There’s a lot of blood, guts and gross stuff on The Pitt. It’s a medical drama, I’d expect nothing less. So, it must be a messy show to film. However, as Season 2 of The Pitt premiered on the 2026 TV schedule, I asked cinematographer Johanna Coelho what the messiest thing about filming this series is, and surprisingly, her answer didn’t have to do with blood.
Referencing the clamshell sequence in Season 2’s premiere (which you can stream with an HBO Max subscription), Coelho told me that the moment was particularly bloody, so it stood out as a messy moment. However, that wasn’t the only reason it can be described that way. In fact, the sheer number of people in the scene is what made it truly chaotic, as the cinematographer explained:
But sometimes, you know, I feel like, depending on the procedure, messy sometimes it's not just blood. It's also the hands, actors going in, doing so many things at the same time, that sometimes you have six hands in there. And so it's, you know, for us camera-wise, it feels just messy if we have more bodies around, and we have to fight more force to go in.
Take the clamshell thoracotomy as an example of this (which you can see the BTS for above). This situation begins about nine minutes into Season 2’s premiere, and by the end of it, the doctors have fully cracked open the patient’s chest. It involves Noah Wyle’s lead character, Dr. Robby, as well as various other doctors, including Garcia (Alexandra Metz), Mohan (Supriya Ganesh), Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi) and Whitaker (Gerran Howell). Javadi (Shabana Azeez), Ogilvie (Lucas Iverson) and Joy (Irene Choi) are also all there alongside nurses Jesse (Ned Brower) and Perlah (Amielynn Abellera). That’s a ton of important characters in one scene, and it’s a small room. Add on the fact that they’re also filming a complex and bloody procedure, and you have a properly messy situation.
However, while it’s a mess, it also helps enhance the tense and busy feelings you’re supposed to have while watching The Pitt. That was something Coelho very clearly pointed out to me, too, saying:
But that gives you that feeling of how crowded it is. And I think we embrace that as well. We really have to work out that choreography with – you know, they have to arm it out even more sometimes for the camera to be able to be right there with them. And that does become messy, but we also embrace that visually, because then you feel all the arms in there, and you understand how intense it is on the surgery table at that moment.
The visceral and fast-paced nature of The Pitt is one of the reasons why it’s so fun to watch. It also helps illustrate just how chaotic these jobs can be. So, I love that the camerawork leans into all that. They work with the mess, and figure out how to shoot complex medical situations with tons of characters involved. Explaining that point further, the cinematographer told me:
So you know, approaching the word ‘messy,’ as you were saying, yeah, it's blood and all that. But it's also like the bodies in there, you know, and how much is happening at the same time. And since we're really in there with the cameras, you feel that visually as well.
Honestly, learning about all this makes the glowing reviews for The Pitt even more warranted. I love that the cameras get right in there with the cast to create these scenes that make viewers feel like they’re really in the ER.
So, the next time you clock in for a shift in The Pitt, make sure to pay attention to how scenes involving a lot of the cast are filmed. Understandably, they’re super messy, just like blood or other effects can be, and it makes the Emmy-winning show even more fun to watch.
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