"The most satisfying network TV drama in years doesn't air on a TV network. With its second season about to begin streaming on HBO Max, The Pitt still strikes me as something of an ungainly hybrid between binge-era storytelling and the slow drip of a weekly network show. But like a traditional TV series, The Pitt's first season got better as it went, particularly once the introduction of a storyline about a devastating mass shooting gave more weight to its real-time format."
"The Pitt's second season is still chained to a real-time, single-location format that frustrates the conventions of TV storytelling, to the extent that when, after several episodes of buildup, Dr. Mel (Taylor Dearden)gets called away to testify in a malpractice deposition, she simply vanishes from the screen for the rest of the hour, lest the cameras stray farther from the E.R. than the ambulance bay."
The Pitt blends binge-era narrative and weekly-TV rhythms while using a real-time, single-location approach. The first season improved over time, gaining emotional weight after introducing a storyline about a devastating mass shooting that amplified the real-time format. Fan engagement grew organically, exemplified by a #pittheads Slack channel dedicated to episode-by-episode discussion. Season two retains the single-location real-time constraint, producing structural frustrations such as characters exiting off-screen during necessary plot developments. Episodes run around forty minutes, echoing commercial-era pacing, and the series lacks a traditional opening credits sequence that would reward weekly viewers.
Read at Slate Magazine
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