The new Max medical drama chronicles a 15-hour shift at a fictional Pittsburgh emergency room. The second episode of The Pitt — the new Max medical drama starring Noah Wyle as the chief attending doctor in an overwhelmed emergency room in Pittsburgh — ends with the grimmest four minutes I've seen on TV in a while.

Medical dramas don't tend to be my primary choice of TV show. But I'd be a liar if I said The Pitt didn't hook me right away. The Pitt immerses us in the high-stress environment of Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center's emergency department,

Noah Wyle stars as a put-upon emergency department doctor in "The Pitt," streaming on Max. He's not a grown-up Dr. Carter from "ER," but he's close.