The narrative pendulum of The Pitt (HBO Max) has swung in a direction that’s brought new life and depth to the medical procedural drama series genre.
The Pitt follows a day in the life of healthcare professionals at a Pittsburgh hospital as they deal with the emotional toll of treating critically ill patients. The show has been lauded by the medical community for its accuracy and realistic portrayal of emergency department staffers as they take on the physical and psychological challenges of a post-pandemic world–not to mention coping with workplace politics and their own personal crises. The Pitt has also received industry praise, most recently winning the Gotham Television Award for Breakthrough Drama Series, a plaudit bestowed upon show creator/executive producer R. Scott Gemmill, and EPs Simran Baidwan, Michael Hissrich, Erin Jontow, John Wells and Noah Wyle. The latter was also nominated for the Gotham Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Drama Series, while Katherine LaNasa earned a Gotham nod for Outstanding Supporting Performance.
The Pitt marks the second collaboration among Gemmill, Wells, Wyle and Hissrich who initially teamed on the multiple Emmy-winning ER. And among the key contributors to a standout first season for The Pitt has been a so-called “guest director,” Amanda Marsalis, who helmed four episodes (2, 4, 8 and 12) which have been among the most seminal and talked about–including the high-profile episode 12 in which the medical team struggles to take on the all-consuming task of treating music festival concert-goers who’ve become victims of a mass shooting. Marsalis keeps the camera moving, seemingly putting us smack dab in the middle of every element of the proceedings, from triage outside in the ambulance bay, to medical emergency care stations within the hospital, to even the cafeteria where family members await news about their loved ones.
For Marsalis, among the prime lessons learned from her experience on The Pitt was simply that “you never know where you’re going to make the most satisfying art.” The director explained that if you told her up front that she had the opportunity to take on “a medical drama with the guy [Wyle] who used to be on ER, I would have told you that’s not my kind of show.” Marsalis instead envisioned the epitome of a desired series to include such elements as production in multiple countries, and having to take on challenges like seemingly impossible shots. Creative nirvana for her wouldn’t have been a medical drama largely on a hospital set. But upon reading a script, connecting with the series creator and EPs, and then getting the chance to dive into and tell the stories in these episodes, Marsalis affirmed that “The Pitt is my kind of show. I’m deeply grateful I was offered the job, that I took the job and was able to be part of this special, smart, sensitive, interesting show.”
Marsalis continued, “When I signed onto The Pitt, I did not know that it would fill my soul like it did.”
Also helping to make The Pitt creatively gratifying and soulfully fulfilling is the process behind the show, which is designed to do full justice to the characters and the stories by giving those behind each episode the trust and creative freedom to do what they do best. Normally, she related, as a guest director you understand that you work at “the whims of a lot of people.” It’s not uncommon being in a meeting or on Zoom with a dozen or more people right out of the gate. By contrast, recalled Marsalis, when she got on the Zoom call for The Pitt, it was just Gemmill and John Wells. The Pitt works so well, observed Marsalis, because it’s driven by “a singular vision. There aren’t a lot of cooks and it shows on screen.”
Marsalis added, “I tell Scott [Gemmill] on set all the time, ‘Thanks for letting me direct.’ It’s wonderfully refreshing to be set free to direct. He said, ‘That’s why I hired you.’”
Marsalis, who also served as a co-executive producer on The Pitt, further noted that the work ethic on set starts at the top. For example, Marsalis shared what she observed of Wyle who portrays Dr. Michael (“Robby”) Robinavitch. “One of the reasons everyone loves The Pitt is that everyone loves Robby. He cares and he’s trying to do what’s right. He’s a real, flawed human but he’s a good person. That balance in his performance, and directing him have just been really wonderful.
“I get to set very early,” continued Marsalis. “I normally sit on set, break the scripts down, use paper, highlighters, sticky notes, am there for questions if people have any. Noah is always the next person there, along with some of our set decorators who are fixing things up. Noah is right there, getting ready for the day. He’s a talented, caring, wonderful man.”
