If you’ve recently found yourself Googling complex medical terminology, fighting the urge to rewatch the 1990s drama “E.R.” or nurturing a budding crush on the actor Noah Wyle, you may be “Pitt”-pilled.
The new Max show “The Pitt,” which follows Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (played by Mr. Wyle) and a motley cast of medical workers during one chaotic 15-hour shift in a Pittsburgh emergency department as it unfolds hour by hour, has become a somewhat unexpected hit. With its first season ending on Thursday, fans are already hankering for more episodes, even though the second season — which will take place over 4th of July — will not be back until January 2026.
That’s because fans of the show don’t just like it — they’re seemingly obsessed. Not since the early days of another Max show, “Succession,” has a TV program inspired such social media ardor. Fans post fan from the show celebrating the “aesthetic” of the characters on TikTok, romantic fan fiction on Tumblr and out of context screenshots on X.
Kenzie Vanunu, the editor in chief and founder of Offscreen Central, a platform for female and nonbinary TV and film critics, said she started watching “The Pitt” after seeing ads for it around Los Angeles. “I actually grew up watching ‘E.R.’ with my mom,” she said. “So I saw a lot of the bus stop ads for it and I recognized Noah Wyle. I was like, ‘Oh, he’s back in a hospital.’ So I watched the first episode, and I was immediately interested.”
Ms. Vanunu now watches episodes as soon as they’re released online and posts live commentary and memes about the show on X.
The discourse on X is what convinced the film and culture critic Cody Corrall to watch late into the season. “I think it’s one of those shows where a lot of people are like, ‘It’s not really like my genre or the kind of show that I’m into,’ but there’s this sort of fan community that’s so organic in a way,” Mr. Corrall said. “I think it just had this sort of perfect storm of people talking about it and people making fan cams that totally convinced us. And now we’re obviously all watching.”
According to Max, the show ranks among the top three most-watched series in the platform’s history, and in the United States, viewing has grown every week since its release in January. Along with other Max hits like “The White Lotus,” “The Pitt” is casting aside the second screen experience and helping to usher in the return of appointment television.
Part of the show’s success can be chalked up to its schedule: A relatively long season of 15 episodes, released every Thursday, mimics the network TV model and gives social media users the opportunity to discuss the last episode while eagerly anticipating the next. Most streaming offerings put out only eight to 10 episodes a season, which explains the show’s slow burn — it’s had the time necessary to build a stable of loyal fans, and to develop story lines and characters that viewers are getting attached to.
“It was funny because none of my friends were watching it,” Ms. Vanunu said. “Then I just think week to week, everybody’s been getting more and more on board.”
“The Pitt” is also a curious success, as it blurs the lines between network and prestige TV, procedurals and drama, leaving a little something for everyone. And it’s not afraid to tackle thorny issues: mass shootings, anti-vaxxers, size discrimination and violence against medical workers.
The show has also fueled discussion around its popularity with different communities. “You see this with Kendall Roy from ‘Succession,’ a little bit with the dudes from ‘Severance,’ all of the dudes from ‘Conclave,’” Mr. Corrall said. “There’s such a fun relationship between young women and young queer people who engage with shows primarily on TikTok and through fan fiction who relate to these middle-aged men and their traumas and back stories in a way that’s like, ‘That’s my child. I will protect them with my life.’” According to Mr. Corrall, this phenomenon can also be deemed the “babygirlification of tortured adult men.”
The diverse cast on “The Pitt” introduces a slew of new faces.
Taylor Dearden, who plays Dr. Melissa “Mel” King and is the daughter of the actors Bryan Cranston and Robin Dearden, said that when she first signed up for the show “it was a job,” but that her co-star Mr. Wyle convinced her it was going to be a hit. “Noah was the one like, ‘This is gonna be huge, guys,’ and we were like, ‘OK, OK, sure,’” Ms. Dearden said in an interview.
Though she went into the show with zero professional medical experience, she said her experience on “The Pitt” had now made her the go-to person for medical advice in her family. “I’ve become the family doctor for sure, which is already bizarre, but it’s already kind of worked a little bit,” Ms. Dearden said. When her mother was hospitalized after being the victim of a pedestrian-involved accident, Ms. Dearden said she was able to help explain some of the complicated medical terminology and keep her mother up to date on her condition.
Supriya Ganesh, who plays Dr. Samira Mohan, studied neuroscience at Columbia and planned to go to med school before landing the role. Despite the show’s success, she still works on the side as an MCAT tutor. “I’m going to quit my job soon, because I’m getting recognized in the classes,” Ms. Ganesh said in an interview. “I will say, there’s been a very marked shift in the past two to three weeks, especially from when it first came out. Before it was like, you know, maybe one person, but I taught a class two weeks ago, and everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s you!’”
The show has also highlighted the important and oftentimes invisible work that happens in an emergency room.
“I’m hoping that this allows anyone seeing this to have more empathy for health care workers,” Ms. Ganesh said.
