DAVE DAVIES, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. Our TV critic, David Bianculli has been impressed by two new TV series that tell their stories using time in a very inventive fashion. One is the new Max medical drama "The Pitt," which presents new episodes each Thursday through April 10. The other, now streaming in its entirety, is the four-part Netflix series "Adolescence," which follows the case of a murdered teen from several different perspectives. Here's David's review.
DAVID BIANCULLI, BYLINE: The normal way to tell a dramatic story on TV is to follow the characters and plots wherever they go in a straightforward fashion, focusing only on the most important parts. Sometimes, as on "Law & Order," there are timestamps and music cues to move things along. But mostly, the narratives move in a straight line in concise, little scenes. On occasion, a TV show can play with time as well as space, offering plenty of flashbacks and flash-forwards. "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" did that, and the most recent season of "Fargo" threw viewers for a loop by a mid-series change of setting title card that read 500 years ago.
But when it comes to TV telling a dramatic story by reflecting time in a different way, the biggest innovation until now came almost 25 years ago when the Fox network premiered "24." Each season was a self-contained story spread across 24 episodes, telling of a single day in the life of government agent Jack Bauer. Each episode dramatized an hour of his day in real time, and the unrelenting intensity and momentum made "24" an instant hit. So now, in 2025, we have two new series inspired by that radical real-time approach.
"The Pitt," a Max series streaming new episodes weekly, takes the "24" approach, using each hour of TV to present an hour in a long single shift in a Pittsburgh emergency room. The show's creator is R. Scott Gemmill, who was a producer on "ER" with John Wells. Wells is involved here, too, as is "ER" veteran Noah Wyle, who, as Dr. Michael Robinavitch, is in charge of the emergency room, which is part of an overworked, understaffed, underfunded teaching hospital. "The Pitt" never leaves the ER - what its nurses and doctors call The Pitt. And the clock, like the action, never stops. Here's Wyle addressing his staff after the death of a young patient. It's a rare, quiet moment, but it doesn't last.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE PITT")
NOAH WYLE: (As Michael Robinavitch) That's as hard as it gets. We do these debriefs to try to give a sense of closure and meaning to difficult cases so that they won't linger. But trust me, the kids you'll lose will linger. So what do you do? I did my residency at Big Charity in New Orleans. And Day 1, I got a kid, 5-year-old boy accidentally shot by his brother playing with dad's gun, worried he was going to get in trouble right up until he coded and died. Then I had to ask myself, like, what do I do with this kid? Where do I put this feeling? And I felt myself walking all night. I was walking and walking and walking. And I felt myself back at the gates of Big Charity Cemetery. And I'm looking at all those mausoleums and those crypts, and I'm thinking to myself, well, OK, that's what I need. I just need a safe place where I can put these feelings.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As security guard) I got patients throwing punches in chairs.
WYLE: (As Michael Robinavitch) OK, everybody...
BIANCULLI: Binge a few hours of "The Pitt" back to back and you'll feel as exhausted as the doctors, nurses and interns look. But stick around and you'll come to know and love these characters just as viewers of the original "ER" did, embracing such similarly talented and endearing young actors as George Clooney, Anthony Edwards and Noah Wyle.
"Adolescence," now on Netflix, is much shorter - only four episodes - but is even more intense. Each episode looks at a different point in time and point of view regarding the case of a murdered teen girl. There's the apprehension of the prime suspect, an investigation at the victim's high school days later and then other jumps in the narrative to seven and 13 months later. Each of these episodes plays out in real time, as on "The Pitt," but here it's filmed in one continuous take, in one seemingly uninterrupted, unedited camera move. It's like a live stage play, and even if part of your brain is aware of and impressed by the technical gimmick, your heart is pulled in by the gripping story and the astoundingly believable acting.
Most of the third episode, for example, is a psychological interview between 14-year-old Jamie Miller, awaiting trial for killing a female classmate, and a court-assigned therapist played by Erin Doherty. Jamie is played by Owen Cooper, and their extended scenes together are amazing. This is Owen's first acting role on television, and there's no doubt he's going to be a big star.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ADOLESCENCE")
ERIN DOHERTY: (As Briony Ariston) How did your dad treat your mom?
OWEN COOPER: (As Jamie Miller) Are you trying to get at my dad again?
DOHERTY: (As Briony Ariston) No, not get at him.
COOPER: (As Jamie Miller) Dad's actually nice to Mom.
DOHERTY: (As Briony Ariston) You did say he tore down a shed.
COOPER: (As Jamie Miller) Yeah. He just gets angry with himself, but he's never hit her.
DOHERTY: (As Briony Ariston) Does he speak to other women?
COOPER: (As Jamie Miller) What?
DOHERTY: (As Briony Ariston) Is he friendly with other women?
COOPER: (As Jamie Miller) No. He loves my mom.
DOHERTY: (As Briony Ariston) No, I'm asking whether any of his friends are women.
COOPER: (As Jamie Miller) No. His mates are his mates.
DOHERTY: (As Briony Ariston) And they're men?
COOPER: (As Jamie Miller) Is that wrong? What does that mean?
DOHERTY: (As Briony Ariston) No. No, that's not wrong.
COOPER: (As Jamie Miller) I thought we'd done talking about my dad.
DOHERTY: (As Briony Ariston) Jamie, I'm just trying to understand.
COOPER: (As Jamie Miller) Understand - I know, but none of this has nothing to do with him.
DOHERTY: (As Briony Ariston) OK, that's fine. Do you have any mates who are women?
COOPER: (As Jamie Miller) No.
DOHERTY: (As Briony Ariston) Like your dad, your mates are male.
COOPER: (As Jamie Miller, sighing).
BIANCULLI: Other prominent actors and characters in "Adolescence" include Ashley Walters as the lead detective on the case and Stephen Graham as Jamie's father. Their acting in this, like everyone's acting in this, is superb, and the real-time narrative only enhances their effectiveness. And Graham, who costarred in "A Thousand Blows" and appeared in "Peaky Blinders," gets extra credit here. He's cocreator and writer of the series, along with Jack Thorne.
"Adolescence" is brilliant, the best TV series so far this year. I can recommend both it and "The Pitt" as excellent TV shows that are exciting, enthralling and constantly surprising. Be aware, though, one thing they aren't is relaxing.
DAVIES: David Bianculli is a professor of television studies at Rowan University. He reviewed "The Pitt" on Max and "Adolescence," now streaming on Netflix.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONNY ROLLINS' "THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS")
DAVIES: On tomorrow's show, we speak with Seth Rogen, star and cocreator of the new TV comedy series "The Studio." It's about a freshly appointed movie studio head trying to keep the company afloat as Hollywood changes around him. Episodes include Martin Scorsese, Zoe Kravitz and Ice Cube playing versions of themselves. I hope you can join us.
To keep up with what's on the show and get highlights of our interviews, follow us on Instagram - @nprfreshair. FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our managing producer is Sam Briger. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Ann Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Thea Chaloner, Susan Nyakundi and Anna Bauman. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. For Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley, I'm Dave Davies.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONNY ROLLINS' "THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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