The new medical drama The Pit streaming on Max has its season finale this Thursday.

The show tackles urgent issues like the impact of gun violence, hospital staffing shortages,

and the lasting effects of the pandemic, earning praise from both audiences and critics for its raw,

realistic portrayal of life inside American hospitals.

I spoke with Noah Wiley, who executive produces and stars

in the pit for our arts and culture series, Canvas. Noah Wiley, welcome to the News Hour.

Thank you very much for having me. The pit plays out over the course of a single shift inside

the emergency department at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, with each episode representing a single hour on the job.

What's remarkable about this show is nearly every moment

plays out on the ER floor, and that format really adds to the urgency.

What was the creative intention behind that approach?

To give that exact desired effect, we wanted to come up with a device

that felt intimate and created a sense of tension, analogous to doing kind of a ride-along with a police

officer in the backseat of a cruiser or being embedded with a combat unit as a journalist.

What's going on?

We were discussing the options for treating your son.

He already looks better.

He is not.

And by refusing the spinal tap, we don't know how to help him.

You can turn your head, but you can't really leave.

And you're going to be sort of stuck witnessing everything

in real time while these practitioners go about their duties

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