"The Pitt" producer on Pittsburgh roots, ER realism and Season 2
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A scene from "The Pitt" Season 1. Photo: Courtesy of Max/Warrick Page
Max's Pittsburgh-set hospital drama "The Pitt" is a hit for yinzers and non-yinzers alike, and there's more to come.
Why it matters: The show's unique style — filmed in one-hour segments of a 15-hour shift at a Pittsburgh emergency room — has earned strong reviews from critics and praise from local health care professionals.
Driving the news: Executive producer Michael Hissrich tells Axios that writing has already begun on Season 2, and viewers should expect the same hour-by-hour style for the next season.
We talked to Hissrich about nursing shortages, the health care industry and the show's deep ties to Southwestern Pennsylvania.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Why was Pittsburgh chosen for this show?
- "Pittsburgh's just a great slice of America. [Producer] John Wells went to Carnegie Mellon, and [star] Noah Wyle's parents both have Pittsburgh roots. I grew up in Pittsburgh and went to Carnegie Mellon."
- "A cool thing about Pittsburgh, for storytelling, is if you drive from the Point in any direction, you're in an urban city for about 10 minutes, and then you're in the suburbs for about 25 minutes, and then you're in farmland in an hour. I mean, there are stories about just about anything in Pittsburgh."
Why is the story told in an hour-by-hour process?
- "It's something we hadn't seen before in a medical show. I think we all thought it would be very interesting to see how these folks deal with the constant influx [of patients].
- "Once you clock in, there is no downtime. And I think it's really important to explain that to the audience. When you're in the waiting room, people aren't taking breaks in the back. It's just they're constantly working from the time they come in to the time they go out."
Any Easter eggs for yinzers in the audience you want to share?
"There's at least one thing in every episode that if you're really paying attention to you can see. Like a Giant Eagle T-shirt, or we mentioned a pizza place or Primanti's shows up."
Do any characters talk like Pittsburghers?
- "A lot of people bring up the dialect, and because the show is just one day I think it would be odd to try to explain to a broad audience the dialect. … I worry that if we tried to teach somebody to speak that way, it would come off disingenuous. I mean, it's a hard thing to fake."
There aren't a ton of shows set in Pittsburgh. What's it like to give Pittsburgh a show like this?
- "It's the greatest thing. I've always said that if I could do what I do here [in Los Angeles] but in Pittsburgh, I'd love to be there. My mom's still there. My brother's still there. I've been out here 30-35 years, but Pittsburgh is still home."
What we're watching: "The Pitt" streams on Max and new episodes drop weekly on Thursdays at 9pm.
- The season finale airs on April 10.
What's next: Hissrich said the film crew will likely be returning to Pittsburgh in September to start filming Season 2.
- "Come see us," he said.