Note: This story contains spoilers from “The Pitt” Season 2, Episode 11.
After spotlighting social issues like violence against health care workers and insurance woes, “The Pitt” turned its attention to another crisis top of mind for many Americans: ICE.
In Season 2, Episode 11, the medical drama sees its doctors begrudgingly allow ICE agents escort a detained patient for care, with the sight of the agents sending shockwaves through the hospital and prompting a fair amount of patients and nurses to flee. The storyline comes to a head when the ICE agents attack nurse Jesse (Ned Brower) after stepping in to protect the detained patient, before the agents take Jesse away, leaving the hospital reeling.
ICE was a topic the creative team of “The Pitt” had hoped to tackle for its second installment given its relevancy in emergency departments across the country. But, in the background of recent ICE raids, it became all the more relevant.
“When we were thinking of it … the question was where are things going to be six, eight months from now, when our story finally makes it to the air, and unfortunately, things have escalated much more severely than we had ever anticipated,” R. Scott Gemmill told TheWrap. “It got worse.”
Gemmill’s goal for the ICE sequence was to “portray it without sensationalizing,” saying, “at the time, we didn’t know how bad it was going to get in terms of the real ICE issues, so we were trying to walk a very fine line between our concerns, frustrations, confusion and anger and being respectful of what they’re trying to do and … of law enforcement.”
“But what happens when law enforcement impedes upon your workspace?” Gemmill continued. “That’s the problem is that … [it] doesn’t seem like anyone really has the answers so … we’re not trying to provide them, we’re just portraying what’s going on and let the audience decide for themselves.”
When asked whether the portrayal might’ve shifted had the ICE raids happened in full force before the episode’s writing and shooting, Gemmill responded, “possibly.”
“I’m sure we would have done it a little differently, but I think we did a very balanced approach to it … maybe it would have been exactly what we’ve done, because I don’t want to feed into the other aspect of it … the worst versions of it,” Gemmill.
As with every storyline, Gemmill and the team consulted health care workers to aid, noting ICE stories were a part of a recent “nurses night” the show hosted, including losing a person in custody. “What you see is really what’s going on,” he said.
“You see, through Robby, what most health care professionals are feeling, which is frustration, confusion, not knowing who’s really in charge,” Gemmill said, noting the rules are fuzzy with ICE agents are coming from private contractors. “There’s frustration, there’s anger, there’s fear and then there’s trying to do what’s best for your patient when you’re having outside forces sort of impose themselves upon you.”
Gemmill emphasized that every scenario surrounding ICE differs slightly, noting “it’s a bit of a wild west out there,” but what remains consistent is the difficulty it poses to the emergency department. “[ER patiences are], in some cases, very, very ill … and the doctors and nurses and everyone are just trying to do their jobs to save these people.”
The incident with ICE is another drop in the bucket for Robby, whose mental health is put on full display this season in the aftermath of Pitt Fest as his colleagues hold him accountable going to therapy and discourage him from running away from his issues as he heads on sabatical.
“This is just one more obstacle that is impeding him from going on his trip, but also making him question whether he should even leave in the first place,” Gemmill said. “What would have what would have happened if he wasn’t there that day when ICE was there? Of course, whoever was there would have handled it their own way, but Robby thinks of it as his emergency department.”
Following the incident, it’s on Robby to encourage everyone to get back to work, despite the horrendous event that just occured.
“These people work together day in and day out — they deal with really difficult situations, and they become a very close, tight-knit family,” Gemmill said. “So when a family member is suddenly removed hostility in a way that some may think is inappropriate and unlawful, it’s going to have ripple effects throughout everyone.”
Moving forward, Gemmill said audiences will see the “after-effects” of how the incident impacts the staff and their concern but noted “we’re not going to be labor that point.”
“The Pitt” releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max.
The post ‘The Pitt’ Creator Wanted to Address ICE Crisis in Season 2 Without ‘Sensationalizing’ It: ‘A Very Fine Line’ appeared first on TheWrap.
