Inclusive Screen Weekly #30: The Pitt has characters so layered it feels like you’re meeting real people
The Pitt review | A not so rapid fire on The Last of Us episode 2 | Heartstopper is getting a movie
Important edit: I had originally covered a news story about casting for the upcoming Harry Potter series. I decided to remove it thanks to the thoughtful feedback from fellow Substackers on how support for content attached to JK Rowling is unfortunately contributing to enabling her hateful and dangerous rhetoric about trans people. I want this newsletter to be a safe space and I want nothing to do with JK Rowling and what she stands for. I’m thankful people spoke out in the comments and in DMs and I’m happy I can make this newsletter more inclusive thanks to them. So, thank you!
PS: If you see comments that refer to something that disappeared or the newsletter looks different than in your mailbox that’s why :).
Have you ever watched a show and thought, “I wish I could be friends with that character”?
That’s exactly how I felt watching The Pitt. The characters feel so real from the very beginning. I’m sharing more about it in the “What I’ve Been Watching” section below, but it really struck me how rare it is to find a show that feels this genuine.
There are plenty of shows I love to watch, but I'm usually content leaving the characters in their own fictional worlds. The Pitt is different. It’s one of those rare shows that makes me want to step right into their world, like in the Hotel Reverie Black Mirror episode.
The other character I want to befriend since I started watching the show is Liz from Shrinking.
wrote an excellent article recently about Midlife women's representation, and it made me think of Liz. I just wish I could earn her friendship and one of her tumbled rocks.The story that stuck with me this week
Heartstopper is not getting a season 4. But it’s getting a movie! [Deadline]
I binged the 3 available seasons of Heartstopper over the Christmas break. I laughed. I cried (a lot). And I fell in love with the characters.
I remember reading in one of the TV ratings / data newsletter I follow that it was going to be hard for the show to get a renewal following viewership from the last season. They’re usually dead-on about renewal and cancellation decisions so I had already made my peace with not getting a season 4.
With that in mind, I’m super happy it got a movie. I think a movie might be the perfect ending for the show. I kind of like the movie Tubi did for Wynonna Earp earlier this year and it’s a pretty decent way for a network or streamer to give fans closure while not investing a ton of money.
Plus we’ll always have the books to keep us going!
And in other news…
Billy McFarland is now putting the Fyre Festival brand for sale. I’m sorry, but what brand? The brand of a scam turned terribly wrong?
Robots are joining half-marathons now. How does this work? Are they subject to doping rules too?
Ransom Canyon’s production ran almost entirely on solar power. I did not expect the soapy romance genre to be driving innovation but I’m glad I was wrong. This is pretty cool.
Did you catch Jennifer Aniston’s cameo in The Last of Us? Yea, me neither.
Children in the small Japanese town of Kawara are obsessed with trading cards of older men from their local community. I always dreamed of making my own trading cards as a kid. I would have been all over this!
What I’ve been watching
In the hot seat: The Pitt | Season 1
Where to watch: Max | My rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌖
My final take on the season: Everyone is telling you to watch The Pitt because it’s rare to see characters that are not only real, but genuinely kind and complex too.
Like many others, The Pitt was barely on my radar when it came out. Then my partner said she wanted to watch it, and I started hearing good things and reading rave reviews. I just finished season 1 and can confidently say it’s one of my favorite shows of the year. It’s one of the shows I wish had continued for another 10 episodes.
What makes The Pitt unique isn’t the hourly format (each episode is 1 hour of a continuous shift) but the unique ensemble of characters. Every single character introduced in the show feels like a real person. Even more impressively, they manage to establish this within the first episode. It usually takes me a while to warm up to fictional characters, but The Pitt hooked me on episode 1. It felt like I had known those characters my whole life. Like I was catching up on the lives of some old friends.
The ER environment can feel chaotic and stressful, but the characters act as a calm, reassuring presence.
I loved getting mad with Dr. McKay at her stupid ankle monitor for malfunctioning. Or feeling overwhelmed with Dr. Robby after he had to tell Jake his girlfriend had died. Or feeling utterly exhausted for Dr. King when she picked up her sister after the longest shift ever. The show made me see life through the eyes of characters I probably would never have met in real life. And that’s what TV is all about for me.
Here are more people raving about the show:
wrote an amazing review that captures a lot of my own feelings about the show.
Joseph Thomas wrote about the show from the perspective of a medical professional. Super interesting as someone who’s very far removed from this line of work.
Rapid Fire Reviews:
🥰 Abbott Elementary | Season 4 | ABC / Hulu: The finale was a blast, with the kids putting on a play and making the teachers act. The moments with Gregory’s dad and Janine were hilarious. Especially Gregory’s facial expressions when watching both Janine and his dad act so out of character. I also love Ava's romance subplot. It’s such a perfect fit for her. Overall, a great ending to a great season.
😎 The Studio | Season 1 | Apple TV+: I’m slightly behind on the episodes, but still watching and enjoying it. I thought episode 4 was fun, especially Olivia Wilde’s cameo story. Her line, when she says her cameo was the best acting of her career before running off with the film, made me laugh way harder than it should have. Episode 5 was ok but felt a bit like a filler episode to me.
😱 The Last of Us | Season 2 | Max: I knew the big moment was coming, but I was still shaken by it. I’m really glad they stuck with the game timeline and didn’t delay it to the end of the season. The song at the end was stunning, and while I still can’t stand Abby, I know I’ll probably come around eventually. I even started replaying the game to be able to have a side-by-side comparison with the show. I don’t want to spoil in case they include something in the show, but let’s just say I’m a little sad Ellie didn’t go to the weed den with Dina like in the game. The flirting banter they have during that segment in the game is one of my favorite parts of their romance. It’s the last moments of lighness before everything changes. If you’ve watched episode 2 and want to listen to a fun review of it to lighten the mood, I highly recommend the Lemme Say This podcast. They had me almost laugh out loud in the metro when they talked about Abby’s big monologue moment.
A parting GIF
That’s it for me! Now it’s your turn to let me know about all the interesting news and new shows you’ve seen lately.
I have some medical trauma so I try to keep away from medical shows, but the reviews are making me want to reconsider
Loved The Pitt! Thanks for recommending! The characters are so real!