“Today should never have happened. It’s impossible to imagine what would possess somebody to commit such a horrific act. It’s the worst of humanity. But it brought out the best in the rest of us. We saw our better angels come to the aid of our patients. Each of you rose to the occasion. And I can’t tell you how proud I am of all of you.”
That’s part of the big wrap-up speech Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) gives to the staff of the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center in the Season 1 finale of The Pitt. It serves as a culmination of a day of absolute chaos, with cases ranging from humorous accidents to a mass casualty event that sent hundreds of people into the ER. And, as Taylor Dearden, who plays fan-favorite character Dr. Mel, reveals to Parade, in a break from usual filming conventions, it was the last scene they shot of the show.
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“It was the last scene we ever shot,” the actress exclusively reveals. “I think that was wildly helpful. Because often, it’s the last scene, and you might be a little emotional. I think something that was randomly, wildly helpful was we were so unbelievably tired. We were shooting for seven months at the most intense thing ever with no pauses, no breaks. And it was just like being able to have that. Because it wouldn’t make sense for us to be emotional listening to his speech. It only makes sense that we’re all kind of going, ‘Uh huh, uh huh. Go ahead and tell your speech. There you go.'”
The Season 1 finale of the Max medical drama serves as both an adequate place to land, as well as a reminder that it’s just another day in the lives of these doctors and nurses. The good news: We’ll be seeing at least one more day from The Pitt, as the show has been renewed for Season 2. And, in our interview below, we get Dearden’s thoughts and hopes on what’s to come, as well as her takes on the Season 1 finale.
Related: Everything to Know About The Pitt Season 2
Mel is a second-year resident, which doesn’t make her as green as Santos or Whitaker, but not as senior as Robby or Langdon. From an experience perspective, you kind of occupy a similar place on set, having more on-screen credits than some, but less than others. Was that role you fell into among the cast?
Yeah. I mean, it was very hard, because you can’t say what’s standard, because this show isn’t. How we shoot it, nothing about it is normal. We shoot in sequence already. It’s like, “Okay, so you’ll never encounter this again. By the way, whatever job you do, you’ll never encounter this in sequence again. It’s just not a thing that happens. To do one episode as a time instead of block shootings, yeah, that won’t happen again either.” And it’s just, it’s bizarre to, like, have everything that you know, I I’ve done and I know, and it’s like, all ” Everything I’ve done, it’s all different; it’s bizarre.
But it’s interesting working with people who are so brand new. And, I mean, this show’s overwhelming for me and for all veterans. And so it’s like this is is all new for all of us anyway. But there’s some easy ways to teach. And it’s not teaching as much as it’s like, “Oh, by the way, this will happen. You can ask why. Someone will go, ‘We want you to move here.’ And if it doesn’t feel right for your character, instead of arguing that, go, ‘Why do you need that?’ And they go, ‘Oh, because we want the camera to do this.’ And you go, ‘Okay, yeah, sure. I’ll step out. I’ll make sure the camera can come in.’ It’s not about you.” But often actors don’t get anything explained to them. So they go, “We need you to be over here. And so we go, “Well, that doesn’t make sense for my character.” But they only just want the camera there instead. Tell me you want the camera there. I’ll step by the way.
It’s interesting you mention that you shot everything in sequence. Does that mean that Robby’s speech to you all in the finale at the end of the day was one of the last things you shot? How much did that serve as a point of finality for Taylor as well as Mel?
It was the last scene we ever shot. I think that was wildly helpful. Because often, it’s the last scene, and you might be a little emotional. I think something that was randomly, wildly helpful was we were so unbelievably tired. We were shooting for seven months at the most intense thing ever with no pauses, no breaks. And it was just like being able to have that. Because it wouldn’t make sense for us to be emotional listening to his speech. It only makes sense that we’re all kind of going, “Uh huh, uh huh. Go ahead and tell your speech. There you go.” And to actually be able to have that, and all of us kind of going, “Okay, yeah, another take, sure, sure,” it worked so well.
You do get one more major case following the mass casualty event. And it’s a rather timely one, as a kid is brought in with measles and the staff tries to negotiate with the classic “Dr. Google” parents. Talk to me about having the season close out with that case.
I think it’s just so easy. There is a black-and-white situation. And it’s like, “You keep choosing the wrong one. You don’t get it. It’s there is a right and a wrong here, and you’re choosing the wrong one.” And then you have something like a bunch of people going to a concert, and they did nothing wrong, and they’re coming in droves, and they’re dying, and they’re permanently injured, and all of these things. And then you see someone who’s got a black-and-white choice in front of them, and they’re still choosing it wrong. The frustration that doctor must feel…I feel, and I’m an actor. But just hearing all the breakouts, and just knowing what it means for kids who are not old enough to get their shots because you’ve decided not to do something that is so simple, it’s tough. I think that’s also the kind of the first time Mel gets impatient. Especially after what just happened. They had no choice, and their lives are all altered now. You had a choice, and you chose wrong, and now you’re being worse. Knock it off. What are you doing?
Any intel you can give us right now about The Pitt Season 2?
I can say we know nothing. And even knowing just this much would be great. We don’t know when the next day is the next shift is. We have no clue. I had to read this. I read somewhere that Scott said it’s not gonna be the next day, and it’s not gonna be a year from then. So that’s a lot of days it could be.
I don’t know if I’m the first to tell you this, but they said it’s going to be over the Fourth of July weekend.
Yeah, that’s tough. That would be just a lot of drunk driving. That would make sense. And, oh God, firework injuries. Oh, that’s brutal. But yeah, that would make sense. I mean, the Fourth of July and especially Halloween and New Year’s are horrible times for emergency departments because of drunk driving. And I’ve always heard that Halloween also gets weird injuries because people are doing weird spooky stuff. It’ll be like, “Yeah, you impaled yourself on a fence because you wanted to pretend you were a gargoyle. Cool. Alright, so you’re super injured now.”
Are you manifesting any storylines for Mel right now for that particular weekend?
I’d love for a friend! [Laughs.] You don’t have to get her to just go, “Oh, we think you’re insensitive, but you’re not. You’re actually really good at this.” And just someone to click in a little bit better, which would be great.
Related: ‘The Pitt’ Star Taylor Dearden Reveals How Her ADHD Helped Create Her Fan-Favorite Character (Exclusive)
