The Guardian's review of Stan's new Australian medical drama The F Ward finds it falls well short of comparisons to the acclaimed hospital series The Pitt, criticising its "airy, over-lit aesthetic" and lack of dramatic pulse despite a promising premise. Inevitably measured against The Pitt, which the reviewer credits with proving how effectively hospital settings can generate tension, The F Ward is judged to feel more like a generic "TV hospital" than a convincing, lived-in world, undermining its potential impact with audiences.

The six-part series follows a group of struggling intern doctors given a last chance to redeem themselves at the underfunded, fictional Pines hospital in Sydney, created by Dan Edwards and Kelsey Munro (the team behind Bump). Anna Friel stars as senior doctor Gloria Wall, alongside interns played by Ioane Sa'ula, Lola Bond, Alex Fitzalan and Emily Barclay, each carrying their own personal or professional baggage. The review praises the generally solid performances but says no character truly engages, and takes issue with clichéd elements such as a picturesque beachside hospital location, workplace romances, and operating-room scenes that obscure patients' faces, leaving the drama feeling contrived rather than authentic.