{"id":374304,"date":"2026-06-25T10:53:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T10:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/374304\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T10:53:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T10:53:13","slug":"how-the-pitt-is-helping-revive-l-a-s-battered-tv-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/374304\/","title":{"rendered":"How ‘The Pitt’ is helping revive L.A.’s battered TV business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hollywood is in the midst of a 9-1-1 emergency.<\/p>\n

The industry has been pounded by years of jobs losses, business closings and the flight of production to cheaper locales, leaving once bustling soundstages around Los Angeles half empty.<\/p>\n

But one high-profile TV hospital drama is offering hope for a cure.<\/p>\n

HBO Max\u2019s \u201cThe Pitt,\u201d which resumedproduction this month for its third season, has swelled into a massive hit. It\u2019s been embraced by fans, critics and medical professionals for its realistic portrayal of the high-stress life inside an urban trauma center. <\/p>\n

The Emmy Award-winning drama<\/a> has also become an urgently needed Hollywood success story at a time when much of the local film and TV industry has left California for other states and countries. <\/p>\n

Though Pittsburgh is the show\u2019s fictional setting, \u201cThe Pitt\u201d is filmed almost entirely on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. The show has provided jobs for an estimated 1,000 people, including hundreds of background performers.<\/p>\n

Nearly 200 local businesses, including caterers and special effects houses, have been lifted by the enterprise. Season One alone contributed $125 million to California\u2019s gross domestic product, according to an estimate by Oxford Economics.<\/p>\n

As the series star Noah Wyle<\/a> puts it, the production has become \u201cThe Little Engine that Could.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re old men who didn\u2019t want to go away from our homes any longer,\u201d Wyle, who also serves as an executive producer and writer on the show, said half-joking. \u201cWe\u2019ve all been plying our trades out of state, chasing tax credits and being away from our families for a really long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Myriam <\/p>\n

Myriam Arougheti, head makeup artist responsible for all of the realistic prosthetics on \u201cThe Pitt,\u201d is photographed on set at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank on May 28. <\/p>\n

(Christina House \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

A different kind of medical drama<\/p>\n

Wyle was introduced to millions of TV viewers three decades ago as a boyish medical student<\/a> on \u201cER.\u201d <\/p>\n

The L.A. native, who played Dr. John Carter, was the newbie in the NBC ensemble drama that debuted in 1994 \u2014 the same year as \u201cFriends,\u201d another Warner Bros. hit. <\/p>\n

It was the height of \u201cMust See TV,\u201d and Los Angeles was the place to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery soundstage had a different show,\u201d Wyle, now 55, reminisced during a recent interview on the Warner Bros. lot. Back then, the major networks each ordered nearly two dozen shows, with most producing at least 22 episodes a season. <\/p>\n

Broadcast schedules brought stability and a distinct cadence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very much like a factory turn-out \u2014 although a very good factory product,\u201d Wyle said.<\/p>\n

That was before Canada,<\/a> and eventually Britain<\/a>, began luring American productions with big tax breaks. Louisiana, Georgia, New York and other states followed suit with their own sweeteners, pulling even more production out of LA. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had not worked in L.A. since \u2018ER,\u2019\u201d Wyle said of the show that ended in 2009<\/a>. \u201cIt had been 16 years since I had slept in my own bed and worked in this city \u2014 a long time to be away from your kids when they\u2019re in school and your parents when they\u2019re aging.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Warner <\/p>\n

Warner Bros. studio complex includes a handful of soundstages built a century ago. <\/p>\n

(Eric Thayer \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

California adopted its own film tax program in 2009<\/a>, but its initial rollout did little to slow the exodus of productions. <\/p>\n

The local industry got a boost a decade later when major studios spent wildly to make shows to launch streaming services<\/a> to compete with Netflix. But then came the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the actors and writers strikes in 2023.<\/p>\n

A bounce back after the strikes failed to materialize.<\/p>\n

Faced with hefty streaming losses, media companies slashed their programming budgets. Spending on scripted TV series plummeted 23% to $27.7 billion between 2022 and 2025, according to ProdPro. <\/p>\n

The reset occurred just as cable programmer Discovery spent $43-billion to buy the larger WarnerMedia, leaving the merged entity \u2014 Warner Bros. Discovery \u2014 drowning in debt.<\/p>\n

