‘The Pit’ will not be disinfected for your protection. Season 1 of the critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning HBO Max medical drama will be broadcast on basic cable via TNT next month, so there will be no editing for the intense and sometimes live streaming version.
This means that all “graphic medical images” from the show, including nudity, will remain and be seen on TNT when the show makes its linear premiere on Monday, December 1st at 9pm ET.
TNT said in a press release that the decision not to edit “The Pit” for linear TV was in line with “the show’s core mission of accurately portraying the reality of the emergency department.” These “graphic medical imagery” scenes, including a depiction of childbirth in episode 11, are “essential to the show’s depiction of the raw emotional toll such work takes on those who dedicate their lives to the medical profession,” the cabler said.
TNT acknowledged that such images are typically edited and unedited from programs acquired on terrestrial commercial television, and said it “includes notes at the beginning of each episode and during commercial breaks.” There are no rules preventing TNT from airing episodes uncut. As a cable network, TNT is not subject to the same content standards that the FCC requires of over-the-air TV outlets.
A partnership between John Wells Productions and Warner Bros. Television, the 15-episode first season of “The Pit” will air three consecutive episodes each week on TNT from December 1st to December 29th.
Channing Dungey, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group and US Networks, announced at Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront presentation in May that “The Pit” will air linearly on TNT this fall. The idea is to introduce the show to new viewers who probably haven’t watched it on streaming yet, and to use the linear run as a bit of marketing preparation for Season 2’s January premiere on HBO Max.
“All of us at The Pit are thrilled that TNT audiences will have the opportunity to see our Emmy Award-winning show starting December 1,” executive producer John Wells said in a statement. “We are also extremely grateful to TNT for allowing this series to air as it was originally filmed and broadcast on HBO Max.”
Season 1 of ‘The Pit’ stars Noah Wyle, Tracy Ifeat, Patrick Ball, Katherine Ranasa, Supriya Ganesh, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden, Isa Briones, Jaelan Howell, and Shabana Azeez. Each episode follows Dr. Michael “Robbie” Robinavich, played by Wiley, for a full hour during his 15-hour shift as chief assistant in a hospital’s emergency room. at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center.
R. Scott Gemmill created the series and serves as executive producer. Weil is also an executive producer along with Welles, Erin Jontow, Simran Baidwan and Michael Hissrich of John Wells Productions.
“The Pit” Season 2 is currently in production for a January rerun on HBO Max. According to the streamer, “The Pit” reached 20 million viewers worldwide per episode. The show also made waves at this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, and also won first Emmys for Noah Wyle (Leading Actor in a Drama), Katherine LaNasa (Supporting Actress in a Drama) and Sean Hatosy (Guest Actor in a Drama). The show also won an award for outstanding casting for a drama series. “The Pit” also won the Humanitas Award for Television Drama this year.
But the show is also influencing real-world medical and healthcare conversations. A recent study by the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California found that “The Pit” changed the conversation about issues such as organ donation and end-of-life planning.
In a press release on Monday, TNT quoted L. Anthony Cirillo, M.D., FACEP, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), regarding the show’s impact on first responders and medical professionals: “‘The Pit’ Giving everyone a rare and authentic perspective on what it’s like to practice emergency medicine, this show offers a unique glimpse into the humanity of emergency medicine and what it takes to heal people in a broken system. I’m extremely proud of this show and grateful for the opportunity to show people who we are, the challenges we face, and the work we do every day.The cast and crew, especially the ACEP members who wrote and produced this show, have made it such a success. We are deeply grateful for the power and are excited that “The Pit” will soon resonate with even more people and bring new urgency to the important conversations about the real health care system fixes needed by emergency physicians and the millions of patients who rely on us. Worth it. ”
“The Pit” will be responsible for HBO Max’s latest show, which follows in the footsteps of HBO’s “True Detective: North Country,” “Hacks,” “Peacemaker,” and more.
“Those were really good experiments for us,” Dungey said in May. “We’re learning a little bit about how to platform the show, how to make it feel more like an event. Those were really good learnings for us heading into the launch of ‘The Pit’ in the fourth quarter of this year. It’s great for us to do things like that and it helps Max as well. If it drives viewers to the new season of Max, it’s a win-win for both parties.”
When it comes to keeping content intact, basic cable once followed broadcast standards and conventions primarily out of advertiser concerns, but in recent years it has loosened its content restrictions, particularly with regard to language. And advertisers who once resented TV-MA’s content are now willing to embrace racy content to appeal to younger viewers who don’t mind a few F-bombs and graphic images.
Here’s the marketing campaign for TNT’s “The Pitt”:
