TVLine's Performer Of The Week: Noah Wyle

THE PERFORMER | Noah Wyle

THE SHOW | The Pitt

THE EPISODE | "7:00 P.M." (Mar. 27, 2025)

THE PERFORMANCE | When a performance is so consistently good, and an actor seems as comfortable in their role as Wyle does here, once again playing doctor, it becomes difficult to determine when to sing their praises.

There have been several instances throughout Season 1 of The Pitt where we considered awarding him. Take, for instance, Robby's debrief after the ED lost a young drowning victim. Or his reaction when he discovered that Langdon had been stealing drugs, and he was forced to show his protégé the door. We could have chosen a quieter scene, even, like his heart-to-heart with Collins at the rear of the ambulance, when he learned that she was once pregnant with his child — but ultimately, we're glad we waited.

Wyle, a five-time Emmy nominee for ER, delivered a career-best performance this week as he tried — and failed — to resuscitate Leah, and he was forced to accept that his heroic actions were ineffective. That overwhelming devastation in Robby's eyes, after he was unable to detect a radial pulse, spoke volumes. As did the gravel in his voice as he explained to Jake that his girlfriend's mutilated heart was beyond repair.

Of course, this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day only got worse. When he wheeled Jake into PTMC's makeshift morgue, which had been set up in the same pediatric ward where he took his mentor off ECMO four years ago, his PTSD was exacerbated. And once an inconsolable Jake asked him why he couldn't save Leah, all bets were off. Robby was done for.

The pain of the previous 13 hours — the losses of Mr. Spencer... then Nick... then Amber... now Leah — caught up with Robby, and it was just too much to bear. He hurried Jake out of the morgue, then curled up into a ball. He held his head in his hands, unable to control his tears as his face and neck turned bright red. His portrayer warned us that it was all leading up to this moment, but we never could have predicted the extent to which Robby would unravel. Wyle, in turn, was incredible.

Scroll down to see who got Honorable Mention shout-outs this week...

Even in her very first, brief scenes on CBS' NCIS: Origins last fall, you could tell that Tyla Abercrumbie would inhabit Mary Jo Hayes completely — that it would just be a matter of time until she was afforded a showcase for her fine character work. Well, that moment came this week. "To Have and to Hold" shed light on how, in small but significant ways, the Camp Pendleton office's "HSIC" keeps the trains running. And how in her own way, she helps gives a voice to those targeted by crime. But most notably, the episode shared with us the deeply sad truth about the setbacks Mary Jo sustained in the past, and how they fractured her marriage. Working off a crackerjack script, Abercrumbie had us cheering Mary Jo's workplace wins, mourning her losses, and looking at the character in a whole new, reverential way. — Matt Webb Mitovich

Oddball sleuths may be a dime a dozen on TV these days, but the unforgettable performance Uzo Aduba brings to Netflix's The Residence as Detective Cordelia Cupp is uniquely priceless, particularly in the whodunit's 90-minute season finale. Her wry sense of humor, entrancing quirks and bold theatricality are on full display as she makes a meal — nay, a feast — out of the killer reveal, culminating with a sobering monologue about the victim, a makeshift eulogy that reminds viewers of the gravity behind this otherwise screwball comedy. With the murderer exposed and Cordelia's business at the White House wrapped up, there's only one mystery we'd like to solve: When is Netflix going to announce a second season?! — Andy Swift

There's a reason Ramón Rodríguez is already a two-time Performer of the Week honoree: TV's Will Trent continues to do an exceptional job showcasing his character's enduring pain and suffering stemming from a rotten childhood. But this week's torment was different. It required Rodríguez to tap into a different kind of grief. Having shot and killed a 14-year-old boy whose only crime was cutting class and returning home to play video games, Will, for the first time, was not the recipient of trauma; he was the person responsible for it. Inadvertent or not, he'd taken a life, and stripped this young man of his future. Two moments particularly wowed us: First, when Will directed his anger at Marion, explaining that he was going to spend the rest of his life thinking about this day "over and over and over again," and again in a flashback, as we watched him struggle to accept that Marco had died in his arms. Will wasn't just aching; a part of his soul had died, and you felt that — boy, did you feel it — in Rodríguez's dispirited portrayal. — R.S.

Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments!