Noah Wyle Says ‘The Pitt’ Wouldn’t Have Happened Without …

Noah Wyle has played doctors for decades on television. Though he first came to fame in the ‘90s as Dr. John Carter on ER, he has since put on his coat once again as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch on HBO Max’s The Pitt — which premiered earlier this year, and is currently filming its second season. Both shows have completely different feels, but one certain life event convinced Wyle to put his medical coat back on.

In an interview with The Wrap published on Wednesday, Aug. 20, Noah Wyle revealed that he was inspired to create The Pitt — alongside executive producers John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill, who also worked on ER — after witnessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the American healthcare system. He also said that had the pandemic not happened, The Pitt wouldn’t have ever been maid.

“Because I would never have wanted to do it, and neither would John or Scott,” Wyle explained. “That was the catalyst for all of this — that post-COVID, there might be another story to tell about American healthcare that shined a light on the two different healthcare systems that exist in this country, the disparity between the two and the toll that it was taking psychologically, emotionally and financially on the frontline workers. Without COVID, there would’ve been no need for me to put a stethoscope on my neck ever again.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Wyle shared that current policies have shaped storylines for The Pitt’s upcoming season. However, he has said that given the fact that the world is changing so quickly, it might be a challenge to reflect a current healthcare landscape.

“We’ve planted a flag that we are trying to be an accurate representation of a major-city trauma center,” Wyle said. “And major-city trauma centers are going to become even more crowded when rural hospitals start closing. A lot of people are gonna lose their health insurance, and they’re gonna make enough to not qualify for one plan and too little to qualify for another, and they’ll find themselves in this growing group of people who need assistance and can’t find it through the normal channels.”

Last weekend, Wyle revealed at the inaugural Televerse 2025 festival that he is directing an episode of The Pitt. Production on said episode began this week, according to an Instagram post from Wyle’s account.

The Pitt’s second season is expected to premiere in January 2026.