Netflix's The Pitt Replacement Is Officially Here & It's Already A Streaming Hit

1 week ago 19

Published Oct 13, 2026, 2:22 PM EDT

Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.

Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."

Netflix has an interesting TV show that serves as a replacement for HBO Max's The Pitt while new episodes do not arrive, and the medical thriller series has already become a streaming hit. Netflix's roster of TV shows is stacked with both Netflix Original series and licensed content. Those come in varied genres, though some end up getting a higher volume of releases.

For instance, crime thrillers like I Will Find You and sci-fi shows like Stranger Things tend to come out in droves on the streaming service. That said, Netflix is not usually a major name when the game turns to medical dramas. Hit genre series like The Pitt tend to come from other streaming services or network TV.

In fact, Netflix’s first English-language medical drama was only released in 2025. That TV show was Pulse, starring names like Willa Fitzgerald (Reacher), Colin Woodell (The Continental: From the World of John Wick), and Jessie T. Usher (The Boys). However, Pulse was canceled after a single season. That is why looking at the foreign shows streaming on Netflix is a good call for fans of the genre.

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Some of Netflix's most popular TV shows ever are not American releases, including South Korea's Squid Game and Spain's Money Heist. Those hit series recently got the company of a new medical drama that airs on SBS TV in South Korea, but is streaming on Netflix around the world. That thriller series is Doctor X: Mafia in White, and it is already finding success.

Netflix's New Medical Thriller Series Is A Global Hit That The Pitt Fans Should Check Out

Doctor X: Mafia in White's new episodes release every Friday and Saturday on SBS TV in South Korea, with the medical drama's first two episodes currently available on Netflix after the show premiered on October 9. As its title suggests, Doctor X: Mafia in White stars Kim Ji-won as Gye Su-jeong, a brilliant, no-nonsense surgeon who starts working at the Guseo University Seonam Medical Center and navigates all the corruption that goes on in the hospital's behind-the-scenes. It did not take long for Doctor X: Mafia in White to become a global streaming hit on Netflix.

At the time of writing, Doctor X: Mafia in White stands as the 4th most-watched TV show on Netflix worldwide, according to data from FlixPatrol. Right above it is the South Korean romance series Take Charge of My Heart, with Florence Pugh's historical drama East of Eden in 2nd, and Josh Hartnett's new mystery thriller series Below as Netflix's most popular TV show in the world. As per FlixPatrol, Doctor X: Mafia in White is currently trending on Netflix in a whopping 59 countries. Out of those, the new medical thriller series rose to #1 on Netflix in eight countries.

Pittsburgh Presbyterian · Shift Report How Well Do You Know The Pitt? “15 hours. One ER. No breaks.”

🏥EREmergency Dept

🚑TraumaMass Casualty

👨‍⚕️StaffFirst Responders

🌉Pitts-
burghSteel City

⏱Real-
Time15-Hour Shift

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Noah Wyle stars as the lead attending physician in The Pitt. What is his character’s name?

ADr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch BDr. John Carter CDr. Mark Greene DDr. James Wilson

✓ Correct! Noah Wyle plays Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch, the experienced attending physician navigating a grueling 15-hour ER shift. Wyle’s return to a hospital setting marks his first major medical drama role since his iconic run as Dr. John Carter on ER.

✗ Code Blue! The answer is Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch. Dr. Carter and Dr. Greene are characters from ER (Carter was Wyle’s own iconic role), and Dr. Wilson is from House. Robby is Wyle’s new character in The Pitt.

The Pitt uses a distinctive storytelling format that sets it apart from other medical dramas. What is this format?

AEach episode is a different doctor’s perspective BThe series is told entirely in flashback CEach episode covers one hour of a 15-hour ER shift in real time DEpisodes alternate between two different hospitals

✓ Correct! Each of The Pitt’s 15 episodes covers exactly one hour of a single ER shift in real time, creating an unprecedented sense of urgency. This format means the entire first season spans just 15 consecutive hours in the life of Pittsburgh Presbyterian’s emergency department.

✗ Code Blue! The answer is real-time storytelling — each episode covers one hour of a 15-hour shift. This format gives The Pitt an intensity that other medical dramas can’t match, as viewers experience the relentless pace of an ER shift alongside the staff.

The Pitt premiered in January 2025 on which streaming platform?

