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Before streaming service Max handed a series order to The Pitt, a new medical drama from the team behind the late, great ER, there was a concerted effort to bring back the iconic NBC property.
During an appearance on the Still Here Hollywood podcast, Noah Wyle reveals that ER‘s streaming resurgence several years ago, coupled with a desire to shine a light on COVID’s heroic first responders, led to serious discussions about dusting off Dr. Carter’s lab coat.
“When I wasn’t working [during the pandemic] I didn’t feel good about myself. I didn’t feel like I had any skills that were really valued during that period of time,” he recalls. “It really bothered me a lot that I wasn’t contributing in any meaningful way, which is where this idea for this show [The Pitt] that I’m doing now came from. It was a desire to put the spotlight back on to people that are on the frontlines, who have been taking care of us for the last five years without a break. They’re tired, they’re burned out and they’re overwhelmed — and in a lot of cases, they’re being abused. They’re heroes, and I wanted to do something that reflected that again.”
But before The Pitt came to fruition, Wyle and several ER scribes, including executive producer John Wells, entertained a return to County General. “That’s kind of the road we had started down in 2020,” the five-time Emmy nominee shares for the very first time. “I was getting all this mail from first responders and I had this desire to pivot the compliments to John Wells, so I emailed him and I said, ‘Hey, I’m getting all this lovely mail from people that are thanking us for keeping them entertained, or inspired them to go into the careers that they’re in in the first place, and I just have to say thank you. Except for my children, [ER] is probably the best thing I’ve ever done with my life, and I just want to say thanks.’ Then I went on and I said, ‘I know you don’t want to reboot the show. I don’t either. I thought it was very smart not to franchise and dilute what we did… but if you’ve ever wanted to do something much smaller, and much more contained — more of a character piece catching up to an old character and just finding out how they feel about what’s happening right now in healthcare, and use them as a jeremiad opportunity to say what you want — I would vote for that. I’d be on board for that.’
“[Wells] thought about it, and we talked about it, and then we ended up bringing in a couple of the old ER writers,” including R. Scott Gemmill and David Zabel. “We came up with a concept, and it really never got out of the starting gate,” Wyle concedes, explaining that they “had some issues” with the estate of ER creator Michael Crichton, “and the negotiations became a non-starter.”
That’s when Wyle, Wells and Gemmill pivoted to creating a new series set in the world of medicine. As previously reported, The Pitt has received a 15-episode order at Max and will aim to provide 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.” Production begins in July and is expected to run through February. Wyle, in addition to serving as star and EP, wrote two Season 1 episodes.
“In a lot of ways, it was a dodged bullet and a blessing,” Wyle says of the team’s inability to revive ER, “because that would have been the focus. It would have been, ‘Hey, it’s the brand again, and who’s coming back to play…,’ and I really want the focus to be on the content of what we’re trying to put across.”
Are you relieved that an ER revival never got off the ground? Or would you have preferred that to an entirely new medical drama, with Wyle assuming a different role? Sound off in Comments.
ER had a great final season and finale. I’m glad they didn’t reboot it.
I love ER, but, The Pitt sounds really good and the reasons Noah Wyle wants to do it are fantastic as well. Looking forward to watching him in this new show.
I wish it wasn’t on a streamer, because I would watch it. But I guess not…
it’s on HULU
The article says it’s s on MAX not Hulu. If that’s right we have it and I’ll drfinately watch it
The Pitt will be on Max. ER is on Hulu
ER is currently on MAX. Started a re-watch about a month or so ago–better than HULU because it’s commercial-free.
The show sounds interesting and I’ll probably check it out but I really want to highlight Wyle’s statement about health care workers and the heroic efforts they’ve made and continued to make, since despite a society-wide attempt to memory hole the entire pandemic, he’s right to point out that it’s not over and we are currently in year five of this extra strain to our health care system. It’s better in many ways but it’s far from over and I really appreciate him making a point of that.
I watched ER. I would watch a rebooted ER. I would watch The Pitt if it was on broadcast or cable instead of streaming. What’s so great about streaming, anyway?
You can watch when you want? Streaming itself is a good thing. It’s technology. The only bad thing is companies trying to overcharge people for content. Less and less people are watching OTA and paying for cable so that to them isn’t enough money to justify as many shows now. So adding streaming was to try to get more revenue. Less and less people wil be watching as there’s just so many choices. Tubi and Pluto TV have it free with ads and I think that works great. I hope we see more of that!
I’d love to see it from the ER point of view. We’ve been rewatching the series for the last few months. Shows of that caliber are few.
I highly recommend Transplant.
I’d totally watch an ER reboot, but it was as perfect as can be. So I think it’s better to leave it alone. And the new show sounds def. interesting. I’ll give it a try especially with Noah Wyle involved.
Loved ER. Perfect combination of actors, stories and the Chicago setting topped off by the unmistakable theme music. My favorite three words from the show that sticks with me as a boss is ‘set the tone’. So simple but so important when you are in charge. Reboots are great until they actually happen and then it’s usual a case of it wasn’t as good as the original. Glad they aren’t touching it. I look forward to seeing his new show.
I agree with Noah that an ER revival would have been playing against great expectations. The Pitt sounds very interesting & I’ll have to subscribe to MAX when it comes out!
I’m not relieved. I have been wanting an ER reboot where ER continues in the now with some of the old actors reprising their rolls. But I wanted to see the next generation join the cast: Mark Green’s daughters, Luca and Abbey’s son, Susan’s son, Greg’s brother, Carry’s son….I wanted to see them take up the torch at County!
ER is probably my favorite show. I remember being in HS when it premiered and I watched the whole run. I’ve rewatched it many times since between syndication, dvd, & streaming. It’s one of the shows I have often used as an example of one that did things right in regards to bringing in new characters. They didn’t just dump a bunch of the original people. They succeeded in introducing new faces while the old ones were still there and taking the time to make you care about them same as you did the others. They had a great rotation of recurring characters too. If they revived it in any capacity I’d watch it. I’ll definitely be checking out this new show. I’m very interested in it being set in Pittsburgh.