Beyond its humanity which connects audiences with doctors and medical professionals who are committed, caring, resilient, and have empathy as well as imperfections, The Pitt carries additional relevance during a time when healthcare is a precarious proposition for so many. The drama becomes all the more gripping when realities of emergency care set in–staffing shortages and overcrowded emergency rooms that stretch doctors and support staff to their limits, patients having to wait an inordinate amount of time just to get a hospital bed, burnout among healthcare workers coupled with the trauma experienced by patients (not just in terms of illness but also underlying financial concerns over the cost of treatment). Add to all this the toll that gun violence, the COVID pandemic and its aftermath have taken on the healthcare system–as well as the fact that for some (who lack insurance) the hospital emergency room is seemingly the only option when confronted with an illness, translating into waiting rooms that are often filled beyond capacity. The Pitt in its own way is raising awareness of and moving the conversation forward about what ails not only us but also healthcare.
Marsalis made her first mark as a director with the indie feature Echo Park, which premiered at the L.A. Film Festival in 2014. She later made her first foray into television series with Queen Sugar. Marsalis followed a number of women directors who broke into the TV ranks via Queen Sugar as series creator Ava DuVernay committed to female filmmakers for the entire run of the show.
Marsalis’ career enjoyed support from DuVernay even prior to Queen Sugar. It was DuVernay’s company Array which handled distribution for Echo Park, helping to promote the film when it hit theaters in 2016.
Queen Sugar opened a TV series door for Marsalis who’s directed for assorted notable shows including Apple TV+’s Invasion, HBO’s Westworld and Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy and Ozark. She also served as director and exec producer of Netflix’s recently debuted western-romance Ransom Canyon starring Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly. Next up for Marsalis is an Apple TV+ series adaptation of Cape Fear starring Amy Adams and Javier Bardem.
Lesli Linka Glatter
Just as present-day circumstances cause The Pitt to resonate even more deeply with viewers, so too does reality–or questioning what is reality in a world where objective truth is up for grabs–bring greater weight to Zero Day (Netflix), a political thriller for which Lesli Linka Glatter directed all six episodes and served as executive producer. In the series, the U.S. is struck by a catastrophic cyberattack affecting all industries simultaneously. While we’ve experienced or become familiar with individual, largely isolated cyberterrorism incidents, the all-encompassing zero-day event depicted in this show represents arguably what is the intelligence community’s biggest fear.
Robert De Niro makes his television debut as former U.S. President George Mullen, a man America trusts and needs at a time when trust in government is at a low ebb. President Mullen is brought back to head a commission formed to get to the bottom of the cyberattack which has sparked all kinds of conjecture as to who’s behind it and why–fertile ground for conspiracy theorists. And while Mullen has an inherent honesty and decency, he is grappling with mental issues, casting some doubt as to his capacity for the task at hand.
Glatter is no stranger to the political thriller given her tenure on the acclaimed Homeland. But she also prides herself on embracing new challenges and doing something different throughout her career. Drawing her to Zero Day were several elements, most notably the opportunity to explore the question which she phrased succinctly as: “What is truth in a post-truth world?”
Glatter amplified upon that as being the chance to delve into “what is fact and what is opinion? What is truth and our relationship to it? We ask that for each of our amazing characters [in Zero Day]. We see each character’s moral compass and their relationship to the truth, which is incredibly dramatic and really relevant to our time.” Varied characters in this story have a rationale for their actions, sometimes putting a reduced value on the importance of the truth. Whether that rationale is grounded in the greater good or not is left for viewers to decide.
Glatter identified one parallel that Zero Day shares with Homeland–not putting “a white hat or a dark hat” on people, always looking at both sides of an issue, telling a story that is well-researched which contributes greatly to a sense of realism and drama. She said of Zero Day, which was written by Eric Newman and Noah Oppenheim, “There’s a level of anxiety everywhere in this storytelling. The world is not on solid ground. With that, I want to be in the backrooms of power where decisions are made and conversations are had.”
