During season 1 of The Pitt, we met the night shift crew — and they immediately clicked into place
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Here’s the thing: the fans who want a “night shift” spin-off of “The Pitt” actually have the right idea, because the characters we meet from the evening shift in season 1 are so uniformly excellent. The first and most prominent of them is definitely Shawn Hatosy’s Dr. Jack Abbot, Robby’s close friend (though they joke about being “old rivals”) who also serves as Robby’s counterpart in the night shift, running the department as the attending until Robby arrives each morning. The more we learn about Jack, the more fascinating he is; he brings up his past as a combat medic pretty often, and during the horrifying mass shooting that occurs in the final few episodes of season 1 (in which the night shift nurses and doctors re-enter the fray), we also see Jack’s willingness to help his patients when he and a few other doctors become “human blood bags” and donate to those in need as they work. In the very last moments of the season 1 finale, we also learn that Jack is an amputee, presumably from his time serving, adding quiet depth to his character without tokenizing him.
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Beyond Jack, we’ve also got Ken Kirby’s Dr. John Shen and Ayesha Harris’ Dr. Parker Ellis, a senior attending and senior resident (respectively) whose personalities become clear as soon as they return to the hospital. Parker, a smart, no-nonsense doctor, is the only one who seems able to get through to cocksure intern Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones), and the two work on a difficult case together; John, meanwhile, makes an impression by casually sipping an iced coffee while Robby warns him about the mass shooting victims en route to the hospital, but he certainly proves his worth as the crisis continues. We don’t spend quite as much time with Dr. Emery Walsh (Tedra Millan), largely because she’s a surgeon and the realities of her job keep her floating in and out of the emergency room … but maybe we’d get to know her better in a spin-off!
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Does The Pitt already need a spin-off? Yes, actually
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There are, to be clear, a lot of practical reasons as to why a spin-off of “The Pitt” might not be possible, and John Wells brought up just one of them to Ryan Schwartz in that same TVLine interview. “One of the things that doesn’t get talked about that much is that, for our crew of several hundred people, working for seven months and then asking them to stick around for five months or two years before you work again [is a big ask],” Wells mused. “It’s why these crews are very difficult to hold together, and it’s really hard on their families. So, being able to get into a rhythm where people can work, and know when they’re going to work again, and know we’re going to have them back, is very good for everyone.”
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Wells was speaking more to the fact that “The Pitt” is maintaining a regular filming schedule that will allow the series to drop new seasons annually (as of this writing, season 2 is expected in January, marking one year after the show premiered), but this is also a factor that could stop a potential spin-off. The show’s already intense production (where actors like Briones are encouraged to check their cell phones at the door and crew members don scrubs to maintain continuity) doubling up to create a “night shift” show could simply be untenable. From a creative perspective, though, a series set during the time when Robby gets to go home and sleep would be really phenomenal, and just because “The Pitt” has only aired one season so far doesn’t mean its universe hasn’t already merited a spin-off. Why? Watching season 1 of “The Pitt,” I was struck by how lived-in and fleshed-out the night shift characters were; thanks to strong writing and excellent performances, I got the measure of Jack Abbot (and Parker Ellis and John Shen and Emery Walsh) in spite of his limited screen time, and that’s one of the most magical things about “The Pitt.” If Wells, R. Scott Gemmill, and their team do have the bandwidth, “The Pitt: Night Shift” wouldn’t be a shameless cash grab, but a perfect next step.
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Season 1 of “The Pitt” is streaming on Max now.
If you have been impacted by incidents of mass violence, or are experiencing emotional distress related to incidents of mass violence, you can call or text Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 for support.
by admin | May 2, 2025 | TV & Beyond Articles
This may come as a surprise to “Star Wars” fans who had never even heard his name before “The Last Jedi” came out, but Rian Johnson has always been a student of the art of storytelling, and “Poker Face” is perhaps most satisfying when seen as an extension of his particular interests (including his well-documented love of baseball). Make no mistake, season 2 boasts another murderer’s row — pun most definitely intended — of writers and directors leaving their marks on each and every episode. Some of the strongest and most memorable scripts come from credited writers Laura Deeley, Wyatt Cain, Tony Tost, Kate Thulin, and Megan Amram, while directors Adam Arkin, Miguel Arteta, Lucky McGee, and Mimi Cave bring the visual flair worthy of a sleight-of-hand series like this. (Even Natasha Lyonne gets in on the action as both co-writer and director of episode 2, one of the more formally daring hours of the season.) But those aware of Johnson’s broader filmography, from “Brick” to “The Brothers Bloom” to “Knives Out,” will find an even greater appreciation for what might be the purest distillation of Rian Johnson we’ve seen yet.
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Like its creator, “Poker Face” wears every influence on its sleeve. The crime fiction genre has the benefit of decades (if not centuries) of history to pull from, and Agatha Christie readers will find just as much enjoyment out of the season’s twists and turns as movie-lovers who’ve watched every Raymond Chandler adaptation under the sun. Heck, there are enough hilarious namedrops of beloved cinema classics and endearing jabs taken at film buffs to make this stand toe-to-toe with Seth Rogen’s “The Studio,” at least in terms of catering to the Film Twitter crowd. (No, I’m not calling it “Film X” and neither should you.) There’s something to be said for modern stories that are still well aware of the past, remixing the tropes of years gone by and spinning them into new and original approaches. Just when you think you’ve figured out where they’re going, the creative team yanks the rug out from under you and keeps you guessing to the last.
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But, at the end of the day, “Poker Face” also understands the momentary thrills of a carefully laid-out surprise are just that — momentary. What keeps viewers hooked on a series like this, inevitably, is the feeling of being in the hands of artists who actually care. Some episodes are light-hearted and utterly ridiculous romps to a fault, while others occasionally feel a little too clever for their own good. Every single one, however, delivers something we simply can’t take for granted anymore. With each self-contained adventure and brazenly premeditated murder, “Poker Face” stands out as an oasis in a streaming desert. No lies detected.
/Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10
“Poker Face” premieres on Peacock with its first three episodes May 8, 2025, followed by a new episode streaming every Thursday.
by admin | May 2, 2025 | TV & Beyond Articles
Francesca Delbanco & Nicholas Stoller’s Apple TV+ series “Platonic,” which very well might be the smartest show about disaster millennials failing to accept the realities of their societal roles as adults. But his true masterpiece is the cringe-comedy Hollywood satire “The Studio” (also on Apple TV+), co-created with frequent collaborator Evan Goldberg along with Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, and Frida Perez.
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We at /Film have been loving “The Studio,” especially how the show utilizes beloved Hollywood figures, like asking Martin Scorsese to pitch an idea for “The Kool-Aid Movie” and letting perennial nice guy Ron Howard absolutely lose it on Rogen’s studio executive character Matt Remick, to the point of cursing him out and throwing his trademark hat with so much force it knocks Rogen through a glass table. Each episode tackles a part of the movie-making process, but rather than completely biting the hand that feeds, it balances its workplace comedy insider knowledge with Remick’s desperation as a legitimate cinephile to make the best movies possible in a system rigged against itself.
It’s also a show that hammers home the importance of having human beings with varying perspectives involved in the creative process. No algorithm in the world can ever replace the ingenuity that comes from being a person with thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, and experiences that shape our perspectives. Which is why season 1 episode 7, “Casting,” is the best episode yet of 2025’s best new streaming comedy.
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