The Knick: HBO Max's Perfect Pitt Replacement You Can Binge In One Weekend

3 days ago 11

Published Apr 20, 2026, 9:46 PM EDT

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Warning: SPOILERS for the season 2 finale of The Pitt.The Pitt season 2 has finally drawn to a close, but most viewers have been left wanting more. After premiering in early 2025 to unprecedented fanfare, critical acclaim, and a substantial overnight following, The Pitt almost instantly cemented itself as one of the biggest shows of the decade. As such, hopes were high that the HBO Max medical drama would meet— if not exceed— the lofty standards set by its pilot season when its sophomore showing premiered in January 2026. As the overarching narrative unraveled, however, The Pitt season 2 grew increasingly divisive, week after week.

Furthermore, season 3 will already function as a reset of sorts, as multiple beloved members of The Pitt's cast will be notably absent— including Supriya Ganesh as Samira Mohan, a fan-favorite character who was quietly written off at the end of season 2. Conversely, Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) is expected to return, but she has undergone major changes that will have drastic, unforeseen consequences on the central emergency room. Fortunately, HBO Max has some of the quickest renewals of any streaming service, meaning fans will likely only have to wait until January 2027 for The Pitt's critical third installment.

While there are numerous tangentially related shows to replace The Pitt that viewers turned to during last year's hiatus, ranging from Shondaland soap Grey's Anatomy to Wyle's career-defining ER, HBO Max secretly has the perfect spiritual predecessor hiding in plain sight: The Knick. Aside from comparable short and snappy titles, The Knick bears many meaningful similarities to The Pitt that make it a prime show to watch during the inter-season hiatus.

Why Fans Of The Pitt Would Love The Knick

Very Few Medical Dramas Have Such High Stakes

Clive Owen holding his hands out as Dr. John W. "Thack" Thackery in The Knick.

Long before the audience met the intrepid crew of the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, The Knick introduced the world to a fictionalized version of New York's Knickerbocker Hospital. Leading the charge is Clive Owens as Chief Surgeon Dr. John W. "Thack" Thackery, a fascinating antihero whose personality echoes Robby, Langdon, and even aspects of Jack Abbot (Shawn Hatosy). Set in the early 20th century, the drama follows Thackery's struggle to balance his duty as a doctor with his desperate need to be revered, leading the surgeon to prioritize ambition above all else (including safety protocol).

Whereas The Pitt frequently boasts its reputation as a teaching hospital, The Knick is all about learning— as was the case in the real 1900s, medicine in the show is presented as a rapidly developing field, favoring the bold and brave. In fact, the period piece completely revolves around the theme of discovery, as Thackery and his colleagues constantly explore cutting-edge techniques, tools, and wildly dangerous procedures to treat even the oddest cases. Just like The Pitt has margarita burns and a nun with gonorrhea, The Knick brings its own strange emergencies, like noses falling off due to syphilis.

Critical Response (Via Rotten Tomatoes)

The Pitt		The Knick
Season 1	94%	Season 1	87%
Season 2	98%	Season 2	97%
Average	96%	Average	92%

What truly makes the 2014 series such a perfect replacement for The Pitt is its brutal realism. The Knick is an intense medical drama with gruesome procedures, gritty conflicts, and dark— at times hopeless— story beats. Nevertheless, there's a grand sense of purpose in The Knick, from its unflinching confrontation of societal ills to its inspiring quest for knowledge, that leaves it feeling far more enriching than disheartening. Its talented ensemble, pithy social commentary, and genuinely unique identity further set The Knick apart from the crowd of middling, melodramatic TV medicine.

Given the period drama is an innovative, boundary-breaking medical series just like The Pitt, it's no surprise that The Knick has found success on HBO Max as a belated streaming hit. The series was suddenly canceled in 2017, but the narrative comes to a satisfying enough end, meaning it's still definitely worth the watch. With two seasons at 10 episodes apiece, The Knick is a binge that's nearly identical to The Pitt, making it a must-see for any fan in need of high-octane medical mayhem ahead of season 3.