Another prime magnet attracting Glatter to Zero Day was the opportunity to work with De Niro for the first time. He headed a stellar cast which includes Angela Bassett, Jesse Plemons, Lizzy Caplan, Connie Britton, Matthew Modine and Joan Allen. Glatter said of De Niro, “Working with a legend was a bit intimidating–until I got to know him. He’s a great number one on the callsheet, a great creative partner, very invested in the story, has a wonderful sense of humor.”
Beyond Zero Day and Homeland, Glatter’s TV credits over the years include Love and Death, The Morning Show, The Newsroom, The Walking Dead, Justified, Ray Donovan, Masters of Sex, True Blood, Mad Men, The Leftovers, The Good Wife, The West Wing, NYPD Blue, ER, Freaks and Geeks, and Twin Peaks. She has also directed assorted pilots for shows such as Gilmore Girls, Pretty Little Liars and Six. Her films include Now and Then, The Proposition and State of Emergency.
Glatter began her directing career through the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women where her Tales of Meeting and Parting earned an Oscar nomination for Best Live-Action Short. She has been nominated for eight Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards, winning three–one for Mad Men, the other two for Homeland (including the series finale). Glatter has additionally earned a Humanitas Award nomination (for the aforementioned State of Emergency) as well eight Emmy nominations.
Speaking of the DGA, she is nearing the end of her second term as Guild president. And serving in that capacity has informed her work. For one, the experience at the DGA helm has underscored “the importance of the team, standing by and being there for one another. The business is in a dark time now, production is down 40 percent. Our super power is community. I see that when I look at what’s happened in Los Angeles in response to the fires. It’s amazing to see people come together at the worst of times, that the human spirit will strive for something higher. I have seen that being president [of the DGA] and working with an extraordinary board. The busiest and most well known directors in Hollywood and their teams find time to serve their community and give back. I’m blessed to be part of that generosity of spirit. I think it has informed things for me, having to be aware of the industry in the big picture sense. Not just for me, Lesli the director, and my next show. It’s much more. We are in a difficult time now as a community. We’ve had the triple whammy in L.A.–we were starting to recover from COVID and the strikes, then came the fires. It’s all just been so damaging. People need stories. We need community to strive for the truth.”
At press time, Glatter was looking forward to embarking on her next project as director and exec producer–Imperfect Women, a psychological thriller series with a cast that includes Kerry Washington, Elisabeth Moss and Joel Kinnaman. Glatter is especially enthused to be shooting Imperfect Women in Los Angeles, helping to contribute to an economy hit hard by the wildfires.
Jessica Lee Gagné
Artistically speaking, Severance pay has been richly rewarding for cinematographer Jessica Lee Gagné. She established a visual language for the acclaimed Apple TV+ series in its first season and built upon that foundation for season 2. Gagné also expanded her creative horizons during the second season, debuting as a director with episode 7, “Chikhai Bardo.”
The episode–for which Gagné served as both director and DP–garnered praise for its storytelling, character development and a stirring one-shot scene that was realized with very little VFX. For the sequence, the camera twists and turns prior to moving from the Macrodata Refinement (MDR) room through a length of cable into a basement control room, and then panning across and upwards to a man tapping his foot. The scene unfolds to stunning effect, facilitated in part by a custom-made cable and an intricately designed rig. Gagné coordinated with a team of operators, grips and VFX talent, shooting all elements in camera, keeping and weaving them together with a visual eloquence.
The directing experience has whetted Gagné’s appetite for more. In a way, she had become so gratified by her work in cinematography that her directorial aspirations, dating back to film school, had sort of waned. That being said, she wasn’t inclined to come back to lensing season 2 of Severance, always seeking another challenge. But motivating her to stay on board the series was in part the chance to direct an episode. “I had to pause and think for a second,” recalled Gagné, noting that she had “completely forgotten” that directing was “something I had wanted in my life. I had been fulfilled with cinematography for some time.”
But upon reading the script for episode 7, Gagné knew immediately that was the installment of the series she wanted to direct. As a cinematographer, she had a deep understanding of the Severance world, and episode 7 had the allure of enabling her to create a new world within that world.
