“Severance” wasn’t invincible after all.
Near the end of the 77th Emmy Awards, HBO Max’s “The Pitt” beat Dan Erickson and Ben Stiller’s Apple TV+ show for Outstanding Drama Series. Plenty of prognosticators had their money on “Severance,” whose second season debuted in January to stellar reviews and seemed unbeatable … until “The Pitt,” which premiered around the same time and started generating buzz in the late winter/spring.
TheWrap’s Steve Pond predicted this very outcome in one of his last Emmy columns of the season. Why? “Maybe because ‘The Pitt’ came on late in the eligibility period and seemed to seize real momentum heading into voting, particularly with voters who can embrace the old-school (but souped-up) charms of a medical series,” he wrote. “Statistics clearly say that ‘Severance’ will win, but this race feels a whole lot closer than stats suggest, so we’re going to predict an upset.”
Created by R. Scott Gemmill, who exec produces with fellow “ER” alum John Wells and series star Noah Wyle, “The Pitt” found a receptive audience for its first season right away. It continued to grow week after week, averaging 10 million viewers per each of its 15 episodes. The show, which is produced by John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, also debuted as one of the top five most-watched Max original series premieres ever.
“The Pitt” unfolds in real time over a grueling 15-hour shift in an under-funded and -staffed Pittsburgh hospital, and stars Wyle as Dr. Michael “Robby” Rabinovitch, a senior attending ER physician. The actor and EP has explained that the impetus for the show was to spotlight the frontline workers who risked their lives daily during the pandemic. For their part, the medical community gave “The Pitt” its stamp of approval, praising its realism and accuracy.
The success of “The Pitt” has led to a slew of reports about the state of prestige television and a potential swing back to more network-style storytelling (like “ER”) that was once the backbone of the industry.
In addition to Outstanding Drama Series, “The Pitt” also won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Noah Wyle), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Katherine LaNasa), Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (Shawn Hatosy) and Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series. “Severance,” too, won one lead, one supporting award and one guest acting award for Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman and Merritt Wever respectively, keeping the night thrilling to the end.
Last year, the big upset came in the Outstanding Comedy Series category, where HBO Max’s “Hacks” overcame FX’s “The Bear.” Meanwhile, the heavily favored drama frontrunner, FX’s “Shōgun,” walked away with the top prize, one of a record-setting 18 it took home for its first season.
