While Waiting For The Pitt Season 2, Watch Noah Wyle & George Clooney’s 31-Year-Old Show That’s One Of The Best Medical Dramas Of All Time
The Pitt has taken the internet by storm over the past few months with its high-stakes drama and intricate character work, reviving the medical genre in a way that hasn’t really been seen since Grey’s Anatomy. The Pitt touches on some serious real-life topics pertaining to the medical industry, weaving these important themes into its narrative in a way that effectively catches the audience off guard. Whether it’s the mention of Dr. Robby’s former mentor dying during the pandemic or the shortage of doctors and nurses following a nationwide staffing crisis, The Pitt succeeds thanks to its ongoing cultural relevance.
The Pitt has an excellent cast and a team of brilliant writers who always ensure the characters are at the heart of this story, which is why audiences have fallen so deeply in love with it. In this way, it’s very reminiscent of another medical drama from over 30 years ago that also starred Noah Wyle, albeit as a much younger and more inexperienced doctor.
ER Is The Perfect Noah Wyle Medical Drama To Watch After The Pitt Season 1
The Long-Running Show Has A Very Similar Premise
Noah Wyle is the true standout of The Pitt’s talented ensemble, so it makes sense that those who’ve just finished the series would be looking to dive deeper into his previous works – and it won’t take long to find ER. The long-running NBC show is rightly considered to be among the best medical dramas ever made, and Wyle’s character (once again) was a huge scene-stealer. But importantly, his ER character is very different from his role in The Pitt.
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In ER, Wyle plays an ambitious medical student named John Carter, working alongside George Clooney’s senior doctor, Doug Ross. The show adopted a very episodic structure, with each story following plenty of different patients and accidents – but what really made ER such an engaging show was the intricate character dynamics that slowly developed over time. This is something it shares with The Pitt, and that’s why it’s such a perfect follow-up for those who’ve never seen it before.
Why ER Is One Of The Best Medical Dramas Of All Time
Very Few Shows Have Reached The Same Level Of Success
Although there have been plenty of other medical shows that come close to the greatness of ER (The Pitt included), NBC’s classic drama deserves extra credit for changing the landscape of television in ways that the medium hadn’t really seen before. ER didn’t just breathe new life into the medical genre but also played with the structure of episodic storytelling and long-running character arcs. It cultivated the perfect TV environment so that shows like House, Scrubs, and Grey’s Anatomy could later thrive.
ER was created by Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park, and won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 1996.
Not just that, but ER is among the few consistent medical dramas that didn’t suffer from a sudden drop in quality during its later seasons. The early seasons of ER were the best, but there was still plenty of fresh and engaging storytelling happening in the later episodes – which is an area where many medical dramas suffer. This kept ER’s reputation strong throughout the years, as proven by its long-standing score of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and its continued streaming success.
The Pitt & ER’s Legal Controversy Explained
The Creators Have Been In A Tough Legal Battle
Although ER and The Pitt are brilliant companion shows, the two projects have come into somewhat of a legal clash in recent months; the widow of ER creator Michael Crichton has sued the crew behind The Pitt for the show’s similarities to her husband’s original. Her lawsuit claims that Max’s new medical drama is a copycat of ER, and thus, she and Crichton’s heirs are owed money for its success. Interestingly, the legal dispute around The Pitt ultimately stems from the fact that it was originally conceived as an ER spin-off. In her lawsuit, Crichton wrote:
The Pitt’ is ‘ER. ‘It’s not like ‘ER.’ It’s not kind of ‘ER.’ It’s not sort of ‘ER.’ It is ‘ER’ with the exact same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as the planned ‘ER’ reboot
As reported in Deadline, Warner Bros. filed a motion to dismiss Crichton’s lawsuit on the grounds that, despite The Pitt originally being conceived in the world of ER, the finished product is objectively unrelated and the two projects are too dissimilar to substantiate any legal action. Noah Wyle has commented: “This taints the legacy, and it shouldn’t have […] At one point this could have been a partnership. And when it wasn’t a partnership, it didn’t need to turn acrimonious.” (via Variety)
Sources: Deadline, Variety
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8/10
- Release Date
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January 9, 2025
- Network
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Max
- Showrunner
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R. Scott Gemmill
- Directors
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Amanda Marsalis
- Writers
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Joe Sachs, Cynthia Adarkwa
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Noah Wyle
Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch
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Tracy Ifeachor
Uncredited
