The Pitt isn’t the usual medical show. The entire first season of 15 episodes takes place on one day – one 15 hour shift – in a Pittsburgh hospital emergency department. There’s not much time for anything but emergency medicine as we get to know the characters under extreme pressure.

The Pitt is also unique in that the medical procedures, activities, and human anatomy shown are all realistic and true. We see it all. The characters toss around medical jargon without any explanation. They are talking to each other, not to us. We just follow along as best we can.

The cast is huge. Doctors, nurses, security people, orderlies, custodial workers, administrators, and patients in an endless stream. Because we are watching one long day unfold, many of the guest stars are there for more than one episode because you don’t get in and out of that place in only an hour.

At the top of everything is Robby (Noah Wyle) the doctor who runs the department and Dana (Katherine LaNasa) the charge nurse. These two both won Emmys for their performances, and The Pitt itself took the Emmy for best drama.

It’s a teaching hospital, and three newcomers join the staff that day. Newer doctors include Javadi (Shabana Azeez), Whitaker (Gerran Howell), and King (Taylor Dearden). There are medical students, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year residents, residents and attending physicians on the staff. Plus folks from other departments who show up as needed.

By the middle of the afternoon, they are part of a mass casualty event coming from a mass shooting at a concert that puts the department under extreme pressure.

The newcomers work with many others, including McKay (Fiona Dourif), Collins (Tracy Ifeachor), Langdon (Patrick Ball), Santos (Isa Briones), Mohan (Supriya Ganesh), and the social worker Kiara (Krystel McNeil). Add about 30 names plus a whole ton of patients to that rundown and you’ll have an idea of how many people were bustling around the place.

Everything about the series feels real and true except for the administrator Gloria (Michael Hyatt). She was in 8 episodes. Which meant she came downstairs 8 times in one day to yell at Robby about customer satisfaction numbers. That was the only thing that felt off in the series.

The series tackles health care topics like overcrowding, underfunding, nurse shortages, and paperwork. American medical care is not a hero in the story.

Among the doctors, nurses, and staff there were storylines around miscarriage, ankle monitors, drug addiction, PTSD, grief, parenting, step-parenting, being the child of a hot shot surgeon, having an autistic sister, violence against health care providers, and plenty more. These character arcs were worked into both quiet moments and chaotic moments. Often the medical situation in question was used to further develop a character arc. We got to know the characters very well in 15 hours.

Among the patients, there were anti-vaxxers, alcoholics, overdoses, gunshot wounds (a lot of them), falls, babies in a hurry to be delivered, heart attacks, dementia, old age, ingrown toenails, and troubled teens. And three loose rats that came in with one man. Never a dull moment in The Pitt.

This is an excellent series. Great actors, important themes, real life during life’s most trying and troubling moments. It sweeps you along and makes you care. It has some comic and funny moments. It looks real. It’s probably not for the squeamish, but most anyone else will be impressed by the quality and drama in the series. I 100% recommend it.

All of season 1 is available on HBO Max. Season 2 is now streaming weekly.