Fiona Dourif on The Pitt: "A lot of energy goes into making it as realistic as possible"

Successfully regenerating the magic of ’90s smash ER, HBO Max’s medical drama The Pitt follows the story of Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (former ER star Noah Wyle), who navigates the high stakes, understaffed and chaotic world of a Pittsburgh trauma centre.

Having launched to huge acclaim in January of last year, the series is now back for a keenly awaited sophomore season, with a third already in the works. Interestingly, with HBO Max having scored big in reviving a format popular on ’90s network TV, there are now attempts to further capitalise, with the streamer looking at reviving another classic genre, in the shape of a police procedural.

For now, though, the focus is firmly on The Pitt. With the hectically busy Wyle also serving as executive producer, writer and director as well as lead actor, how does he function behind the the camera?

“Writing is such a personal thing, I find it extremely gratifying,” he enthuses. “I also love being able to do it from home. It’s the one art I can practise that doesn’t take me away from my family. All the sides of your personality come out in the various characters you’re writing, and the more personal you make it, the more universally felt it is.

“It’s counter-balanced beautifully by directing, which is such a collaborative experience – it’s the exact opposite of working in isolation. You have to be a good communicator and listener, and recognise a good idea when you hear it. You also have to be inspirational and organised, as well as loose. I enjoy being a Swiss army knife at work, I like being a problem solver.”

Among The Pitt’s stellar support cast is Fiona Dourif, who features as Dr. Cassie McKay. A third-year resident in the show’s second season, central to McKay’s story is how, as a single mother, she raises her son Harrison. How much research do the cast do for their roles?

“There’s so much,” replies Dourif. “You throw a penny on the set and you hit an actual healthcare worker. They’re intertwined in the process, and it’s what makes the show so cool and good. A lot of energy goes into making it as realistic as possible. At home, I do a lot of searching images of liver and how it functions! The whole thing is really fascinating. And then we’re sent to medical school, but it’s like two weeks.”

It’s then that our conversation takes a wonderfully unexpected turn. With Hot Press being Irish, she volunteers additional information on her educational background.

“Also I have to tell you, I did my Leaving Cert,” she relays. “Not a big deal. Isn’t that weird? It was at the Institute.”

Did you go to school in Ireland?

“Yeah, I lived in Ireland for four years,” she continues. “I used to have a fake accent – it was a northside Dublin accent! I worked in a tonne of bars and nightclubs in Dublin, back when you could work cash and hit. It was a long time ago, before the euro man.”

Remarkably, we then get into the weeds of various Irish counties, with Dourif enquiring if Hot Press is talking from Dublin. As it happens, we’re in Kildare.

“You see, I know Kildare man,” she responds. “I was there for a long time, for years. I was in Dublin mostly, but I lived for a minute in Cork, and then in the middle of nowhere in Tipperary.”

Well, you live and learn! Notably, the actress is the daughter of Brad Dourif – star of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Blue Velvet, Child’s Play and many other classics – and was delighted to act opposite her father in The Pitt.

“For me it was just the most delightful thing in the world,” she enthuses. “I was raised on sets, and this was the first time – or actually the second – my dad came to one of my sets. He was really nervous, and I was like, ‘Dad, you’re going to be great, don’t worry about it – you’ve done it before!’”

Finally, with this decade being decidedly more fraught socially and politically than the ’90s, has the current climate impacted the storytelling more so than it would have on ER?

“Obviously, using profanity, showing nudity, and being able to use more photo-realistic wounds increased the dramatic tension and authenticity of our show,” says Wyle. “But those are also easy, low-hanging fruit devices to tell your story. So it’s not a question of ‘Can we?’ – it’s a question of ‘Should we?’ Using discretion and taste becomes a little more important.”

• All episodes of The Pitt Season 1 will be available to stream exclusively on HBO Max in Ireland from March 26, with episodes from Season 2 airing on a weekly basis.