Warner Chief Executive David Zaslav<\/a>, who\u2019d spent his early career at NBC, desperately needed lower-cost shows with high production values to entice the streaming crowd. He took his problem to writer-producer John Wells, the prolific showrunner behind such NBC greats as \u201cER\u201d and \u201cThe West Wing,\u201d as well as Showtime\u2019s \u201cShameless.\u201d<\/p>\n

How could Warner\u2019s nascent HBO Max streaming service<\/a> hold onto fickle subscribers? Netflix\u2019s practice of dropping shows in short bursts of eight to 10 episodes wasn\u2019t working for HBO Max. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too easy for people to jump in, see the show they want, cancel their subscription and wait until next time,\u201d Wells said during a recent interview at his Hollywood offices, recalling his conversations with Zaslav. <\/p>\n

\"Realistic \"On \"On \"On <\/p>\n

On the set of HBO Max TV hospital drama, \u201cThe Pitt,\u201d at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank on Thursday, May 28, 2026. <\/p>\n

Wells was willing to produce a series for less than half the budget of a prestige streaming drama, which typically costs about $15 million an episode to make.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a big believer in \u2018things get better when you throw more money at it,\u2019\u201d Wells said. \u201cA lot of creativity happens when you\u2019re figuring out how to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warner Bros. executives were hungry for a hospital drama, a TV staple. Wells initially wasn\u2019t too eager after spending decades producing medical-themed shows: \u201cChina Beach<\/a>,\u201d \u201cThird Watch,\u201d and of course, \u201cER.\u201d <\/p>\n

Wyle said he\u2019d long recoiled at the thought of draping another stethoscope around his neck after more than a decade on \u201cER.\u201d <\/p>\n

R. Scott Gemmill, a top writer-producer on \u201cER\u201d for eight seasons, also was wary.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just couldn\u2019t imagine doing another version that was as good or as interesting as being on \u2018ER,\u2019\u201d Gemmill said.<\/p>\n

They came around. Wyle had friends and personal ties to the medical profession \u2014 his mother had worked as a hospital nurse<\/a> at Kaiser Permanente on Sunset Boulevard \u2014 and he\u2019d become fascinated with the upheaval in the hospital industry since COVID-19. <\/p>\n

Gemmill, the showrunner, found a way to differentiate the show. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is emergency medicine like now on the other side of COVID?\u201d said Channing Dungey, chairman of the Warner Bros. Television Group. \u201cThe world has changed a lot since the days of \u2018ER\u2019 … It\u2019s a totally different environment now with some very interesting stories to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, hard financial choices would be required to bring the show in on a budget of about $6.6 million an episode for its first season.<\/p>\n

They needed an expansive space to simulate a Pittsburgh trauma hospital, one that would support a nearly 600-member cast and crew as well dozens of story lines<\/a> that could unfold over multiple seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said it can be in Los Angeles or it can be in New York,\u201d Wells said. \u201cThose are the only places with a deep enough cast pool.\u201d <\/p>\n

It helped that Wyle and Gemmill, a veteran of Paramount\u2019s military dramas \u201cJAG\u201d and \u201cNCIS: Los Angeles\u201d were keen to stay in L.A.<\/p>\n

\u201cShooting here has so many benefits: all the crafts people that live and work here, and all of the talent,\u201d Gemmill said. \u201cThere is something very special about this place.\u201d<\/p>\n

But years of runaway production have taken a toll.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are gone,\u201d Wells said. \u201cThey\u2019ve left the business. … You\u2019ve got to support your family and if you\u2019re not working for 13-,14- or 16- months, it\u2019s hard. … We\u2019ve lost a base of expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warner Bros. agreed to shoot \u201cThe Pitt\u201d on its storied lot, which is home to several other TV series, including \u201cThe Voice\u201d and \u201cAbbott Elementary,\u201d and is now 91% occupied.<\/p>\n

As word spread, \u201ca whole lot of people wanted to be involved,\u201d Wells said. <\/p>\n

Wells and Gemmill had pitched a 12-episode season to follow an ER physician, played by Wyle, during each successive hour of his 12-hour shift. They wanted the series to feel like it was unfolding in real time, and under realistic conditions, such as the pressures of treating mass casualties and frustrated patients who have been waiting for hours to see a doctor. <\/p>\n

Warner Bros. insisted on additional episodes. Both sides agreed on a 15-episode season with new installments dropping each week on HBO Max.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can get almost four months of stories out of those 15 episodes,\u201d Dungey said.<\/p>\n

