Previously On… ER (or The Pitt?)

With season 2 currently releasing weekly in the UK, The Pitt has taken the television world by storm, already solidifying itself as one of the best television series of the decade. But how have the writers and producers managed to take a clearly tried and tested concept, evident in the sheer number of hospital dramas in existence, and turn it into a worldwide phenomenon? The answer is ER.

Whilst fans would have loved to see a continuation of the series, the executive producers of ER were denied the opportunity to create a direct spin-off. However, much of the creative team were able to reclaim a position on a different, but also widely successful medical show. Despite not being a part of the same universe, The Pitt does appear to have built upon the series, hugely contributing to great success with both fans and critics.

First and foremost, the show stars former ER lead Noah Wyle, who portrayed John Carter on the earlier show, as Dr Michael “Robby” Robinavitch. Without being the exact same character, Wyle undoubtedly displays some of the same traits as he did in his role 30 years ago. This time, however, he shares a clear resemblance with Dr Mark Green (Anthony Edwards), taking on the same Attending role that he held for much of his time on the show. Despite the obvious contrast between Robby’s mature and seasoned (and quite frankly traumatised) nature, and Carter’s often idealistic and inexperienced character, the early plans to create a spin-off focused on his later career in emergency medicine are clear, particularly through Robby’s mentorship of his residents and medical students.

A much-loved plotline that graced the early seasons of ER was Dr Benton’s (Eriq La Selle) mentor position to Carter. Although often a reluctant student, it was evident that the more senior version of Carter we saw in the later seasons was hugely shaped by the time he spent under Benton’s wing. Although we haven’t seen the same so far in Season 2, The Pitt very clearly emulates a similar mentorship with Robby and Dr Langdon (Patrick Ball). In fact, the parallels between Langdon’s addiction to pain medication in Season One, and Carter’s similar addiction in Season Six after he was stabbed, are eerily similar, in this case with both Robby and Benton each making the final push to get them to admit their problem.

Another aspect of both shows that has been hugely successful is the undeniable chemistry of the ensemble cast. In ER, even as the show declined in ratings later in its run, the strength of the cast remained throughout the series. Particularly, in the first few seasons however, between the likes of Mark, Carter, Benton, Doug (George Clooney), Carol (Julianna Margulies) and Susan (Sherry Stringfield), as well as Elizabeth (Alex Kingston), Abby (Maura Tierney), and Luka (Goran Visnjic), the show established an incredible dynamic between cast and characters from the offset, allowing for truly captivating and often emotional story lines to be told. Notably, these include Mark’s battle with cancer, Susan’s relationships with her sister and her addiction, and even some one-off stories, such as Doug rescuing a drowning child – which is widely considered to be George Clooney’s Batman audition. Despite The Pitt obviously not being able to tell stories in the exact same way due to its one-shift per season format, it still manages to capture the evident connection (and disconnection) between multiple characters, simply through their interactions within a single shift.

One clear point of contrast should be noted though, which is the differing intentions for the tone of each show. Whilst The Pitt clearly takes a more realistic look at the U.S. Healthcare system, ER takes the more “soap-opera” style approach to a drama series, focusing mostly on the personal lives of the characters, using medicine as a way to further their stories rather than as a primary focus of the show. Despite The Pitt taking the contrary approach, just like ER had in the 90s, the show’s fans do not let this stop them. “Shipping” culture has never been more alive since the series began airing last year, and although ER definitely had popular couples and relationships – such as the love triangle between Carter, Abby and Luka – these fans take it to a whole new level, with almost every possible combination of characters having at least some fans.

Despite an on-going legal battle with the wife of ER creator Michael Crichton that sees Warner Bros and the creative team denying that the show is an unauthorised reboot of ER, it is quite obvious that The Pitt takes huge inspiration from Noah Wyle’s former series. With both new fans of The Pitt, as well as fans of ER moving onto the show, the medical drama genre has never been stronger.