As for the decision to lens the episode she was directing, Gagné explained that it would “be easier for me to work for myself than bring in another cinematographer.” Training a DP new to the show on its aesthetics might have been more diverting for Gagné than shooting the episode herself. She connected with Max Goldman to take on some additional cinematography, primarily flashbacks and some support work.
Initially, Gagné recalled that it was “weird” not to have those conversations that the director and DP have on set. Gagné filled that void in part by chatting with script supervisor Sam Evoy who at times would be a pretend cinematographer. It was a way for Gagné to reflect on what she was doing without literally having to talk to herself.
Gagné’s priority entailed story, character development–and actor performances to advance both. So much of the story centered on what Gemma (portrayed by Dichen Lachman) had to endure as viewers learn what her life has been like over the past few years, continually tested, subject to experimentation of one tortuous sort or another, almost in a prison-like state as she’s bounced from one room to the next. Gagné shared that she wanted viewers to feel for Gemma, “to care about her, to love her,” to connect with “what she was going through as a woman.” The process was “bittersweet.”
Gagné meanwhile had a sweet experience directing, embracing the counterintuitive desire to give herself “a chance to fail.” By taking a chance to do something–directing–that she unconsciously desired, by not being obsessed with control and needing to be in a safe place, Gagné said she grew as an artist and extended her creative and artistic reach.
Gagné plans to pursue directing and has a feature project in her sights that she wasn’t at liberty to discuss in detail publicly. We do know, however, that her plan is to solely serve as director and bring on a cinematographer whom she can collaborate with on the film.
David Tedeschi
Also making an auspicious directorial debut is David Tedeschi with Beatles ‘64 (Disney+), a documentary that contains rare and newly restored footage, as well as new images and interviews (including with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the late filmmaker David Lynch) to provide an intimate look at and perspectives on the English band’s first trip to America.
Tedeschi feels blessed not only for the opportunity to direct but also the chance to work with legends–the subject matter of the Beatles themselves, Martin Scorsese who served as producer, and tapping into restored footage from famed documentary filmmakers Albert and David Maysles.
The Maysles brothers chronicled the Beatles’ 14-day trip in 1964, leaving behind some 11 hours of the Fab Four and their American fans in their youth. You see the Beatles initially conscious of the Maysles’ camera but in relatively short order they become uninhibited, reflecting the natural verite acumen of the documentarians and their knack for putting their subjects at ease.
The seed of the idea for Beatles ‘64 came in anticipation of the 60th anniversary of the Beatles’ visit to America, which included the band’s performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Maysles brothers’ footage was restored by Park Road Post, filmmaker Peter Jackson’s company in New Zealand. There was a strong desire to do something with this treasure trove of footage. Tedeschi had edited the Scorsese-directed 2011 documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World so they had already knew and had interviewed McCartney, Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison (the widow of George Harrison). The opportunity emerged for Tedeschi to direct Beatles ‘64 and he had the benefit of comparing notes with and getting invaluable feedback from Scorsese.
Still, the prime responsibilities for Beatles ‘64 rested largely on the shoulders of director Tedeschi. To clarify, this marked his solo directing debut. He had previously co-directed with Scorsese a couple of documentaries–The 50 Year Argument, a documentary on the history and influence of The New York Review of Books; and Personality Crisis: One Night Only covering musician David Johansen’s concert at Cafe Carlyle from January 2020.
In taking on Beatles ‘64, Tedeschi discovered that what he thought were challenges going in were instead advantages. For example, Beatles ‘64 would come two or three years after Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back, a documentary achievement in its own right. But in a way, Beatles ‘64 turned out to be a companion piece of sorts to Get Back in that the latter covered the very end of the Beatles while Tedeschi’s film catches them at the very beginning when the band members are all in their early 20s.
