Photo: Warrick Page/Max
We were joined on the Popternative show by Isa Briones to discuss the new medical drama series, The Pitt, which premiered last month on Max, and has already been renewed for a second season. From John Wells Productions (The West Wing, ER) and Warner Bros. Television, The Pitt is created by R. Scott Gemmill (JAG, ER) and stars ER alum Noah Wyle.
The Pitt is a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today’s America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each episode follows an hour of Dr. Robby’s (Wyle) 15-hour shift as the chief attendant in Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital’s emergency room.
Isa plays Dr. Trinity Santos, a fourth year medical student completing her residency at the Pittsburgh hospital and is eager to learn as much as she can, but comes off to many as pushy.
The cast also includes Tracey Ifeachor (Dr. Collins), Patrick Ball (Dr. Langdon), Katherine LaNasa (Dana Evans), Supriya Ganesh (Dr. Mohan), Fiona Dourif (Dr. McKay), Taylor Dearden (Dr. King), Gerran Howell (Whitaker), and Shabana Azeez (Javadi), Jalen Thomas Brooks (Mateo).
What makes the series unique from other medical dramas is that each episode takes place during a one hour shift of the same day. A lot of storylines and scenes and packed into each episode. “The biggest shock was reading the scripts; the scripts are way longer than a normal one for an [hour long show] because it’s so fast-paced. It’s a lot of words but in [a small] amount of time,” says Isa.
She also explains what helped her better understand Santos: “Out the gate, we had meetings with John Wells and Scott Gemmill to talk about our characters and they gave a full breakdown of what [my character’s] life has been up to this point when we walk in for our day in the ER. And that was so incredibly helpful because now I can walk into any scene and know what my point of view is.”
Watch the full conversation with Isa Briones below.
A new episode of The Pitt drops Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET on Max leading up to the season finale on April 10.
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