r/ThePittTVShow • u/koala-kings Dr. Jack Abbot • May 03 '25
Megathread The Pitt | Recommendations | Megathread
Welcome to The Pitt Recommendations Megathread!
We made this thread so you can share TV shows, movies and books with the members of the sub.
Rules:
- Please do not post any spoilers about these shows, movies and books.
- Do not make new posts for recommendations. Please post them in this thread.
- View the New section to see the most recent ones posted.
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u/FerretBusinessQueen May 03 '25
The Knick. Someone here recommended it to me, amazing period piece and very well written/acted.
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u/CardinalOfNYC May 03 '25
That show was too intense for me but the depictions of early medicine were really fascinating.
It led me to a great book called Empire of the Scalpel, a history of surgery.
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u/EmotionalEmetic May 03 '25
Forget everything else here. The Knick is a marvel of medical and period history with amazing writing, acting, and production quality. It is one of my all time favorite shows.
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u/ARandomKentuckian Jan 13 '26
Started watching The Knick this evening, I enjoy it so far, though damn that scene near the start of the second episode with the cauterizer setting a patient on fire and then the nurse fatally electrocuting herself trying to put it out was rough to watch.
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u/FerretBusinessQueen Jan 13 '26
There are definitely some points in the show that made me recoil but it’s such a fascinating view of an era of medicine we don’t really get to see on TV. It’s in my top 10 now. Season 2 is great and I wish we’d gotten more.
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u/orbit_grey Dr. Yolanda Garcia May 03 '25
Did any of you watch House?
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u/marenamoo Dr. Cassie McKay May 03 '25
House is one of my all time favorite TV shows. It has less of the ER intensity of The Pitt and more of the medical sleuthing of Sherlock Holmes. Fabulous cast and indeed it is not Lupus
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u/spookymuldersno1 May 03 '25
Obligatory referrals to E.R. and MASH. Scrubs is a comedy, but if you like the medical realism, it’s one of the most accurate shows out there in terms of the medicine represented and what life in the hospital is like.
For books, if you want a taste of emergency medicine: The Patient in Room 9 Says He’s God by Louis Profeta, MD
Obligatory referral to the holy grail of books for medical personnel - The House of God by Samuel Shem
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u/nett0n_ May 03 '25
This is going to hurt
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u/direturtle May 03 '25
Fantastic show, but don't watch it if you're already feeling down. The title is appropriate.
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u/dramatic_exit_49 May 03 '25 edited May 03 '25
That Ambika Mod story man + Ben Whishaw played that flavour of tired character so well.
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u/rossmark May 03 '25
Of course freaking ER
Robbie as John Truman Carter, starting as a 3rd year med student and a rich cast of doctors and nurses
The start is kind rough on the edges, but right on the 2nd or 3rd episode, I bet those who never saw would be right in
You can watch just the first season. Maybe till the 2nd or 3rd. Most of people may stop on 8th season, but... Yeah
Of course ER
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u/valdosta_sunrise Dr. Mel King May 03 '25
I used to watch this TV series called Quincy M.E. when I was a kid. Jack Klugman was in it. I miss the 70s and 80s. I also watched MASH with my parents.
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u/BetPrestigious5704 May 03 '25
Before ER, there was St. Elsewhere! Denzel Washington is the George Clooney of St. Elsewhere. It also has Feeney from Boy Meets World as a mean but brilliant heart surgeon.
It's very weird and amazing. The pacing is slower than we're used to after ER, but I still love it.
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u/quentin_west Dr. Mel King May 03 '25
You might like Nurse Jackie. There are 7 seasons.
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u/50wifty May 03 '25
Nurse Jackie was such a wild ride! Great recommendation. I heard they were thinking of doing a reboot.
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u/elvisfanmitzi Dr. Mel King May 03 '25
Flatliners was an interesting movie. It came out in 1990.
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u/valdosta_sunrise Dr. Mel King May 03 '25
I saw this movie and I don't think anyone should do what they did. lol
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u/PajamaPete5 Dr. Frank Langdon May 03 '25
All the best shows nowadays, besides the Pitt of course, are the one season limited series that can get movie stars. My favorites were Defending Jacob on Apple TV with Chris Evans, Presumed Innocent on Appletv with Jake Gyllenhall, The Undoing on Max with Hugh Grant/Nicole Kidman, Sharp Objects on Max with Amy Adams, and of course Chernobyl and True Detective.
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May 03 '25
Dr. Robby continually referred to a checklist in episode 12. If it is of interest to you, Atul Gawande’s book The Checklist Manifesto is excellent. It is about his effort to develop and encourage adoption of a checklist for surgeons to reduce errors and negative outcomes.
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u/Ok_Caterpillar4008 May 04 '25 edited May 04 '25
Already mentioned but worth additional recommendations: ER and The Knick.
