Thursday nights are predictable.
They start at a prompt 9:50 p.m. I crawl into my bed, with my pajamas on and retainer in. My homework has been completed early, Do Not Disturb is on and my phone is safely stowed on the other side of the room.
The only thing that could garner such active attention from my screen-addicted brain is The Pitt.
The Pitt is a bit of a phenomenon, for many reasons. We all know what to expect from a medical drama. It’ll be fast-paced and dramatic, prioritizing spectacle over scientific accuracy. To get what I mean, one must only think of Grey’s Anatomy, where pretty much every character has been dramatically killed off.
But The Pitt has shifted the narrative. The show prides itself on being the most accurate medical drama to date, and it succeeds thanks to a few factors. For one, actors attended a bootcamp prior to shooting the first season to learn proper medical terminology and procedures. Additionally, there is a team of medical professionals on set whose job it is to ensure every move on screen happens just as it would in a real ER.
The show has also mostly foregone showcasing romantic drama (we’re not ones to spoil, but if you know, you know).
While there are hints of a workplace relationship gone sour between the characters of Dr. Rabinavitch and Dr. Collins, their professionalism prevents screaming matches in the hospital.
Without any illicit, on-screen affairs, you might think the show’s fanbase would be calm. Tranquil. A bunch of medical enthusiasts who are excited to watch some gnarly procedures.
You would be wrong.
The culture surrounding The Pitt is fanatical. Extreme. And built on nothing but dreams.
Let me explain.
Does the word “yaoi” mean anything to you? Prior to consuming fan media of The Pitt, it meant nothing to me. Now, I know “inappropriate age gap yaoi” is a term fans use to describe the relationship between Dennis Whitaker and Dr. Robinavitch, one which HR would certainly not approve of.
Whitaker is a sad-eyed medical resident in his late 20s. Dr. Robinavitch, or “Robby,” is his middle-aged tortured chief attending and mentor.
In the wake of a show that refuses to give viewers what they want, the audience have crafted their own intricate universes through fan art, TikTok edits and fanfiction.
Every glance, every brush of an arm is meticulously montaged by fandom editors to make heartwrenching videos, some so blatantly ignoring the serious tone of the show that you cannot help but laugh.
The real kicker is that these fan edits are not only posted by fan accounts, but by HBO Max themselves. Most notably, HBO Max Nordic recently posted an edit of Whitaker and Robby that has since garnered over nine million views.
All this to say: the people want romance. Unfortunately for them, The Pitt isn’t giving it up.
While romance may be at the forefront of our minds, it is impossible to ignore what The Pitt is doing right. Championing nurses’ rights and queer rights. In a world that can sometimes feel terrifyingly right-wing, The Pitt brings a commitment to diversity. A social worker using they/them pronouns. A psychiatrist in a wheelchair. People of colour in high-level positions; a cast that highlights Filipinos as the backbone of hospitals.
Many medical dramas romanticize the work done in hospitals. They cast high-profile actresses as nurses, imagine turbulent romances between nurses and surgeons and reaffirm tired, toxic tropes.
What The Pitt does differently is what keeps viewers coming back. The show reminds us that there are still people who care about human rights, who can reflect the problems in our world on the big screen. As New York City nurses succeed in an unprecedented strike, and as the United States withdraws from the World Health Organization, The Pitt shows us the sensitive and hardworking individuals who keep our medical system running.
And for the romance? Well fans will just have to sustain themselves by watching their elbow-brushing-side-glancing edits. I’m sure Whitaker and Robby will be together by season 20 … right?
