Behind the scenes of "The Pitt"

Beginning in the 1960s, medical dramas became a staple of primetime TV.You may have followed the trials and tribulations of Doctors James Kildare, Marcus Welby, Hawkeye Pierce, Mark Craig, Michaela Quinn, and then, in 1994, "ER"'s Dr.

John Carter, played by Noah Wyle.Wyle says that, when "ER" ended, the odds that someday he'd do another medical show were "zero percent."So, what changed? "COVID," he said."COVID changed everything, certainly for me in thinking about there being another story to tell.

I was getting a lot of mail from people on the frontlines saying,'We could sure use Dr.Carter out here.' Or, 'This is really awful.'"For his work on "ER," Wyle was nominated as best supporting actor five times … and finally took home an Emmy this past September, when he received the trophy as outstanding lead actor in a drama series for his portrayal of Dr.

Michael Robinavitch – Dr.Robby – on "The Pitt." The hit HBO Max medical series won five Emmys in all, including outstanding drama series.

And Season 2 is about to begin.Dr.Robby watches over the controlled chaos at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center.

It all takes place over a single emergency room shift, and each episode covers just one hour in a very long day.  A few months ago, "Sunday Morning" visited the set at the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California.Walk from backstage into the emergency room, and you feel you are in an actual hospital.Wyle said, "It became really important to have the entire set feel like a totally immersive experience.

You open a drawer, everything that's supposed to be in the drawer is there.Everything feels real, and is exactly where it should go."Wyle is in charge here in more ways than one.

Not only is he a lead actor; he's an executive producer and writer.And on the days we dropped in, he also directed. Actors at "The Pitt" have to learn more than their lines.

There's a two-week medical boot camp.Dr.

Elizabeth Ferreira, herself an emer...