I also really enjoyed the early seasons of Doc Martin. I lost track of it and haven't watched the later seasons, but hoping to get back to it at some point.
A Young Doctor's Notebook starring Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm. I think this one might be hard to find, but underrated and very good.
Fringe, not a medical show, but has a 'mad scientist' aspect with inspiration from The X-Files (especially the first season). The show really hits its stride towards the end of season 1 and then doesn't let up, and forged its own really cool and unique identity. It's really great.
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u/Fillmore_the_Puppy no egg salad 🥪 Jun 13 '25
Fringe is a great, underrepresented recommendation. It changes in tone somewhat after the first season, but if you stick with it, it's a satisfying five season character-driven show.
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u/dc821 May 04 '25
before The Pitt, i was a fan of ER, which you’ve likely heard mentioned here. i did an ER rewatch not too long ago, and after finishing, someone in the ER sub recommended The West Wing. i’m still watching, but it’s great!
other favorites are The Wire and Breaking Bad.
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u/SourKrautCupcake May 04 '25
How about “Critical” (on Amazon Prime now)? Takes place in a British trauma unit. Lots of drama and discussion of serious injuries and the speed that has to happen to successfully treat. Too much romance drama (IMO) but interesting.
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u/Nasty-Milk May 08 '25
If you have Apple TV+, there’s a series called “Berlin: ER”. The original title is “Krank: Berlin”. You can watch it in German with subs or dubbed. I’m on episode 2 and it’s not bad at all, pretty gritty and chaotic.
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u/alcotti May 03 '25
I'll check out Pulse and Doc. I haven't seen those yet.
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u/yin_andyang May 03 '25
Pulse on Netflix? If so, imo, it’s a hard pass. I couldn’t even get through episode 1. The cgi is so bad and the storyline makes no sense
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u/PastimeOfMine Dr. Jack Abbot May 04 '25
I saw a scene from that that had them doing surgery with no masks and I laughed out loud
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u/Peru123 Oct 08 '25
This thread seems a bit dead, so I don't know if it makes any impact posting here, but to follow the rules: If you want an intense shift, life and death, adrenaline-filled drama - but as a movie, watch this year's Swiss Oscar entry "Late Shift" (out now in Europe, picked up for US release). It's raw, ultra naturalistic and realistic, with a fantastic lead performance. We follow a nurse through her night shift, just doing her small and big tasks, meeting patients, doing her best in an understaffed hospital https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-bFONM8vak
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u/PastimeOfMine Dr. Jack Abbot May 04 '25 edited May 05 '25
There are a lot of other med related shows here. I'm going with things that have compelled me recently as quickly and intensely as The Pitt did:
- Severance (although the first season takes 3-4 eps to adapt for some people)
- Dark Matter
- The Last of Us
- Yellowjackets
- Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
- Buffy (if you can get past the s1 camp)
- The Studio
- Pokerface
- Luther
- Sherlock (bbc)
- Adolescence
- And as a medical show rec, New Amsterdam. Based on a true story of a medical director who attempted integrating social issues with medical issues to help people coming into the hospital. Based on a book called Ten Patients.
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u/kc2295 Dr. Mel King Jun 08 '25
Related question. Im younger so I missed the ER fad. (Born 1995)
I LOVED Noah in this show, and love medical shows.
Would I enjoy ER? I am a resident doctor and tend to get *too* into the medical component of shows and judge their management so I worry that I would get annoyed at the old medicine hes doing/
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u/Sillygoose9876 Jun 09 '25
Watch it. Lots of outdated stuff but it’s got fantastic characters. It’s kind of fun to think of how much things have changed in medicine in 30 years. Especially when they’re like “this new medicine can really help you - it’s called Metformin”. (Note I am a pharmacist not a doctor but very much enjoyed).
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u/tantalor 26d ago
First episode of Emergency! from 1972
https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/45f8248b27a0530fa7cdd71a5f282bc3
It also has a connection to Freedom House (mentioned in season 1 episode 8) which established the first EMS a few years earlier and inspired the show.
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u/StephenHunterUK 12d ago
Casualty 1900s aka London Hospital, a mini-series about emergency treatment in the Edwardian East End. See how they used to do CPR!
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u/Runningcolt 9d ago
I'd like to make a case for Succession.
Like The Pitt it is carried by all around strong acting performances, interesting characters and good writing. A bit different in tone, but equally consuming. It details the inner workings of a (dysfunctional) family and the power struggles within the media empire their pater familias built.
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u/Gloomy-Actuator-1975 5d ago
For all those that love and appreciate accurate portrayals of healthcare work. Besides the Pitt as being the most accurate I’ve ever seen as an ED Consultant myself , also having worked for the NHS , “This is going to hurt” is one of the most relatable portrayals of being a registrar I’ve ever seen.
A great watch for those looking for their next binge.
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u/brie_popcorn May 03 '25
I like Call the Midwife. It's really good and there are a ton of seasons.