The studio agreed to Wells\u2019 proposal to forego shooting a pilot episode, which can cost more than $10 million. <\/p>\n

\"Noah <\/p>\n

Noah Wyle in Max\u2019s \u201cThe Pitt,\u201d Season 1 – Episode 1<\/p>\n

(Warrick Page \/ Max)<\/p>\n

The studio and producers also decided to construct the series around just one star: Wyle, who plays the weary Dr. Michael \u201cRobby\u201d Robinavitch, the emergency medicine chief.<\/p>\n

Hiring less prominent actors to round out the cast was key to keeping actor salaries within the show\u2019s budget. <\/p>\n

The large cast \u2014 including hundreds of background actors, many who appear in consecutive episodes \u2014 made L.A. the best choice, Wells said, saving the cost of renting hotel rooms in Albuquerque or Vancouver for months.<\/p>\n

In April, 2024, the state approved a tax credit of up to $12.2 million for \u201cThe Pitt.\u201d <\/p>\n

Warner Bros. committed that the first season would span 135 production days and employ 188 crew members and 495 performers. <\/p>\n

Building an ER<\/p>\n

The century-old, 110-acre Warner Bros. studio lot boasts 30 soundstages, including a 21,600-square-foot cavern \u2014 Stage 22 \u2014 near the back of the complex.<\/p>\n

There, in early 2024, a hospital emergency wing \u2014 \u201cthe pit\u201d of fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center \u2014 took shape. The last feature film that had been shot in Stage 22 was Clint Eastwood\u2019s 2011 \u201cJ. Edgar.\u201d<\/p>\n

The studio spent more than $5 million to replicate a full-sized, modern-day ER, using money that would have gone into a pilot. <\/p>\n

To imagine the world they wanted to create, Wells and fellow executive producer Michael Hissrich turned to Nina Ruscio, a meticulous production designer they\u2019d worked with before. Ruscio was on another show when they called her in December 2023, but she agreed to design the ground plan during her holiday break.<\/p>\n

She dug in, studying blueprints and the work of noted hospital designer Jon Huddy and even making surreptitious visits to actual hospitals. She combed the internet for a look inside Pittsburgh\u2019s Allegheny General Hospital before discovering an image of the hospital\u2019s corridor, revealing the striking maroon and green marble flooring that she was able to match. <\/p>\n

She conceptualized a maze of curved-corner corridors with decorative pillars to project a sense of history. The unit has 25 beds, triage rooms, 200 computer screens, authentic medical equipment and a cheerful pediatric room that she and Wyle collaborated on. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very important not to fall into the trap of a lot of hospital shows,\u201d Ruscio said, giving a tour of her invention. \u201cThings are over-designed; they\u2019re frequently blue and the lighting is exquisite.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the story that we were trying to tell, which was the realism, almost documentary-style, this blanched palate felt right,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

LED light strips, which can be adjusted for intensity and in 50 shades of white, were installed into the set\u2019s ceiling. Those 689 fixtures provide the lighting for filming, eliminating a time-intensive process of gaffers setting up bulky floor and rafter lights and blocking shots with stand-ins.<\/p>\n

The set is \u201ca masterpiece,\u201d Hissrich said.<\/p>\n

The trend for many big-budget streaming shows has been to shoot on location, allowing for cinematic cut-away shots, as well as hefty tax rebates that lower production costs and allow producers to add movie-like special effects. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was an assumption that the audience needed bigger in scale, bigger in action,\u201d Wells said. <\/p>\n

Instead, \u201cThe Pitt\u201d stays on the lot, all but eliminating transportation, security, film permits and other on-location costs. Cast and crew members take just one trip to Pittsburgh a year for scenic shots.<\/p>\n

Ruscio designed a sloping outdoor arrival bay for ambulances, on the edge of Stage 22 \u2014 virtually identical to one in Pittsburgh. By Season 2, the show had fully expanded to a second Warner stage. <\/p>\n

\"Nina <\/p>\n

Nina Ruscio, Emmy-nominated production designer, is photographed on the set of \u201cThe Pitt\u201d at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank on May 28.<\/p>\n

Much of \u201cThe Pitt\u2019s\u201d authenticity comes from its stunning special effects. \u201cBlood mats\u201d were molded \u2014 red rubbery silicone splats \u2014 which can be temporarily stuck to the floors and walls with no cleaning required.<\/p>\n

