The Pitt Could Get The Spin-Off That Fans Have Been Begging For

This article contains a discussion of mass violence.

Just in case you forgot, "The Pitt" — the massively successful medical drama that concluded its first season on Max in early April — is not a spin-off of "ER," even though three different veterans of that medical drama helped create it in the first place. Star and executive producer Noah Wyle, alongside creatives John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill (Wells works as an executive producer and showrunner, while Gemmill is the credited creator and showrunner), set out to make something distinct that paid homage to their previous work ... but with all that said, could "The Pitt" get a spin-off any time soon?

Fans are absolutely clamoring for a show that could simply be titled "The Pitt: Night Shift," thanks in large part to the show's "real-time" structure (season 1 takes place across every hour of a 15-hour shift led by Wyle's Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch) that introduces the night shift doctors and nurses partway through the season. In an interview with TVLine's Ryan Schwartz, Wells said that he's not ruling out a full season centered on the nocturnal crew at the fictional Pittsburgh hospital (and, specifically, in that hospital's emergency department).

"It's possible that there will be a season of the show that takes place on the night shift," Wells told Schwartz. "Whether we would franchise it after...? I think that it would be a little arrogant on our part to think that there's that much enthusiasm for the show [already]. It's nice to keep people excited about when it comes back [for season 2] before we start thinking about how we do five versions of something."

"I think, in success, I would love to do a night shift [season]," Gemmill agreed in the same interview. "We talked about it. It just comes with its own difficulties. I would also love to do a shift in the winter time in Pittsburgh."

"Look, it's very complimentary that people are excited, and they want more," Wells added. "As storytellers, it's a wonderful affirmation of what has been a lot of hard work. I know from the outside, sometimes it doesn't seem like it's hard work — we're certainly not tarring roofs in the summertime — but it's a lot of hours, and to have people want more is a good feeling."

Here's the thing: the fans who want a "night shift" spin-off of "The Pitt" actually have the right idea, because the characters we meet from the evening shift in season 1 are so uniformly excellent. The first and most prominent of them is definitely Shawn Hatosy's Dr. Jack Abbot, Robby's close friend (though they joke about being "old rivals") who also serves as Robby's counterpart in the night shift, running the department as the attending until Robby arrives each morning. The more we learn about Jack, the more fascinating he is; he brings up his past as a combat medic pretty often, and during the horrifying mass shooting that occurs in the final few episodes of season 1 (in which the night shift nurses and doctors re-enter the fray), we also see Jack's willingness to help his patients when he and a few other doctors become "human blood bags" and donate to those in need as they work. In the very last moments of the season 1 finale, we also learn that Jack is an amputee, presumably from his time serving, adding quiet depth to his character without tokenizing him.

Beyond Jack, we've also got Ken Kirby's Dr. John Shen and Ayesha Harris' Dr. Parker Ellis, a senior attending and senior resident (respectively) whose personalities become clear as soon as they return to the hospital. Parker, a smart, no-nonsense doctor, is the only one who seems able to get through to cocksure intern Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones), and the two work on a difficult case together; John, meanwhile, makes an impression by casually sipping an iced coffee while Robby warns him about the mass shooting victims en route to the hospital, but he certainly proves his worth as the crisis continues. We don't spend quite as much time with Dr. Emery Walsh (Tedra Millan), largely because she's a surgeon and the realities of her job keep her floating in and out of the emergency room ... but maybe we'd get to know her better in a spin-off!

There are, to be clear, a lot of practical reasons as to why a spin-off of "The Pitt" might not be possible, and John Wells brought up just one of them to Ryan Schwartz in that same TVLine interview. "One of the things that doesn't get talked about that much is that, for our crew of several hundred people, working for seven months and then asking them to stick around for five months or two years before you work again [is a big ask]," Wells mused. "It's why these crews are very difficult to hold together, and it's really hard on their families. So, being able to get into a rhythm where people can work, and know when they're going to work again, and know we're going to have them back, is very good for everyone."

Wells was speaking more to the fact that "The Pitt" is maintaining a regular filming schedule that will allow the series to drop new seasons annually (as of this writing, season 2 is expected in January, marking one year after the show premiered), but this is also a factor that could stop a potential spin-off. The show's already intense production (where actors like Briones are encouraged to check their cell phones at the door and crew members don scrubs to maintain continuity) doubling up to create a "night shift" show could simply be untenable. From a creative perspective, though, a series set during the time when Robby gets to go home and sleep would be really phenomenal, and just because "The Pitt" has only aired one season so far doesn't mean its universe hasn't already merited a spin-off. Why? Watching season 1 of "The Pitt," I was struck by how lived-in and fleshed-out the night shift characters were; thanks to strong writing and excellent performances, I got the measure of Jack Abbot (and Parker Ellis and John Shen and Emery Walsh) in spite of his limited screen time, and that's one of the most magical things about "The Pitt." If Wells, R. Scott Gemmill, and their team do have the bandwidth, "The Pitt: Night Shift" wouldn't be a shameless cash grab, but a perfect next step.

Season 1 of "The Pitt" is streaming on Max now.

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