HBO is no stranger to prestige TV. Band of Brothers, The Sopranos, The Wire, and even more recent releases like Succession often come to mind when thinking of HBO’s best shows of all time. The premium network’s legacy will also always be linked to Game of Thrones and its spinoffs, which are still going strong.
In fact, the most recent Game of Thrones spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, found itself on Nielsen’s 100 most-watched shows of the 2025-26 TV season (via Variety), coming in tied for the #24 spot. The list, which ranks American viewership from mid-September 2025 through May 2026, includes two other HBO shows that are also available to stream on HBO Max: It: Welcome to Derry (#43) and Euphoria (#53).
However, the most popular HBO show from the 2025-26 season is The Pitt, a series that doesn’t even air on HBO’s premium cable channel. Instead, it’s an HBO Max original, meaning it’s a streaming-only release despite embracing the weekly release format. The most-watched list is ranked using the 35-day total multi-platform viewership, with The Pitt claiming the #9 spot with 13.8 million viewers in that span based on Nielsen’s data.
Why The Pitt Is Only Available On HBO Max, Not The Cable Channel
With only three HBO shows on the most recent most-watched list, it’s impressive that the HBO Max title ranks the highest. It’s difficult not to wonder how much more massive the medical drama would be if it also aired on HBO in addition to its streaming availability. Despite being under the Warner Bros. Television umbrella, The Pitt was never envisioned as a traditional cable release.
When it was developed, the show from R. Scott Gemmill was eyed as a “Max Original” to boost the streaming service (known as Max at the time) and its original programming offerings. In addition, The Pitt received a 15-episode order from the get-go. Not only is that a rare episode count for streaming shows, but it’s also not the length of seasons that HBO aims for when it comes to its cable network programming.
The Pitt Season 3: Every Character Confirmed To Return (So Far)
The Pitt is set to return in January 2027 for season 3, and we already know which doctors and nurses will be back in the Pittsburgh Emergency Room.
HBO’s linear channel has a history of airing big, prestige shows during its Sunday night slots. For the most part, those slots are reserved for premium releases with 6-10 episodes per season. While The Pitt could have been a must-watch TV event on the Sunday night primetime slot on HBO, its lengthier seasons haven’t fit the cable network’s usual programming approach.
The Pitt Found A Way To Increase Popularity (Without Airing On HBO)
The Pitt officially debuted in January 2025, but it didn’t find itself among the top 100 shows for the 2024-25 season. Granted, HBO Max’s medical drama still had plenty to celebrate as stellar reception and word-of-mouth propelled the show’s popularity to new levels. Following its first successful awards season, including five Emmys and two Golden Globes, the buzz surrounding the series kept growing ahead of season 2.
Ahead of the show’s return in January 2026, viewers without HBO Max were given another way to watch, allowing The Pitt to air its first season uncut on TNT throughout December 2025. It wasn’t HBO, but the release put The Pitt and its stellar cast, led by Noah Wyle in front of the eyes of new viewers who couldn’t previously access the show on streaming.
By airing on cable, it may have led to a bump in HBO Max subscriptions for The Pitt season 2, especially given how well the show ranked on the most-watched list. It’s one thing to see an increase in viewership, but The Pitt went from not appearing on last year’s list to cracking the top 10 for 2025-26. With The Pitt season 3 confirmed, it will be interesting to see if Warner Bros. will replicate the network TV release by airing season 2 on TNT before the show returns in early 2027.
It’s also important to note that Paramount’s planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery will mean that Paramount+ and HBO Max will eventually be combined into one streaming service. What that means for The Pitt‘s viewership and the overall impact on TV’s most-watched shows will be something to keep an eye on as the streaming landscape goes through another major shake-up.
- Release Date
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January 9, 2025
- Network
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Max
- Showrunner
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R. Scott Gemmill
- Directors
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Amanda Marsalis
- Writers
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Joe Sachs, Cynthia Adarkwa
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Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch
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Tracy Ifeachor
Dr. Heather Collins