There are two ways to watch HBO Max's hit medical drama "The Pitt" — like a normal person or like someone on the City Cast Pittsburgh team. If you're like us, you've loved clocking the specificity of its local lore, even when it's not exactly right. Here are some of our favorite Steel City references in the first half of season two ⬇️
What ‘The Pitt’ Gets Right
Regional pride and obsessions
Pittsburgh IS the fireworks capital of the world, and it’s funny — if also nightmare fuel — to suggest lanternflies could shut down a major medical center. (Meanwhile sinkholes really could.) Sonny’s Tavern is a real institution in Bloomfield, though not most people’s preferred spot for a first kiss. And no one will ever forget Three Rivers Stadium or all the folks like Louie, the fictional former groundskeeper, who ensured the rest of us had a great time.
Local references that feel lived in
Dr. Robby wearing a Hemingway’s shirt. The Penguins logo as a family crest. Amazing Italian at Pino’s in Point Breeze. Brashear’s unfortunate former mascot choice. Calling a nun’s ailment an “immaculate infection.” PennDOT will absolutely teach you to ride a motorcycle (for free!), but they would also suggest you wear a helmet.
Stuff That Feels… Close But Off
Geography roulette
A date-worthy art gallery at 40th and Butler? Sir, this is actually a Wendy’s. Most people aren’t hitting up Seven Springs for a weekend trip in the summer, but it could happen. And while it’s totally possible to live in Garfield and commute to work in New Castle, it wouldn’t be the most pleasant way to spend two or more hours every day.
Creative license on PA law
The show’s depiction of what happens when someone dies without family to claim them is grim but real, as is how hospitals treat survivors of sexual assault. The show worked with Pittsburgh Action Against Rape to help build necessary tension over episode seven, but real exams take place over many hours and can’t be paused for mental breaks or snacks.
Our Lingering Questions
When was the opening scene filmed?
When Dr. Robby rides across the Rachel Carson Bridge (with musical accompaniment from The Clarks), it makes sense to focus on our beautiful skyline at sunrise. But the fountain at Point State Park is on — it was off last year for renovations ahead of the NFL Draft — and Shore Thing, which served up bites and bevvies from July to October, is missing from the riverfront along Allegheny Landing Park. Local filming for “The Pitt” took place in that window, so how did they manage this shot? Is it special effects, or is this maybe an alternate scene shot during season one?
Who made that fake city seal, and can we adopt it for real?
When Dr. Robby arrives at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, he passes a plaque commemorating the cataclysmic events of season one. The seal, seemingly part of a proclamation from City Council, is… not quite Pittsburgh’s. But it might be better? The bureaucratic language is wrong, though. No “be it proclaimed.” Striking lack of “whereas.”
