The Pitt's Noah Wyle on why A&E is the 'catch-all of society's bad choices'

Noah Wyle plays Dr Robby, a traumatised, hard-nosed yet deeply empathetic lead physician A packed waiting room, doctors under pressure, mental health crises. It could be any day in a UK A&E department. But this is the US. More specifically, it's smash-hit medical drama The Pitt, which is American slang for the emergency room (spelt "pit").

And it's just landed on our shores. A gripping fast-paced drama full of tension, emotion, a bit of gore - and some much-needed dark humour - it's easy to see why the show has already won so many awards in the US, including numerous Emmys and Golden Globes. Many of the health and social issues The Pitt shines a light on will be familiar on both sides of the pond.

But there is a fundamental difference - we have a publicly-funded universal healthcare system and the US doesn't. So how will the HBO Max show translate for UK audiences? In one episode, construction worker Orlando Diaz (William Guirola) suffers serious diabetes complications after rationing his insulin due to the cost (he already has a $100,000 medical debt).

Seeing the stark reality of Diaz's plight on screen is quite an eye-opener. "He's a guy who's on a mental health journey he doesn't know that he's on," says Wyle Noah Wyle plays Dr Robby, a traumatised, hard-nosed yet deeply empathetic lead physician in the A&E department of a Pittsburg hospital.

"I can imagine that it would be difficult to get your head around that [if you're from the UK]. But I don't think it's unrelatable in the sense that, in the winter, Europeans have to make very hard choices about their heating bill versus their food bill... you have to make these choices based on your limited resources and Americans are burdened with an additional item that is health insurance.

That makes it very complicated." Wyle, who is also an executive producer and writer on the show, adds that it's challenging for all involved.

"It's very frustrating for the physician who oftentimes is compromised in what they're able to do, and it's frustrating for the patients." "There are also healthcare systems around the world that Americans look at with pity." Wyle says he spent time discussing how healthcare was different in the UK with British actors Gerran Howell and Tracy Ifeachor The actor is, of course, best known for his leading role as Dr Carter in ER alongside the likes of George Clooney and Alex Kingston.

Was there a risk in returning to such a familiar hunting ground? "It's the first time since ER that I've felt the same sense of camaraderie and buy-in among the cast and crew. When I was on ER, I don't really think I appreciated how rare the air was that I was breathing," he says.

"And then I spent the next 15 years waiting for lightning to strike again. So, was I nervous? I think I was overly confident. And then I was disillusioned, and then I was depressed, and I was resigned. And then, I was profoundly surprised.

And now, I'm eternally grateful." "When I was on ER, I don't really think I appreciated how rare the air was that I was breathing": Wyle as Doctor John Carter "It was during Covid, which was a tricky time for everybody, but first responders in particular were being hit extremely hard," Wyle explains.

"And I was getting a lot of mail from them, sort of chronicling what that experience was like. And I assumed they were reaching out to me because they felt that I had a relevance to their career, having been part of what motivated them to go into that line of work.

"It didn't sit well with me that I didn't have current relevance. I had nothing really to offer back except empathy." So he got in touch with John Wells, who had been the showrunner on ER, and the rest, as they say, is history.