HBO’s medical drama, The Pitt, premiered in January 2025 and became one of the best shows of the year, resulting in several Primetime Emmys. The show focused on an intense 15-hour shift at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. With numerous storylines such as drug addiction and mass shootings, the show became a hit among viewers for its authentic depiction of the struggles the people in the field of practicing medicine face.
Now, with a study to back it up, The Pitt has been revealed to have really inspired the viewers to take action regarding healthcare issues. On Monday, USC Norman Lear Center released a study that found that the HBO series has inspired its viewers to look for and find out more about healthcare issues, such as organ donation, and discuss them.
More about this in our story.
Study shows how The Pitt is changing people’s perspective toward healthcare and inspiring real-time actions
With 15 episodes, HBO’s The Pitt covered every hour of a shift in the Trauma centre and depicted how intense the emergency room can get. While treating their patients, the doctors are also shown to be dealing with their own issues, which made the portrayal more raw and relatable.
As per Variety, the survey by USC Norman Lear Centre will be announced in the Norman Lear Awards, where the show will accept the Culture of Health Award. The survey conducted by the Norman Lear Center’s Hollywood, Health & Society program, on the viewers of the show, revealed that The Pitt, with its authentic storytelling, inspired many people to discuss and look for information about some of the medical practices and healthcare issues.
For instance, Episode 8 of the medical drama showcased a unique case revolving around the theme of organ donation. As per the survey, more than 20% of viewers showed a positive response toward the episode and were most likely to register themselves for organ donation and sought out information regarding the same. Furthermore, Variety also revealed that the case impacted the Black audience, especially due to their suffering when it came to donating and receiving an organ.
Apart from this, another storyline in the early episode introduced a patient whose family was to make the crucial decision about his life and death, which also involved the viewers. The episode inspired viewers to seek more information about the end-of-life decisions and take the necessary decisions in their own lives.
Furthermore, Variety reported that the study also found that viewers who watched at least three episodes of The Pitt revealed that they found the drama series authentic due to the real portrayal of how understaffing in the hospital also affects patient care, and shared:
“The series reveals how systemic problems like understaffing affect patient outcomes and helps make provider stress relatable.”
Moreover, even the doctors and other healthcare professionals agreed that the drama series was closer to reality than any other medical dramas. It was due to not just the depiction of burnout due to the job but also for showing real struggles, such as “underfunding and overcrowding” in the hospitals.
Apart from the HBO medical drama, Chicago Med and Grey’s Anatomy are also among other series that would be honored in the Norman Lear Awards.
The acclaimed series stars Noah Wyle, Shawn Hatosy, Patrick Ball, Supriya Ganesh, Taylor Dearden, Katherine LaNasa, Fiona Dourif, and Shabana Azeez, among several others.
Also Read: ABC’s Scrubs reboot faces another setback as showrunner Tim Hobert steps down
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Edited by Debashri Roy
