Series star Noah Wyle was on hand at WBD’s upfronts presentation on Wednesday, where The A.V. Club was in attendance to hear his remarks. “When we set out, our goal with The Pitt was to make a show that was not just about medical cases, but about the people behind them, the dedicated folks who sacrificed daily in service of others inside of a fraying system that currently feels like it’s teetering on the edge. The aim was to lead into those relatable life and death moments, the ones that make us root for everyone on the show, because they all feel like real people that we know and real crises with real needs,” he said. “The outcome is what we always wish to happen with shows, but almost never does: To make something timely, something of the moment, something with real impact that reaches a lot of people and leaves a lasting impression. My inbox is proving to be a bit of a lightning rod as medical practitioners are reaching out to say that they feel seen, they feel heard, and that the storylines that we tell on The Pitt are very much hitting home. As an actor, writer, and executive producer on this series, I am quite proud of this outcome.”
While the advent of streaming has nearly made linear television extinct, studios have lately experimented with ways to utilize one format to boost the other, even before The Pitt was scheduled for TNT. CBS ran the Paramount+ series Tulsa King last summer, and Hulu experimented by airing the first season of Only Murders In The Building on ABC in early 2024. The streamer’s new hit Paradise got the same treatment earlier this year. “It’s something we will continue to do because what you see in a fragmented marketplace—as popular as these shows are—there are still people who have not seen them,” Craig Erwich, president of the Disney Television Group, explained to The Los Angeles Times last year. “Putting them in different places and telling people they are there is always additive. It’s never cannibalistic.” Apparently linear television—which is still making money off advertising, even if the industry is contracting—still has a place in this world.
Additional reporting by Saloni Gajjar.
