As an avid watcher of The Pitt, I have been anxiously awaiting 8 PM on Thursdays every week. The hit HBO show has been releasing weekly episodes of season two since January. It seems like, in recent years, many shows have moved towards weekly episodes rather than releasing an entire season in one day. For some shows, this format might benefit the watching experience and help the show gain more viewers, but for a lot of shows, I believe it is doing the opposite.
For The Pitt, specifically, I think the weekly episode format really ruins all of the momentum of the show. When I watched season one, I had the benefit of watching it after all of the episodes were released. By doing this, I think it really enhanced the watching experience. The premise of the show is that every episode is one hour of a 15-hour shift. For season one, I spent a total of two days watching the entirety of the show; for those two days, the show completely consumed me. It felt like I was right there with the characters, clocking into my shift.
By bingeing the show in one sitting, it really makes you feel like you are right there with the characters, and makes the show feel more real because you are watching it in almost real time. The Pitt really exemplifies the stress and suspense of being in an ER, and watching it in one sitting, you can feel that stress and momentum more clearly.
Season two, however, I have had to wait every week for new episodes to drop. I have found that by watching the show this way, a lot of the momentum and stress they gain in the episode is completely gone when you have to wait a whole week for the next episode. After a week, I tend to forget some of the patients and no longer feel that stress and anxiety that the show produces until near the middle or end of the episode.
Some people might make the argument that by doing weekly episodes, the show is able to gain more viewers, but I think it is actually doing the opposite. I think plenty of people likely started the first episode, were excited for the next one, and then found that it was released weekly and completely forgot they were even watching the show.
Overall, I believe that The Pitt is meant to be binged. It makes the story feel more steeped in reality and shows the stress that ER nurses and doctors go through every day, which is the whole purpose of the show.