulted by a patient the day of the shooting but ended up back in her scrubs after she got restless at home.
The rest of our fair crew is trudging along through broken wrists and CT scans. The students and residents are all moving on to their next steps, and there a few new fawns being broken in during rounds. (One notable absence: Dr. Heather Collins, played by Tracy Ifeachor, has been written out of the show; it's explained that she took a job at a new hospital). Their jobs are hard and their exhaustion is high, but the new patients keep coming.
Looking for something good to watch? Amid the deluge of television in 2025, here are the very best, starting with number 20: "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" (Paramount+)
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"Matlock" (CBS)
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"Apple Cider Vinegar" (Netflix)
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"Overcompensating" (Prime Video)
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"Task" (HBO)
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"North of North" (Netflix)
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"Taskmaster" (YouTube)
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"Boots" (Netflix)
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"Death by Lightning" (Netflix)
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"The American Revolution" (PBS)
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"Adolescence" (Netflix)
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"Andor" (Disney+)
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"The Pitt" (HBO Max)
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1 / 19The 20 best TV shows of 2025
Looking for something good to watch? Amid the deluge of television in 2025, here are the very best, starting with number 20: "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" (Paramount+)
"Pitt" was and is the best show we have about the way we live now, and it has already captured the essence of 2026 in the same way it captured 2025 a year ago. The doctors are encouraged to try an AI app to help them be more efficient, but Robby worries it will simply be an administrative excuse to add to their workloads. The health care industry's reliance on tech comes into play in a surprisingly clever way. Ozempic gets a name drop. One doctor's research was defunded by the Trump administration. Everybody's favorite wunderkind student doctor Victoria (Shabana Azeez) has a devoted TiKTok following. It all feels relatable and familiar rather than shoehorned in for forced relevance. There's no unnecessary slang, just a bunch of Gen Z med students who don't know what a fax machine sounds like.
Brandon Mendez Homer and Patrick Ball on "The Pitt."
Bad things happen on "The Pitt" all the time – it's a show set in a place where many people die every day. But it's hard not to feel good when you watch the show: no unnecessary CGI, no tricks or absurd antics, no stunt casting or listless tabloid celebrities pretending to be actors – just authentic, gripping stories about people who feel viscerally real. The standout moments are both big and quiet, from birth to death and everything between, but they are devastatingly human and everyday each time. An ex-wife who realizes maybe she doesn't hate her ex-husband as much as she thought. Adolescents learning what it means to be an adult. A boss who calls to berate a worker while she's being stuck with needles. Grief and pain and trauma, but also love and joy and hope. It all happens, and it all happens on a single shift.
And I can't think of anyplace I'd rather be when I clock off.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Pitt' is still the absolute best show on television – review
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: January 08, 2026 at 09:45AM on Source: OPERA MAG
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