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“The Pitt” is not “ER.”

Here, Wyle plays Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, the facility’s oh-so-wise attending physician. He’s a steadying force for a staff that includes a group of student doctors, a worldly charge nurse and a handful of veterans who know how to run and gun.

Taking place during 15 hours of one day, “The Pitt” shows what kind of emergencies roll in – from a horrifying foot injury to an alarming number of drug-related visits. Even though it’s produced by “ER” veterans, “The Pitt” doesn’t skimp on squeamish moments. It features plenty of profanity, too, and captures that detached quality physicians need to manage a long shift.

While the first episode is a blur of names and faces, they quickly begin to sort out. Nicknames, conferred by an outspoken student doctor (Isa Briones), help the process. A newbie (not unlike Wyle’s John Carter in “ER”), gets more than his share of first day traumas. Changing scrubs almost hourly, Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell) encounters more body fluids than one man should. Fellow student Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez) is younger than most (she’s 20) and has parents who are also physicians at The Pitt (the shortened name for the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital).

In the first five hours, you discover Robby has some traumas in his own life and an anniversary that looms large. Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa), the charge nurse, realizes as much and tries to serve as his sounding board. She pushes the team in and out of exam rooms while quelling the mob in the waiting room.

Sometimes, the activity slows so individual stories can emerge. Siblings don’t want to say goodbye to their father who’s in the final stage of life; parents refuse to admit their son may not survive a drug overdose. Both bring the tears.

Smaller cases – a cut here, a fall there – fill in the gaps, letting you understand why one doctor has an ankle monitor and another doesn’t want others to know about her pregnancy. Before the day is over you feel like you work at The Pitt.

Creator R. Scott Gemmill, an “ER” veteran, brings in plenty of local flavor and isn’t afraid to comment on activity in the city. In one of the middle episodes (Wyle wrote several), “The Pitt” even references “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and follows a high-speed chase that started at the emergency department’s doors.

When a patient dies, Robby insists on a moment of silence – a nice touch amid all the chaos. He also traffics in hand sanitizer and demonstrates so many intubations you feel like you could do one after a few more episodes.

In addition to those nicknames, “The Pitt” introduces jargon unique to the staff. Like “The Bear,” there’s a hierarchy that frames much of the action. Physicians are put in their place repeatedly, often by patients.

While “The Pitt” hits familiar notes (overcrowding is still a problem; understaffing is a given), it benefits from the “24” approach to storytelling. After one episode, it’s impossible to leave the “day in the life.” Binging is a likely diagnosis.

Wyle is superb in this, his element. He reminds us of the series that set a distinct tone and isn’t afraid to take it in another direction. You may not want to visit the ER, but after a few episodes, you won’t want to abandon “The Pitt.”

“The Pitt” airs on Max. A new episode drops each week.