‘The Pitt’ Wins Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series

The tense series, which unfolds over the course of a single day, brought the medical drama roaring back into the zeitgeist.

“The Pitt” has appeared to be unstoppable from the moment it debuted on HBO Max, picking up fans at an overwhelming pace with its tense storytelling and breathing new life into the medical drama genre. That momentum continued all the way through the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, as the show has won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in its first season.

The award marked the end of a huge night for the rookie drama, which ended up winning five Emmy’s including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Noah Wyle and Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Katherine LaNasa. The show had previously won Emmy’s for Casting and Guest Actor in a Drama Series for Shawn Hatosy, which were announced at last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Created by R. Scott Gemmill and executive produced by medical drama veteran John Wells, the show follows the doctors and nurses at an underfunded Pittsburgh emergency room over the course of a single, fateful, day. Each episode covers one hour of the day, allowing viewers to feel the urgency of medical professionals working in real time as they juggle multiple patients.

As TV creators have continued to innovate and blur the boundaries with film in recent years, traditional genres like medical dramas have not exactly been trendy. But “The Pitt” proved that, when executed at the highest level, the timeless genre can produce some of the best television you’ll ever watch. Speaking to IndieWire at the time of the show’s premiere, Wells explained that part of the show’s appeal stems from its ability to shine a spotlight on the labor of humans who are doing their best to make the world a better place.

 “The fact that we’re showing just how difficult the emergency room situation is in the country means that people go, ‘Oh, that’s true. That’s the experience that happened for me and that I see some people who are actually trying to make a difference,’” Wells said. “They’re there. They can be doing any number of other things. All these physicians could be making two and three times more by trying to do a different specialty. And they’re actually there to care for the people who need it, usually in the most dire circumstances, or you simply have no other health care.”

“The Pitt” received 12 Primetime Emmy nominations for its first season. The show was quickly renewed for Season 2, which is scheduled to premiere in January 2026. Watch the first teaser for the new season here.