Max announced its Pittsburgh-set, Noah Wyle-starring medical drama “The Pitt” will premiere on the streaming service in January.
That’s a little bit of a surprise given that the 15-episode first season won’t wrap production until February, suggesting, perhaps, that the first season will debut in two batches of episodes. Or, depending on when in January “The Pitt” debuts — Max did not announce an exact date — maybe the episodes will drop weekly over 15 consecutive weeks with some quick editing on the episodes that film in February and would stream in April.
Either way, that now means two Pittsburgh-set medical dramas will debut in the first month of 2025. CBS’s “Watson” premieres Jan. 26.
Although both shows are set in Pittsburgh, turns out the town is big enough for both of them. “The Pitt” is set at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center on the North Side, using Allegheny General Hospital as its exterior. The fictional “Watson” hospital, University Hospital of Pittsburgh, is situated in Oakland.
Both series are primarily filmed elsewhere — “The Pitt” in Burbank, Calif., and “Watson” in Vancouver, Canada — but earlier this year both shows sent crews to Pittsburgh to film scenes that will be inserted in episodes.
The entire first season of “The Pitt,” named in part because the emergency room is located in the hospital’s basement, will take place over one day, a 15-hour work shift. Wyle’s character will be seen entering the hospital in a scene filmed in Pittsburgh in episode one and exiting the hospital in the season finale in another scene shot in Pittsburgh. Other locally filmed scenes will be interspersed in episodes, including a scene of a Life Flight helicopter landing on the hospital’s rooftop, as seen in the show’s teaser trailer.
“The Pitt,” executive produced by Carnegie Mellon University grad and “ER” showrunner John Wells, has been surrounded by controversy since the widow of “ER” creator Michael Crichton charged that “The Pitt” began development as an “ER” reboot. Crichton’s estate claims producers renamed the show and moved its setting from Chicago to Pittsburgh 72 hours after negotiations for the “ER” reboot ended. “Pitt” producer Warner Bros. television filed a motion to dismiss the Crichton estate’s lawsuit, saying Sherri Crichton’s 72-hour timeline is “incorrect” and writing, “plaintiff cannot use Mr. Crichton’s ‘ER’ contract as a speech-stifling weapon to prevent defendants from ever making a show about emergency medicine.”
Channel surfing
Jim Henson’s “Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock” live North American tour, written, directed and choreographed by John Tartaglia (“Avenue Q,” “Shrek: The Musical”) makes a stop at the Byham Theater March 27. Details and tickets at fragglerocklive.com. … “Juror #2,” likely the last film Clint Eastwood will direct, streams on Max Dec. 20. … Netflix’s “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off” won’t return for a second season.
You can reach TV writer Rob Owen at rowen@triblive.com or 412-380-8559. Follow @RobOwenTV on Threads, Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location.