Lifelike heads and torsos are made for the TV doctors to operate on. One $60,000 torso bears an incision across its midsection, revealing a chest cavity with realistic looking organs. There\u2019s also a life-sized head of teenage boy with reddish freckles \u2014 and a bulging eyeball \u2014 from Season 1 when a character was rushed to the ER after getting hit in the face with a baseball bat. <\/p>\n

A physican, Dr. Joe Sachs, has been part of the writing staff from the beginning to ensure the show is accurate. A second doctor was added to the writing room last year, and a third joined this year. Medical consultants, two other doctors and nurses work with the cast to ensure accuracy with the medical procedures. <\/p>\n

Crew members wear scrubs on set so the camera can sweep 360 degrees and everybody in view looks like they belong in a hospital. <\/p>\n

Shooting in sequence<\/p>\n

Other decisions were made for \u201cmore efficient shooting days,\u201d Gemmill said, including his mandate to shoot script pages in linear order, which is highly unusual. Directors typically film scenes out of sequence. <\/p>\n

\u201cGetting through nine pages [of the script] in under 12 hours is very important,\u201d Gemmill said. \u201cIt allows people to have a good quality of life. People look forward to coming to work, because they know it\u2019s not going to be a slog.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Inside <\/p>\n

A look inside the soundstage where HBO Max TV hospital drama \u201cThe Pitt\u201d is filmed at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank.<\/p>\n

Few expected \u201cThe Pitt\u201d to become a major hit, let alone a rallying cry for filming in LA.<\/p>\n

The production resulted in nearly $87 million in spending in California, including $62.2 million in wages and salaries for the show\u2019s 590 employees, according to the Oxford Economics report commissioned by the Motion Picture Assn. <\/p>\n

Another $24.8 million was spent for goods and services, primarily provided by 200 local businesses in the Los Angeles region, the report found.<\/p>\n

Wiley has become a leading advocate for filming in L.A. He extolled the need to reinvigorate the local film industry, and the benefits of \u201cThe Pitt,\u201d at a recent hearing in Burbank, part of an effort to nudge Congress to pass a national film tax credit.<\/p>\n

Shooting in LA may not have been possible without California\u2019s film tax incentive. The second and third seasons also qualified for the credit. This year\u2019s allocation \u2014 up to $24.1 million \u2014 doubles the grant of the show\u2019s first season. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Pitt\u201d is, in many ways, a throwback to how TV used to be made.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat have we known how to do for a long time?\u201d Wells said. \u201cThat is to produce in a certain way to try and engage an audience with a group of characters they want to spend time with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the biggest hits for streaming services were made for broadcast TV, including \u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy,\u201d \u201cFriends,\u201d \u201cScrubs,\u201d \u201cThe Office,\u201d \u201cGilmore Girls\u201d and \u201cThe West Wing.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAudiences get connected to characters,\u201d Wells said. \u201cThey come back, they want to see what happens with those characters because they care about them. That\u2019s how television, and entertainment as a whole, has worked forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Noah <\/p>\n

Noah Wyle, star of \u201cThe Pitt,\u201d is photographed at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank on June 9. <\/p>\n

Like classic TV dramas, \u201cThe Pitt\u201d relies on compelling characters and gripping storylines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe joke that this is \u2018premium broadcast\u2019,\u201d Dungey said of \u201cThe Pitt.\u201d \u201cIt does have that same feeling of a broadcast show from the heyday \u2014 but we\u2019re doing it at premium-streaming quality standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warner Bros. has commissioned two pilots with formats modeled after \u201cThe Pitt,\u201d with plans to produce 15-episode seasons that return once a year. Dungey said one of the projects, should it move forward, will be filmed in L.A. <\/p>\n

Can the \u201cThe Pitt\u201d model, a vestige of broadcast TV\u2019s glory days, be replicated?<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely,\u201d Wells said. \u201cWe replicated it on four networks with 105 shows [a year] for 50 years.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hollywood is in the midst of a 9-1-1 emergency. The industry has been pounded by years of jobs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":374305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[9747,4566,17160,151684,151682,48,52,51,47,50,49,63,3906,13049,592,14857,5927,151685,1860,14955,151683],"class_list":["post-374304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-decade","tag-episode","tag-er","tag-gemmill","tag-john-wells","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-month","tag-other-state","tag-people","tag-pitt","tag-production","tag-programming-budget","tag-show","tag-warner-bros","tag-wyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/374305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}