’The Pitt’s Taylor Dearden Explains Why She Needed a Chiropractor After Filming Season 1 [Exclusive]

The Pitt is already rolling cameras on Season 2, and one of the biggest stars of the show has pulled back the curtain on the biggest challenges of its production. Starring in the role of the beloved Dr. Melissa King, or Mel as she’s known around the halls of Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, is Taylor Dearden. The Pitt also takes place over only one shift in the ER, and the series was filmed in sequence, meaning they began with Episode 1 on filming day 1 and wrapped after concluding work on the finale. This is an unusual structure not often used in streaming TV shows nowadays, and it makes for some grueling days on set. When The Pitt first begins, it can be fairly laid back at times, watching the doctors and nurses deal with cases and shoot the breeze about their personal lives, but when they’re rushing to save the lives of mass shooting victims, the stakes feel terrifyingly high.

During a recent interview with Perri Nemiroff for an episode of Collider Ladies Night, Dearden spoke about the differences in wrapping a day of filming early in Season 1 vs. later in the season: “I think because at first we also didn’t know our bodies were gonna do this. We went a little too ham and like let it happen, and so by the fourth episode we’re all kind of like ‘Oh, I don’t really know how to be a person anymore,’” She continued, saying, “We couldn’t pace ourselves. This is a totally different thing going into this, luckily. And we all have our little routines now that we know we need.”

Dearden also pulled back the curtain on how “incredibly physical” the show is. The Pitt is committed to being the most authentic medical drama on TV, which means following strict hospital rules, such as nurses being on one side of the patients and doctors being on the other side — a real thing that The Pitt is committed to bringing to the screen:

“And because it’s also an incredibly physical show, no one’s coming to lift the people off the blanket. We are doing that ourselves. And it’s also weird stuff. So the doctors are always in reality, typically on the patient’s right, and the nurses are on the left. And so if you’re a doctor, you’re always lifting and going only in one direction. The nurses step on the bed and pull forward towards them. And so if you’re a doctor, you’re either doing it this way or this way. And it’s still film and TV, so it’s take after take after take. And it’s just one-sided.”

Dearden wrapped things up by confirming that she had to get a chiropractor/kinesiologist to counteract some of the issues caused by filming. These lessons may have been too little, too late in Season 1, but these are things she and the rest of the crew now know how to prepare for Season 2:

“So you end up walking home, and you’re like, ‘I’m not straight.’ And so just having the routine of getting massages, finding a chiropractor, or in my case, a chiropractor/kinesiologist who’s just a genius, and is so helpful. But it’s stuff like a lot of the self-care that we didn’t know we needed until it was a little too late first season. And I think we’re all also, even with the traumas, we’re trying to bring down our energy so that it can stay consistent for eight months.”

Why Was ‘The Pitt’ Such a Success?

The Pitt has been arguably the biggest new TV show of the year thus far, and its success can be credited to a few things. Perhaps none more than Noah Wyle, the lead star who returned to the medical drama after starring in every episode of ER. Wyle hasn’t put on scrubs since the ER finale, so his presence certainly helped draw viewers to the show. The Pitt also had the power of HBO marketing behind it, as well as an important story with authentic messages that make real members of the medical community feel seen and represented.

The Pitt Season 2 is currently in production and is expected to be released next January. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of The Pitt and watch the first season on HBO Max. You can watch Dearden’s full episode of Collider Ladies Night below.