A still from The Pitt (Image via Youtube/@Max) — A still from The Pitt (Image via YouTube/@Max)

How The Pitt used a former ER-Nurse in the cast to sharpen their approach to the show

Modified Apr 16, 2025 18:40 GMT

The Pitt is an ongoing Max streaming medical drama created by R. Scott Gemmill and executive produced by Gemmill, John Wells and Noah Wyle, among others. The show is presented in real time, with all 15 episodes equating to one hour of one fifteen-hour emergency room shift in the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital. Such a presentation makes the show's chronology conform to actual hospital shift timing.

As per an article by People magazine published on April 14, 2025, the production involved professional actors with clinical experience for added medical validity. Ned Brower, a licensed emergency room nurse and musician, played Nurse Jesse Van Horn.

He performed as the band's drummer before and later attended UCLA to earn his master's in nursing. Brower worked as a pediatric emergency room nurse before joining the show. The production staff utilized his experience to confirm scene accuracy and interpret complex medical lingo.

Ned Brower's personal journey

Ned Brower began his career as Rooney's drummer and backing vocalist. The band released their debut album in 2003 under their name and toured until they split in 2013. Throughout this period, he also pursued acting jobs and modeling.

After his music career, he became an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He then pursued coursework in nursing at UCLA, where he received a master's degree in nursing.

After finishing his studies, he began to work as a pediatric emergency room nurse at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. This hospital experience came before his casting in the Max TV show The Pitt as Nurse Jesse Van Horn.

Casting of nurse Jesse Van Horn in The Pitt

Ned Brower also has a background that combines entertainment and medicine. This combined experience fits the production's practice of casting actors with professional medical expertise. Brower said in an interview with People magazine on April 14, 2025,

"I fell into this very unusual spot of being able to hybrid my performance background with my medical background in this very full circle way."

The Pitt crew tried to have actual working medical professionals both in front of and behind the camera. Brower was the sole cast member with active medical credentials, using his background as a reference during shoots.

"[The Pitt] essentially wanted to populate this world with some real medical people to help bring realism to the world they were building," Brower said.

He collaborated with executive producer Noah Wyle and writer-producer Joe Sachs, who had experience with the medical drama ER. Their collaboration involved contributions to character behavior and the structure of medical scenes.

Adding authenticity to the character

In The Pitt, Ned Brower added to Nurse Jesse Van Horn's character design by proposing that he have a nose ring and tattoos. These were added to reflect the individual appearance of certain emergency room personnel based on their experiences working in clinical environments.

In another interview segment with People magazine published on April 15, 2025, Brower said that executive producer John Wells had questioned whether such inclusions of tattoos and piercings are accurate. Brower replied by alluding to his actual experience in ERs, in which such traits characterize health professionals in those settings.

"I was like, 'In the ER, 100 percent,'I mean, there's people with tattoos, there's people with nose rings. This is part of the ER culture of the 21st century."

Such traits have since become part of the show. He added that his background and experience allowed him to bring "real experience" to the show, but that he still wanted to create a character with "some color."

Behind-the-scenes contributions

Ned Brower served as an on-set advisor on The Pitt during filming regarding the correctness of medical procedures and equipment. He was told to notify his assigned production liaison of any discrepancies in clinical representations. Part of his job involved checking how medical equipment is used and ensuring that emergency room procedure sequences are accurate.

Brower reviewed medical dialogue to ensure that it adhered to clinical language. He also offered direction regarding presenting patient information in clear, medically correct terms.

He also consulted on the direction of scenes of simulated procedures. This included advice on how emergency procedures and special effects usage were being staged.

All episodes of The Pitt season 1 can be streamed on Max.

About the author

Muhammad Zain-Ul-Abedin is an Entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. A graduate with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, he began his journey as a content writer during his undergraduate years.

With certified training in Content Marketing and Advertising from the government platform e-Rozgaar, he worked at Celeb Tattler for over one year, and at Sports World News for another year before transitioning to his current role. As a skilled writer covering the entertainment industry, he prioritizes thorough research backed by verifiable sources, and upholds ethical journalism. He enjoys how entertainment reporting blends culture, creativity, and community, fostering a transcontinental synthesis of diverse voices.

When not working, he enjoys researching on a wide range of topics, seeking to refine his skills and expand his epistemic base. He also likes to spend time tending to animals, and play a range of games, which serve a dual purpose of offering a fun escape and sharpening his strategic thinking and problem-solving skills. His favorite celebrity is Tom Cruise, whom he admires for his dedication to performing his own stunts, alongside his adaptability and compelling screen presence.

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