The streaming industry’s motto going all the way back to the days ofEast Los High, The Man in the High Castle, and Orange Is the New Black seemed to be, “Anything networks can do, we can do better.” Over the last dozen-plus years, OG platforms Hulu, Netflix, and Prime Video packed their production pipelines with everything from epic fantasy adventures and Emmy-bait dramas to reboots of cheesy ’90s multi-camera sitcoms. But despite handing out hundreds of green lights, streaming programmers during the now-ended era of Peak TV somehow failed to successfully replicate one of the medium’s most basic formulas: the weekly network-style procedural drama. Then came Max’s Noah Wyle–led medical series, The Pitt. While shows like Bosch, Goliath, and more recent ones like The Lincoln Lawyer, Poker Face, and Dick Wolf’s On Call incorporated elements of classic broadcast-TV procedurals — self-contained storylines, solving a mystery (criminal or medical) — they all felt distinctly like streaming-era shows because of their release schedules and production patterns.They had short seasons (eight to ten episodes), usually released episodes in a batch versus weekly (even Poker Face doled out nearly half of its season-one installments at premiere), and made audiences wait at least a year between seasons. By contrast, almost everything about The Pitt screams “network TV,” including its top producers, ER vets R. Scott Gemmill and John Wells. Indeed, the Warner Bros. TV–produced series was engineered to be exactly that. “Our intention is to do a high quality show that years ago would’ve been done on one of the major networks, but to do it for streaming,” Wells told Vulture last fall as he was finishing up production on the back half of The Pitt’s first season. In practice, what that has translated into is a show where most storylines start and end within the space of a single hour; the first season boasts nearly twice as many episodes as the typical streaming drama; and its second season is set to premiere about eight months after season one wraps up on April 10. Max has even taken the mandate to network-ize The Pitt one step further by releasing weekly episodes in primetime, every Thursday at 9 p.m. ET, rather than in the middle of the night (as so many streaming shows still do). While Max doesn’t release specific viewership numbers for its series, there are plenty of signs that The Pitt’s deliberate throwback strategy is connecting with audiences — and, just as importantly, delivering on what execs at the streamer wanted when they green-lit the show: ➼ Back in January, Max said the show’s two-episode premiere ranked among the platform’s five most-watched series debuts since the service launched in 2020. With more data, and more viewers catching up, the streamer now says it’s on track to be a top-three debut. ➼ Since then, The Pitt has added viewers every week, Max says, confirming anecdotal evidence (social-media buzz, news stories, critical raves) suggesting the series is resonating. (Memo to Netflix: This is why weekly releases of episodes can be good!) ➼ It’s still a tad too early to say for sure, but based on preliminary Nielsen streaming data, The Pitt is expected to finish as the No. 11 streaming original for the week of March 10, a rep for the data giant tells Vulture. Final numbers and rankings could change, however, so a top-ten finish is still possible. More importantly, because Nielsen includes all episodes and seasons of a series in its weekly tally, as more hours of The Pitt get added to its catalogue — and more viewers catch up or binge earlier episodes — the odds of a weekly series landing in the top ten go up, assuming audiences keep watching (which they are, per Max’s internal data). So if The Pitt ends up ranking No. 11 for the week its 11th episode comes out, a top-ten Nielsen finish by the time the finale premieres next month seems quite possible (though, to be clear, not guaranteed). As satisfied as Max execs are to have launched a new hit show, the success so far of The Pitt also validates the somewhat risky decision to take a chance on a linear network-style procedural — something which, until recently, the conventional wisdom held wouldn’t work in streaming. Execs were so hyperfocused on finding “noisy” shows and concepts that could get people to become subscribers, they didn’t also try to find shows that could keep audiences watching — or, in industry parlance, “engaged” — for months at a time. Netflix’s solution has been to just make so many shows that there’s something new every week, and while it has also recently shifted toward lower-cost procedurals (Lincoln Lawyer,next month’s Pulse), there’s no indication yet the streamer is ready to abandon its dogmatic insistence on binge releases and limited episode tallies. Similarly, while Prime Video got some ink for green-lighting a Dick Wolf cop show — On Call — the streamer’s initial commitment was to just eight half-hour episodes, all of which were dumped over a single weekend. Conversely, Max — led by Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content — went all-in on The Pitt:15 episodes, weekly release, full promotional and marketing campaign, and an early season-two renewal to ensure the show’s doctors would be back on call next January. It was a measured bet, to be sure. Trade reports suggest the show is being made for a tad under $5 million per episode, well below most big streaming dramas these days. And yet, it was still a risk — and one that no other similar-size streamer had taken before. Earlier this week, Bloys walked me through the how and why of his decision to roll the dice on The Pitt, starting with the breakthrough realization that prompted Max to begin hunting for a weekly procedural. Let me start by asking you about the genesis of The Pitt. Warner Bros. TV is part of the same Warner Bros. Discovery family as Max, and they also have a rich history of making hit procedural dramas, as well as a long-running deal with John Wells. But it’s harder than ever for premium procedurals like the ones he makes to get made. Was The Pitta case of Channing Dungey, who runs the WBTV Group, finding a home for this kind of show on Max, or you deciding, “We want this kind of show”?
