Interview With "The Pitt" Director Amanda Marsalis

The Next Best Picture Podcast

Tv & Film

4.2 • 542 Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"6:00 P.M." is the twelfth episode of the American medical drama television series "The Pitt." The episode was written by co-executive producer Joe Sachs and series creator R. Scott Gemmill, and directed by Amanda Marsalis. The series is set in Pittsburgh, following the staff of the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital ER (nicknamed "The Pitt") during a 15-hour emergency department shift. The series mainly follows Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, a senior attending still reeling from some traumas. In this particular episode, the team must deal with dozens of patients flooding the ER following a mass shooting. The episode received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising the pacing, tension, writing, and performances, and single-handedly helped many newcomers to the series pick up on the show's buzz and start watching, leading to a significant increase in viewership. Marsalis was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards for directing this episode. Marsalis was kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about her work on the episode, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the series, which is now available to watch in full on HBO Max. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You were listening to The Next Best Picture podcast, and this is Nadia Dalamonte's interview
0:05.2	with the Emmy nominated director for the Pitt 6 p.m., Amanda Marsalis.
0:11.9	Okay, everybody, listen up. There is an active shooter at Pit Fest.
0:18.7	We are instituting hospital-wide emergency protocols.
0:21.6	Call your loved ones now if you need to.
0:25.6	EMS will be overwhelmed.
0:31.6	This is No Frills combat zone medicine.
0:39.5	Communicate.
0:41.8	Ask for help if you need it.
0:46.1	We will get through this together.
0:47.9	Okay, well, Amanda, thank you so, so much for joining me today.
0:52.0	And first off, congratulations on your Emmy nomination for Outstanding
0:56.7	Directing in the Pit. So well deserved and just incredible. Every time somebody says that, I want to
1:01.9	cry. I'm just like, I can't believe that sentence is being said to me. Oh. Yeah, it's absolutely
1:07.3	incredible. And I'm so excited to speak with you about this show because for starters, it's been my obsession for months. It's my favorite show of the year. And I know that I'm not alone on that as well. The show has become such a phenomenon. Striking Accord not only artistically, but also in real life among health care workers. And I wanted to know, before we dive into the pit, and there's so much to dive into,
1:30.1	I read that you also have roots in photography.
1:33.3	And I'm curious to know how your experience as a photographer could have helped inform your
1:38.8	choices and your kind of eye for detail as a director.
1:42.8	I think being a photographer made the visual aspect of storytelling and directing come very
1:49.5	naturally to me, and it was learning to work with actors.
1:53.6	That was the, like, my Mount Everest, you know?
1:58.0	Yeah.
	...

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