Noah Wyle, who played Dr. John Carter for 15 years on ER—full-time for its first 11 seasons, and then in bursts of guest arcs through its 2009 finale. He plays Dr. Michael “Robby” Rabinavitch, a senior attending in the emergency department of an overextended hospital in Pittsburgh.

Time to check the pulse on Max's spiritual successor to ER.

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.

A medical drama going for bracing realism is anchored by a strong central performance from a veteran TV doctor.

Promising to be an incredibly tense and insightful watch, The Pitt takes place in the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital. As with any self-respecting medical drama, The Pitt explores the highs and lows of working in healthcare as the staff attempt to save lives,

"The Pitt" may take place in an emergency room and star Noah Wyle, but nothing else about Max's new medical drama resembles the classic series "ER" -- at least according to the show's creators. The new series,

The premiere of The Pitt covers 07:00-08:00 and 08:00-09:00 of a single continuous shift at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center; it’s a two-episode, two-hour span of drama that turns out to be long enough to make it feel like you’ve been punched in the stomach,

Max's medical drama The Pitt draws immediate comparisons to ER, thanks to Noah Wyle leading the show as Dr. Michael "Robby" Rabinavitch and John Wells being an executive producer.

Max's first foray into medical dramas is intense and uneven, but The Pitt will likely delight fans of the genre — and especially ER.