Everyone’s favorite Dr. Robby, played by Noah Wyle on “The Pitt,” has officially been honored by Hollywood.
The show won multiple Emmy Awards at the ceremony Sunday, including for best drama series. Wyle, who has had seven Emmy nominations throughout his career, won for best actor in a drama series. His co-star Katherine LaNasa, who plays the wise and steadfast charge nurse on the show, won best supporting actress in a drama.
When accepting the trophy for best drama series, the show’s creator R. Scott Gemmill dedicated the Emmy win to health workers and first responders. "Respect them, protect them, trust them," he said onstage.
Wyle, who also executive produces the show, has described the show as a “love letter” to front-line workers in a post-COVID world. The show quickly became a global sensation after hitting HBO Max in early 2025, raking in 10 million viewers per episode. The first season unfolds across a 15-hour workday, with each episode tracking one hour of the shift. Healthcare professionals immediately shared how relatable, and sometimes scarily realistic, they found the show.
“There are moments when I literally feel like I’m watching a shift at work,” an ER doc from Maryland told The New York Times. “Sometimes I have to turn it off and put on ‘Lost,’ or something else completely different.”
Last year, the widow of “ER” creator Michael Crichton sued a number of parties involved in “The Pitt,” including Wyle. The case, which is ongoing, alleges that the show is an unauthorized reboot of “ER.” “The only thing that I can legally speak to,” Wyle has told Variety about the suit, “is how I feel emotionally, which is just profoundly sad and disappointed.”
Medical dramas have been a mainstay in Hollywood, from “General Hospital” to “Grey’s Anatomy” to “The Resident.” While Wyle rose to fame playing a doctor on "ER", today he plays Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, the no-frills chief attending physician at a trauma center in Pittsburgh dubbed the Pitt. The show is about to start filming its next season and is expected to premiere Jan. 8, 2026. It will be set over a Fourth of July weekend.
The showrunners have said they also plan to address the fallout of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. “The Medicaid changes are going to have a significant impact, and you don’t have to take a political position to discuss what the impact is actually going to be,” John Wells, one of the show’s executive producers, told Variety. “I don’t want to have an argument about whether or not they’re appropriate, what Congress did or didn’t do. But they’re going to have on-the-ground, immediate consequences in emergency rooms, and nobody’s arguing with that. That’s a bipartisan agreement.”
Wyle and his mom, who had been a nurse for four decades, have lobbied on the Hill for legislation to support healthcare workers. Those bills include the Lorna Breen Act, a tax credit for emergency clinicians and a bill addressing administrative burdens.
Wyle was inspired to create the show when, during COVID lockdown, first responders messaged him to thank him for inspiring them to pursue a medical career with his performance on "ER". Others were desperate for someone to tell their story.
“These people sacrifice so much in the service of others that I find it absolutely infuriating that their expertise is being called into question,” Wyle told Variety. “I find it infuriating that we still can’t come to a consensus that masks cut down on transmission of disease. I find it infuriating that we still won’t acknowledge that vaccines are an important way of eradicating disease. I find it all infuriating that we are where we are right now. So I wanted to make a show that brings back into sharp focus what an objective medical fact is.”
"The Pitt" employs practicing doctors and nurses to ensure accurate representation. The medical scenarios are scripted by writer and producer Joe Sachs, M.D., a part-time emergency physician. A team of practicing doctors also serve as consultants who coach the actors through their performance and line delivery, the NYT previously reported. Several background actors are also real-life nurses. The show's first season filmed, in part, at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Wyle’s deep navy tuxedo at the Emmy Awards was made by FIGS, the popular scrub wear company, as its first venture into evening wear. The inner collar of the shirt says “Awesome Human,” echoing FIGS’ slogan, “Awesome Humans Wear FIGS.”
“Tonight, Noah is proving that the health care community deserves a seat at every table, including television’s biggest night,” FIGS CEO and co-founder Trina Spear said in a statement. “By honoring health care workers, Noah’s commitment to authentically representing these extraordinary individuals on the red carpet embodies everything FIGS stands for. We are honored to create this one-of-a-kind piece that celebrates all health care workers off the screen. We thank Noah for championing health care workers and their stories through his art.”
During his acceptance speech Sunday, Wyle paid tribute to healthcare workers: “To anybody who is going on shift tonight or coming off shift tonight, thank you for being in that job. This is for you.”