ANetflix BMax CHulu DApple TV+

✓ Correct! The Pitt premiered on Max (formerly HBO Max) on January 9, 2025. The show was a massive hit for the platform, becoming one of its most-watched new series and quickly earning a second-season renewal.

✗ Code Blue! The answer is Max. The Pitt debuted on the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming platform in January 2025, where it became a breakout hit and was swiftly renewed for a second season.

Noah Wyle previously spent 11 seasons on which legendary medical drama, making his return to the genre in The Pitt especially significant?

AGrey’s Anatomy BHouse CScrubs DER

✓ Correct! Wyle starred as Dr. John Carter on ER from 1994 to 2009, making him one of the longest-tenured cast members on the NBC hit. His return to a hospital setting with The Pitt was one of the most anticipated TV comebacks in years.

✗ Code Blue! The answer is ER. Noah Wyle played Dr. John Carter for 11 seasons on the groundbreaking NBC medical drama. The Pitt was originally conceived with connections to ER before becoming its own original series.

The Pitt is set and filmed in which American city, a departure from the typical LA or New York TV setting?

APittsburgh, Pennsylvania BChicago, Illinois CPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania DCleveland, Ohio

✓ Correct! The Pitt is set at a fictional hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and films on location in the city. Pittsburgh’s working-class character and distinctive skyline give the show a grittier, more authentic feel than the typical glamorous TV hospital setting.

✗ Code Blue! The answer is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — it’s right there in the title. The show films on location in Pittsburgh, using the city’s distinctive bridges, hills, and neighborhoods as a backdrop that gives the series its unique character.

The Pitt was created by R. Scott Gemmill, who previously served as showrunner on which long-running series?

AChicago Med BThe Good Doctor CER DGrey’s Anatomy

✓ Correct! R. Scott Gemmill was a writer and eventually showrunner on ER, making him the perfect person to reunite with Noah Wyle for a new medical drama. His deep experience with the genre is evident in The Pitt’s authentic portrayal of emergency medicine.

✗ Code Blue! The answer is ER. Gemmill spent years as a writer and showrunner on the NBC classic, which is how he and star Noah Wyle already had a strong working relationship before creating The Pitt together.

In the pilot episode, what large-scale crisis floods the ER and sets the tone for the entire series?

AA factory explosion BA multi-vehicle pileup CA building collapse DA chemical plant leak

✓ Correct! A massive multi-vehicle pileup sends a wave of trauma patients into the ER, immediately establishing The Pitt’s high-stakes, no-respite atmosphere. The crisis forces the staff to make impossible triage decisions from the very first hour.

✗ Code Blue! The answer is a multi-vehicle pileup. The mass casualty event overwhelms the ER from the start, setting up the relentless pressure that defines The Pitt’s real-time format.

Unlike many medical dramas that focus heavily on doctors’ personal lives, The Pitt is most often praised for its focus on what?

ARomantic relationships between staff BHospital politics and administration CMedical mysteries and rare diseases DThe realistic, unglamorous grind of emergency medicine

✓ Correct! Critics and viewers have praised The Pitt for its unflinching focus on the actual work of emergency medicine — the exhaustion, the impossible decisions, the patients who can’t be saved, and the toll it takes on the people who show up every shift.

✗ Code Blue! The answer is the realistic grind of emergency medicine. While The Pitt has character depth, its critical acclaim comes from showing the unglamorous reality of ER work — the burnout, the triage decisions, and the human cost of a healthcare system under strain.

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Right now, Doctor X: Mafia in White is not trending in the United States, though the medical drama made it onto the nationwide Netflix Top 10 TV Shows chart in its first couple of days on the streamer. So, with new episodes of a 12-part season left to be aired, the show could once again join that coveted chart. Kim Ji-won previously starred in Queen of Tears, which was also licensed to Netflix internationally and became one of the biggest K-dramas on Netflix.

Doctor X: Mafia in White and The Pitt are two very different medical dramas, with the first being a noir thriller that spotlights a doctor fighting hospital corruption, while the latter has each season follow a single shift and has a sense of grounded realism. Where they connect is in the intensity of the stories and how both shows are centered on genius main doctors with a rebellious spirit. While waiting for HBO Max's The Pitt to return in 2027 with new episodes, genre fans might want to check out Doctor X: Mafia in White on Netflix.