It’s a little more subtle than that. We were very intentional about wanting a network-style show, meaning longer than seven or eight episodes. We specifically wanted a show that could go for 15 episodes each season because that’s 15 weeks of engagement for us. We also wanted to be able to do it at a budget that’s sustainable. In terms of this particular show, John had been talking to Channing about a medical show, and obviously we raised our hands and said this was something we’d be very, very interested in.
One of the great things about Warner Bros. is they sell to us, and they sell to Amazon and Apple. A number of Apple’s most successful shows are Warner Bros. shows. They’ve got business all over the place. But it’s great for me as a programmer to be able to go to them with all of the deals they have and say, “Hey, I’d like to do a procedural,” and they’ve got deals with people that make sense for that. You mentioned 15 episodes. I’ve read interviews with the producers of The Pitt where they’ve indicated they initially thought each season would last 12 episodes to mirror the number of hours in a hospital shift. But then—
I wanted more. I definitely wanted more. Why was 15 your magic number rather than 12, which is still more than the eight we get with most streaming hours now? Or, if you were going to go full network-TV mode, why not shoot for 18 or 20, which is what is standard in broadcast today?
Doing just 12 episodes felt like an extension of a streaming show. We used to do 12 episodes at HBO when I first got there. It kind of shrunk to ten and then, more recently, eight. The idea here was to really go for it. I didn’t think 22 was realistic right off the bat. Fifteen felt like more than you would typically get, but something where John and the team would be able to do something creatively that they felt really good about. The other really important thing about this model, and is somewhat of a lost art — and I know you have written about this — is, the second season will premiere in January of 2026, a year later. This model of more episodes cuts down on the gap between seasons. On the platform, we have shows likeHouse of the Dragon, The Last of Us,and White Lotus, which, because of how they’re made, can take two years to make. What I love about something like The Pitt is, I can get 15 episodes in a year. That’s a really great addition to what we’re already doing on the platform. And I’d like to do more shows in this model. It’s amazing to me that we’ve had Hulu and Netflix making streaming originals for more than a decade, yet there really haven’t been any hit procedurals that make a lot of episodes every year. Why did you finally decide to try to do one?
It was a couple of things. There was this idea of trying to figure out, “What’s an HBO show versus a Max show? How do you define them?” You know an HBO show. I can point to a lot of them and say, “That’s what it should feel like.” A Max show is something we were still trying to define. One of the thoughts was, Well, a network-type show is not something we would normally do for HBO. One reason I’m very happy with The Pitt is, it is something I can point to concretely and say, “That is a great example of a Max original.” It’s doing something that an HBO show isn’t, and now it’s not just theoretical, it’s a show that has done incredibly well on every metric — on reviews, on performance, on the audience it’s bringing. It’s even starting conversations in the medical field about being the most realistic medical procedural people have seen. There have been a lot of articles about doctors or nurses saying to their spouses, “If you want to know what I do every day, take a look at this.” That’s meaningful. But also, anytime you think about a programming offering, it’s a slate. The Pitt has expanded the Max audience. Some of the audience cohorts who are coming in for The Pitt are not necessarily people who regularly watch HBO shows. They’ll watch action movies. They will watch 90 Day Fiancé and off-platform things like Love Is Blind. It’s engaging different audience cohorts within our subscriber base. And the reason that’s important is, the more people you have engaged, the less likely they are to churn. So a show like The Pitt is a really great addition for the entire platform. We’ve also got a reality show, Paul American, with Jake and Logan Paul, that I expect will also light up some other cohorts within our subscriber base that don’t necessarily go for HBO original programming. The idea is to try to push out from HBO. Netflix and Hulu have been developing original series for more than a dozen years, so it is sort of impressive that the first streamer to crack the procedural nut would be Max, which turns five in May. And even five years is a long time. What took so long for the industry to pivot to this genre?
