Posted in: HBO, Max, NBC, TV | Tagged: ER, The Pitt

The Pitt Star & ER Superfan Patrick Ball Meets Anthony Edwards

The Pitt star and ER superfan Patrick Ball, who co-stars with ER alum Noah Wyle, posted a photo of himself alongside ER star Anthony Edwards.

Published Sat, 11 Apr 2026 19:37:09 -0500

by Tom Chang

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Article Summary

Pitt star Patrick Ball, a devoted ER superfan, shares a photo with Anthony Edwards, Dr. Mark Greene himself.
Ball, now starring in The Pitt with Noah Wyle, admires both actors' iconic roles in beloved medical dramas.
A lifelong ER fan, Ball grew up in a medical household, watching the show with his nurse mom and paramedic dad.
The Pitt is seen as ER's spiritual successor, though not without controversy from the Michael Crichton estate.

You'd think Patrick Ball would be living the dream working with ER star Noah Wyle on the HBO Max medical drama, The Pitt, but no, the next on his Michael Chricton series gauntlet is meeting another original series star, Anthony Edwards, who played Dr. Mark Greene on the NBC medical drama alongside Wyle's medical student-turned-attending physician, John Carter. As a superfan, the actor, sporting a "not calm" cap, is starring in "Becky Shaw" on Broadway, and shared a photo on his Instagram delivering a thumbs up alongside the Top Gun star.

The Pitt x ER Dream Come True as Patrick Ball Meets Anthony Edwards — Patrick Ball in The Pitt. Anthony Edwards in ER. Images courtesy of Warrick Page/MAX and Warner Bros

The Pitt x E.R.: When Dr. Langdon Met Dr. Greene IRL

"I grew up watching Noah Wyle on TV," Ball told E! News in January. "We grew up watching 'ER' in my household. My mom is an ER nurse, my dad is a paramedic, so we would sit down and watch that show every week." The NBC medical drama ran from 1994-2009, starring Edwards, George Clooney, Julianna Margulies, Laura Innes, Laura Ceron, Deezer D, Maura Tierney, Goran Visnjic, Yvette Freeman, and Eriq La Salle, becoming one of the network's biggest prime time hits, spanning 15 seasons and over 300 episodes, yet shockingly, no spinoff.

With the R. Scott Gemmill-created series, alongside star Wyle, The Pitt was seen as a spiritual successor. Still, there was controversy when the Crichton estate filed a suit claiming the series is too similar to the NBC original. The Pitt focuses on attending physician Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch (Wyle) and his ER team at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center as they deal with the rigors of being understaffed and overwhelmed from the deluge of patients from all walks of life. Ball plays Dr. Frank Langdon, who's trying to regain Robby's trust after it was discovered that he stole drugs from a patient in season one, and, upon his return, is still struggling to seek forgiveness from those who felt betrayed.