Also providing a new dimension to Beatles ‘64 was a challenge which Tedeschi described as “how do you establish for a modern audience how square the world was in 1964, how against rock and roll the establishment was. There were scenes at the beginning [of Beatles ‘64] addressing the hysteria of Beatlemania, with [CBS Evening News commentator] Eric Severeid comparing Beatlemania to the German measles. There was also a scene at the British Embassy [in New York] where the staff looked down at the Beatles, mistreated them. It’s almost impossible to imagine. We had to kind of re-create that world. Some of that was quite funny. There was a focus on how long their hair was–yet you can completely see their ears.”
Tedeschi’s collaborative bond with Scorsese goes back 20-plus years. Working with Scorsese, affirmed Tedeschi, is “a master class in filmmaking. He’s fearless. He’s very disciplined but also has boundless energy. He has a way of understanding and expressing things that’s very simple but kind of complex. On Beatles ‘64 I was responsible for the heavy lifting but he was a real resource in terms of being able to talk to him about the film at the beginning. He would look at cuts, tell me what he thought. It was great for me. It’s a privilege to be able to work with him, to talk about film with him and to collaborate.”
Danielle Boesenberg
“I never read a script that made me laugh so much,” said editor Danielle Boesenberg, recalling her first impression of Colin from Accounts.
Real-life married couple Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer are creators/showrunners and star (as Gordon and Ashley, respectively) in the rom-com series which was recently renewed for a third season by Paramount+.
Boesenberg has edited the first two seasons and is looking forward to the third. She’s enjoyed the experience personally and professionally–and even felt a welcomed measure of therapeutic value at the outset. She explained that the week that editing for the first season started, Russia invaded Ukraine. “It was a dark time for the world,” said Boesenberg. “I would go to work and hear my assistant looking at the rushes and laughing. The show was a gift.” Yet at the same time, Boesenberg had “no idea what the show was going to turn into and how loved it would become.”
Boesenberg thus went on to find season 2 all the more challenging in that expectations were high among viewers who had a genuine love for the characters. Boesenberg observed that it was akin to creating “the difficult second album” for a rock band after the release of a first album full of hit songs. Plus she had to contend with a shift in tone for the second season. “There was a lot of physical comedy the first season–less so for the second,” related Boesenberg who cited an “awkward tension” between the characters o f Gordon and Ashley. The creative decision was made to “lean into the awkwardness.” The second season, she continued, was “a master class in awkward,” which thankfully audiences seemed to embrace.
Helping Boesenberg deal with that intentional awkwardness while putting the best comedic step forward was director Trent O’Donnell whom she had worked with previously. O’Donnell also dovetailed creatively with Brammall and Dyer to great effect. Boesenberg noted that O’Donnell has a penchant for pushing the envelope, encouraging improv to generate humorous options beyond what’s on the page. Boesenberg thus often had an abundance of performance riches when it came to humor–awkward or not. There were varied “brilliant” options to choose from, she said, making it hard to determine the funniest take–all reflecting the insanely good chemistry between the characters Gordon and Ashley.
This, added Boesenberg, makes the editor’s job one of not getting in the way of that chemistry, not wanting to over cut or to detract from any of that interplay–delivering on the warmth and the humor, promoting empathy for the characters, wanting to see them stay together.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from her experience on Colin from Accounts, observed Boesenberg, is that “comedy needs to breathe. There was a preconception in me that comedy needs pace. It does but it also needs to breathe.” Boesenberg said that an editor needs to trust the actors and their performances–particularly when you have a fantastic script and characters. Under those circumstances, “a lot of the work is done for you.”
Another prime lesson learned from the series, continued Boesenberg, is the importance of being surrounded by collaborative, supportive people. She described Colin from Accounts as “one of the best experiences of my life.”
Boesenberg added that Brammall and Dyer are all in on the edit. Boesenberg appreciates their involvement, relating, “As creators/showrunners and lead actors, their DNA is in every element of the show. Once the shoot is done, they’re in the suite with me until picture lock.”
This is the fifth installment of SHOOT’s 16-part weekly The Road To Emmy Series of feature stories that explores the field of Emmy contenders, and then nominees spanning such disciplines as directing, cinematography, producing, editing, production design, casting, costume design and visual effects. The series will then be followed up by coverage of the Creative Arts Emmy winners and the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony in September.
