91³Ô¹ÏÍø

Watch CBS News
Entertainment

How accurate is "The Pitt"? A UPMC doctor weighs in.

By John Shumway

/ CBS Pittsburgh

Set in a Pittsburgh emergency room, the HBO Max series "The Pitt" just won the prestigious Gotham TV Award for Breakthrough Drama Series.

The show is not your average medical drama. Its creators, stars and producers are dedicated to real-world accuracy.

From the first frame of the video, there is no doubt where you are, as viewers see an Allegheny Health Network helicopter landing at Allegheny General on Pittsburgh's North Side, with star Noah Wyle as Dr. Robby, waiting for a patient.

"They have done an extraordinary job; they have emergency medicine physicians on set at all times," said Dr. Sylvia Owusu-Ansah with UPMC Children's pediatric emergency medicine.

"The Pitt" has earned critical acclaim from medical professionals, and not just for the accuracy in how they handle complex medical language and procedures, but also for the topics they tackle, in part because they went to doctors like Owusu-Ansah, starting with a question: What storylines have not been told that need to be when it comes to medical dramas?

"My particular story was a teenager who was in sickle cell crisis, but was thought to be "aggressive and agitated."

Dr. Sylvia described the scene as "spot on," and showrunners brought her to Hollywood for a sit-down to pick her brain.

"I turned the corner, and Noah Wyle was there, and I almost passed out. I was not expecting him to be there," Dr. Owusu-Ansah said.

But the meeting ended up spawning varying diagnostic scenes.

"Marijuana or marijuana edibles are very accessible nowadays. We're also seeing that intoxication in children," she said.

Dr. Owusu-Ansah is also why the Hill District's Freedom House Ambulance Service, the beginning of emergency medicine, was featured in episode eight.

"I told them that this story needs to be told, and sure enough, they told it," she added.

She says that the show's success is grounded in listening.

"It's just incredible how accurate they are, how intentional they are, and how they really acknowledge our medical expertise and take that, and that's what's made the show what it is today."

Dr. Owusu-Ansah doesn't know what other experiences of hers will make their way into the show, but there are others that the producers and writers were very interested in.

The show's second season just started filming, and they are coming back for more filming in Pittsburgh, possibly in September.

In:

© 2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
const link = doc.createElement('link'); link.rel = 'stylesheet'; link.href = '/fly/fly/bundles/cbsnewscontent/css/cmp-banner.min.css?v=296763317a51cab90faa73f1bb146d5c'; doc.head.appendChild(link); doc.body.innerHTML = CONSENT_MESSAGE; } else { el.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', CONSENT_MESSAGE); } }); } function hidePrivacyMessage() { // Remove from the main document document.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); // Remove from inside any iframes document.querySelectorAll('iframe').forEach(iframe => { const doc = iframe.contentDocument || iframe.contentWindow.document; doc.querySelectorAll(`.${CONSENT_MESSAGE_CLASS}`).forEach(el => el.remove()); }); } function activateGatedScripts() { // Handle both new format (cmp-gated-script) and old OneTrust/Ketch format (optanon-category-4) const gatedScripts = Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('script.cmp-gated-script, script.optanon-category-4')); // Activate scripts sequentially with a small delay to avoid timing issues let delay = 0; gatedScripts.forEach(function(placeholder, index) { setTimeout(function() { // Skip if already processed if (placeholder.hasAttribute('data-cmp-processed')) { return; } placeholder.setAttribute('data-cmp-processed', 'true'); const newScript = document.createElement('script'); newScript.type = 'text/javascript'; // Try new format first (data-cmp-src), then fall back to old format (data-src) const src = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-src') || placeholder.getAttribute('data-src'); if (src) { newScript.src = src; } else if (placeholder.textContent) { // Inline script - just copy the content newScript.textContent = placeholder.textContent; } // Handle new format attributes (data-cmp-attrs) - for both inline and external scripts const attrs = placeholder.getAttribute('data-cmp-attrs'); if (attrs) { const tempDiv = document.createElement('div'); tempDiv.innerHTML = '
<\/div>'; const tempAttrs = tempDiv.firstChild.attributes; for (let i = 0; i < tempAttrs.length; i++) { // For external scripts, allow defer/async. For inline scripts, skip them (not valid) if (src || (tempAttrs[i].name !== 'async' && tempAttrs[i].name !== 'defer')) { newScript.setAttribute(tempAttrs[i].name, tempAttrs[i].value); } } } // Copy other attributes from old OneTrust format for (let i = 0; i < placeholder.attributes.length; i++) { const attr = placeholder.attributes[i]; // Skip attributes we've already handled or don't want to copy if (!['class', 'data-src', 'data-type', 'data-cmp-src', 'data-cmp-attrs', 'data-cmp-processed', 'type', 'async', 'defer', 'src'].includes(attr.name)) { newScript.setAttribute(attr.name, attr.value); } } placeholder.parentNode.replaceChild(newScript, placeholder); // If external script, manually trigger window.onload handlers after it loads // This handles widgets that use window.onload for initialization if (src) { newScript.addEventListener('load', function() { // If page already loaded and script set a new onload handler, trigger it if (document.readyState === 'complete' && window.onload) { const originalOnload = window.onload; window.onload = null; // Clear temporarily to prevent loops originalOnload(); // Execute the handler } }); } }, delay); delay += 500; // 500ms delay between each script to allow full loading }); } cbsoptanon.onScriptsReady(function(cmp) { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (!allowed) { showPrivacyMessage(); } else { activateGatedScripts(); } }); cmp.ot.awaitInitialConsent(function(consent_model) { cmp.ot.addOnConsentChangedHandler(function() { cmp.ot.targetingAllowed(function(allowed) { if (allowed) { hidePrivacyMessage(); activateGatedScripts(); } else { showPrivacyMessage(); } }); }); }); });