Maybe not for Netflix, but for everybody else who’s trying to figure it out, there is a process of seeing what works, and why does it work. Streaming is still a relatively new business. In any business, you’ve got to test things. So, no, I didn’t come on the job day one and say, “Hey, let’s make procedurals.” It certainly took me and the team a while to figure out. It was understanding that a slate has to be diverse. Yes, those big-event series, the HBO shows, do incredibly well. They bring in a ton of subscribers. But it can’t just be all The Last of Us and House of the Dragon. They’re great shows and I’m thrilled we have them, but they’re a two-year turnaround, they’re seven or eight weeks of engagement — and I’ve got a 52-week schedule. I’ve got to keep people engaged throughout the year, so you have to look for other things that can do it. There’s got to be some balance. After Suits reruns took off on Netflix, I wrote about how streamers were facing a looming crisis in terms of library content. With far fewer shows making 100 or 200 episodes, finding the next Suits or ER that can engage subscribers for weeks is getting harder. I have to imagine this was part of your motivation for making The Pitt.
Netflix has had the benefit of everybody’s library. We’ve all sold them library shows, so they haven’t had to necessarily worry about it. But if you’re thinking long-term — a library just doesn’t grow on trees. The idea with The Pitt is, if you want another Grey’s Anatomy or West Wing or Cold Case, or name your long-running procedural, you’ve got to replenish it. And in order to do that, you have to specifically develop these kinds of shows. You can’t just rely on what’s already there, especially with network television doing less and less. Networks used to be a great source of long-running procedurals with many episodes, but the network business is more and more challenged, and streaming just hasn’t prioritized it. If you want to come up with your next tentpole library series that people will be watching 20 years from now, you have to go out and consciously do it. You’ve done a few things with The Pitt that mirror how linear TV shows are rolled out. One of the biggest has been releasing just one episode each week and also having them drop at 9 p.m. ET. In the past, while HBO originals debuted on Max at the same time they premiered on the linear channel, Max shows dropped in the middle of the night. What prompted you to change course?
When I started with the Max platform, I said, “Why are we releasing shows at midnight?” and I got some answer like, “Well, when we report the numbers, you want as much data from the night before as possible, blah, blah, blah …” It didn’t make a lot of sense. People like appointment television. Now look, the majority of the people watching The Pitt or The White Lotus will watch off premiere night. But I do think there is something significant about having a day and time for release. We’ve all gotten a bit more savvy about how and when people are watching on streaming and how to measure that. So, I believe in releasing shows on a Thursday night or Sunday night. Can we expect other Max originals like Hacks and And Just Like That …to now debut episodes on Thursdays at 9 p.m. Eastern?
Yes. I don’t see a reason not to. The Pitt, as well as Hacks, both end each episode with a “next week on …” teaser. That’s standard for most network shows, but I’ve rarely seen it for streaming originals, even when episodes come out each week. What’s the thinking behind doing this?
I just believe that, when we release weekly, it’s a nice way to give audiences something to look forward to. And yet despite all the network-TV traditions alive with The Pitt, the show doesn’t have a traditional theme song or opening-credits sequence. I think the show needs that equivalent of Eriq La Sallepumping his fist in the ER credits. Is the lack of a proper opening another way to keep the budget tight, or just the preference of the producers?
No, no. There’s a spare use of music in the show, which was very important to John, in order to make it feel realistic. So I don’t feel like it’s missing anything. But if they wanted to do something, I would certainly be open to it. The Hollywood trades have said the budget for The Pitt is north of $4 million per episode, which I take to mean it’s somewhere between $4 million and $5 million. That’s a pittance compared to some streaming shows, which cost upwards of $20 million per hour. How important is making The Pitt on a budget that’s more in line with what a network show might cost?
Budget is very important. With this type of show, the ability to do 15 episodes a season is dependent on the budget. And The Pitt really seems designed, at almost every level, to be cost-efficient.
Medical shows have always been a staple of television and part of the reason is, from a dramatic point of view, you are talking about life and death, but from a production point of view, you are typically in one location. And in the case of The Pitt, which is an extreme, it’s all one day. Just from a wardrobe point of view, nobody’s changing, other than getting blood spatters cleaned up. But the budget is a big part of it because it’s what allows us to do a larger order. Despite being very aware of the budget for the show, you’re still shooting this in Los Angeles, which almost always costs more to do. I get that The Pitt is by no means a low-budget show compared to stuff you’ll find on basic cable or some broadcast networks. But did you discuss shooting the series in a state or country where costs are lower, or where tax incentives might be higher?
At this budget level, and because Warner Bros. has a lot of sound stages in Los Angeles, there wasn’t a lot of discussion of, “Should we go to Canada?” or “Should we go elsewhere?” But we did end up getting a tax credit on the show, which helped. Speaking of production incentives, I’m wondering what you think of the Stay in L.A. movement, which is looking to remove the caps from film production tax credits for the next few years as part of a bid to spur more shooting in Los Angeles County. Do you think that cap should be lifted?
Yes! I think it’s crazy that California let Atlanta become such a big hub … I would hope that California will expand the incentive program because it does make a difference. |
