In Season 2 of “The Pitt,” Noah Wyle’s character Michael Robinavitch, also known as Dr. Robby, is unbelievably attractive. Wearing beautiful shades and his hair rustling in the early morning Pittsburgh breeze, the beloved emergency room doctor is riding his motorcycle to work.
Hold on, rustling hair? Only then do we see what’s lacking. Is it possible that Robby, who is devoted, astute, overworked, endearing, and intelligent, isn’t donning a helmet?
It’s such a startling sight that we have to ask Wyle about it right away as we start a Zoom interview. Did we recall that correctly? Should we have noticed?
Yes, and yes. Wyle affirms, “You’re supposed to notice that he doesn’t wear it.” However, he claims to do so. Thus, you are aware that he is lying. What else he is lying about is unknown to us.
More generally, following a powerful, Emmy-winning premiere that ended in a mass massacre, it’s all part of the objective for this new season. Concerns were raised that they might not be able to raise the stakes. According to Wyle, the goal is to delve deeper into characters and their problems rather than to raise the stakes.
“It is not our responsibility to devise yet another dramatic stunt that serves as the show’s excitement booster,” Wyle states. Being true to the characters we’ve started is our responsibility. to plot them in time and place in a realistic three-dimensional manner, letting the tension and drama be created by their experiences and lives.
Thus, the last-minute decision the night before led to the scene without a helmet. Robby was supposed to wear a helmet. But Wyle says he suggested to executive producer John Wells that if he didn’t, “We won’t know what to trust and what not to trust from that moment forward, and the audience will be privy to a secret that the characters around him aren’t.”
“We chose that since he dug it.”
Fans can unwind: Both Frank and his dimple have returned, as has nurse Dana.
The date, July 4, was scarcely picked at random. Imagine fireworks, holiday get-togethers, and both imagined and unimaginable accidents. Additionally, given the events of the previous season occurred ten months ago, timing is crucial for the characters.
During those months, Dr. Frank Langdon was in rehab. When he was caught taking prescription medications to fund his addiction in the first season, the diligent senior resident with the well-known dimpled chin got into major problems.
Frank has been granted a respite, and today is his first day back. For example, Robby is not overjoyed.
However, Frank’s actor, Patrick Ball, is overjoyed by his own reprieve. He had been waiting for his character’s fate while gnawing his fingernails.
Ball jokes, “I’ve been praying for a job and hoping I don’t get fired pretty much the entire time on ‘The Pitt.” “I was perspiring a lot.” Walking down a wet New York street, he received a call from Wells with the happy news that he would return.
The character of the all-knowing charge nurse Dana, played by Katherine LaNasa, felt similarly uneasy. She won one of the show’s five Emmys and was a breakout star of the first season. However, her character also appeared to be leaving after being brutally punched by a rowdy patient.
“Really, don’t get rid of me right away!” “I thought,” LaNasa says. Fortunately, Dana has returned as well, leading with the spunky yet maternal attitude that her title suggests.
Regarding Dana, LaNasa says, “I see her as a basketball coach.” She’s examining what’s happening and what people need in order to perform at their highest level. … I feel like I’ve been a mother my entire life because my children are 24 years apart in age.
Numerous new medications, new technologies, and a new doctor
Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi, a significant addition to the enlarged cast, intends to replace Robby as the primary attending physician during his sabbatical (on his motorcycle!).
Robby has serious doubts about Al-Hashimi, who is portrayed by Sepideh Moafi, because he is a strong supporter of artificial intelligence and new technologies. Furthermore, even for a single day (or season), they are not accustomed to sharing leadership responsibilities. Moafi says, “There’s a learning curve.”
Talk about a learning curve: The performers have acquired a lot more new medicine, as have their characters.
Playing Melissa “Mel” King, a third-year resident, Taylor Dearden declares, “There are a LOT more procedures.” A doozy, or “clamshell,” in which doctors cut across the chest to reveal the heart and lungs, is among the first ones we see. Al-Hashimi’s phrase, “Convert to clamshell!” comes next.
Mel, a neurodivergent person, is coping with a lot. “Every confidence that Mel has built up over the last ten months has been totally undermined. Dearden clarifies, “because she’s named in a malpractice suit.” “Mel is having a really difficult day as she tries to boost her own self-esteem despite the overwhelming odds against her.”
The script incorporates elements of the real world.
People in the medical field, who have enthusiastically embraced the show, provide anecdotes, according to Wyle, who not only stars but also produces and writes. Patients also do.
“We incorporate case studies, anecdotes, and stories that people share with us into the show’s structure,” Wyle explains.
Health insurance is a prime illustration of a problem the program seeks to address. There are instances where patients debate costly procedures, ask questions about payment options, or question if they can afford the ER care.
According to Wyle, the authors “talked to a lot of experts and we basically said, give us six months out, 12 months out, 18 months out” in an effort to stay up to date with changes in health insurance during the writing process. Which population is most severely impacted in the worst case scenario? “What can we put on TV that would be helpful as an informative guide?” they asked themselves.
Doctors are bad patients, as are some actors.
According to Wyle, “Doctors make terrible patients” is a major subject of this season. Robby is one example.
It goes beyond the helmet issue. Additionally, he encourages his employees to use mental health resources, yet he refuses to do the same.
Rather, he has developed a self-help mental health plan that allows him to repair an old motorcycle and embark on a rather romantic and literary journey of self-discovery, according to Wyle.
In actuality, Wyle is not a very good patient. Ask him.
When asked what kind of patient he is, the actor admits, “I don’t go to the doctor.”
“Noah dislikes visiting doctors, just as Robby dislikes seeing a psychiatrist.”
