★★★½ (3½ out of 4)
Drop the trash talk about a sophomore slump for “The Pitt,” the HBO Max medical juggernaut gurneying in for a second season that’s just as good, maybe better, than the debut punch that bounced past “Severance” and took home a leading five Emmys. That includes the biggie for Outstanding Drama Series and one for star Noah Wyle as Dr. Robby Robinavitch, the lord of the ER, known for healing patients while stealing their hearts.
To his everlasting credit, Wyle digs way deeper into the role than getting fans to crush on him. The first episode of Season 2 sees Dr. Robby zipping to work as attending physician at Pittsburgh’s Trauma Medical Center for another grueling 15-hour shift. This time the day is July 4th, so expect literal and metaphorical fireworks. As before, each episode covers one of those hours in real time with mounting tension, no manipulative music and no attempt to hide a broken healthcare system. Call it a gimmick if you like, but it still works like gangbusters.
The second season is just as good, maybe better, than the debut punch that took home a leading five Emmys.
I should mention that Dr. Robby is riding to work on a motorcycle. No helmet. Later, he’ll lie about wearing one, a concerning fact since the good doc will leave the next day for a three-month sabbatical of biking cross country. Wyle has instilled in Robby a secretive, self-destructive side, a sense that he may be playacting his confidence. In a recent interview in The New York Times, Wyle talked of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, first seen hobbling down the steps of his chocolate factory and then suddenly doing a somersault. Is Dr. Robby lying to us? Maybe. And it makes Wyle’s performance all the more compelling for what it keeps underneath.
Under the guidance of Wyle, creator R. Scott Gemmill and producing director John Wells, “The Pitt” Season 2 is a not always persuasive return to normal almost a year after the mass shooting at a music festival that spurred the climax of Season 1. Nerves are still raw.
What helps is the exceptional quality of the show’s note-perfect actors. Robby’s temporary replacement, the eager Dr. Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), is a proponent of using artificial intelligence in medicine, a concept in direct opposition to Robby’s reliance on intuition and instinct. Their clash is an adrenalized throughline in Season 2.
Conflict also defines Robby’s relationship with senior resident Dr. Frank Langdon (the excellent Patrick Ball), returning from drug rehab that Robby doesn’t trust. Wyle’s fellow Emmy winner Katherine LaNasa is back in charge as nurse Dana. Having been punched in the face by a patient last season, brave-faced Dana is still shaken and LaNasa nails every nuance in her portrayal.
Among the newbie med students, strong impressions are made by Lucas Iverson as cocky Ogilvy and Irene Choi as the sharp-tongued Joy. And it’s a kick to see changes in characters like student doctor Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell), now in thick of it training new pupils.
As for the patients, from an abandoned baby to a randy old man, “The Pitt“ runs the gamut—one minute humorous (a woman whose false lashes have glued her eyes shut), the next minute, hell on earth. These are the standard elements in a series that shines brightest when it breaks form, showing what the hive of a hospital looks like without ignoring the bruising demands it makes on the flawed human beings who keep the hive humming.
Critics were only given 9 of the show’s 15 episodes. Hey, if I did see the ending, I wouldn’t spoil it for you anyway. Just know this: “The Pitt” will take a piece out of you.