The Pitt star Isa Briones has credited her “Black and brown” co-stars with the show’s success, after their noticeable absence from Variety’s Women of Emmys Season cover story sparked criticism.
Briones, who is half Filipino, stars in the hit HBO medical drama about an underfunded Philadelphia hospital.
In preparation for next week’s Emmy nominations, of which The Pitt is expected to land several, Briones and her two co-stars, Taylor Dearden and Katherine LaNasa, graced the cover of Variety’s latest magazine issue celebrating the women of Emmys season.
The story itself notes that “while LaNasa, Briones, and Dearden are on the cover of this issue, they’re representing all the women of The Pitt. We simply didn’t have the room for all the talent on this show on our cover.”
It additionally gives praise to the other leading female actors not pictured on the cover. “Fiona Dourif embodied the no-nonsense single mother with a heart of gold Dr. McKay; Shabana Azeez was the perfect Javadi, a young doctor constantly trying to prove herself; Tracy Ifeachor felt as though she’d been playing Dr. Collins for decades, a woman who knows exactly who she is and what she wants; and Supriya Ganesh’s Dr. Samira Mohan may just be the smartest person in every room,” the article reads.
Still, the cover, published Thursday, has generated backlash for highlighting two of the show’s white female actors over the show’s many Black and brown leads.
“Choosing to not include any of the black or brown women that played equally important roles in the show is definitely a choice,” one fan commented.
A second directly called out the omission of Ifeachor, who portrays Dr. Collins. “With all due respect, where the hell is Collins?” they questioned.
“Love this, but it would have been even better if they included the rest of the outstanding women from the show!” another added.
Briones, herself, weighed in on the controversy, writing on her Instagram Story: “Of course I’m pinching myself that I’m on a cover of a magazine and am so grateful.
“But the Black and brown women of this cast make The Pitt what it is. So honored to be among these incredibly talented women.”
The Goosbumps actor gave a shoutout to Ifeachor, Shabana Azeez, Supriya Ganesh, Kristin Villanueva, and Amielynn Abellera, all of whom make up the show’s ensemble cast.
The Independent has contacted Variety for comment.
In an interview with Variety in May, Ganesh, who uses she/they pronouns, reflected on landing their breakout role as Dr. Mohan on The Pitt.
“I never thought I would get my break in something that would be so artistically and creatively fulfilling as The Pitt,” Ganesh said. “When it worked out, it felt like everything in my life had led up to that moment, honestly. Even the week that I was auditioning and getting called back, it felt like something was watching over me or. A bird pooped on me, which if you ask any Indian, is good luck.”
The Pitt, which debuted on HBO Max in January, has become a word-of-mouth phenomenon. Each episode uniquely centers on one hour of a 15-hour emergency room shift.
Created by R. Scott Gemmill and executive produced by John Wells and ER star Noah Wyle, who also leads the show as Dr. Robinavitch, the drama has already been renewed for a second season, despite the ongoing lawsuit against it.
Last August, the estate of ER creator Michael Crichton filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros Television, Gemmill, Wells, and Wyle, alleging that The Pitt is an unauthorized reboot of ER.
“The Pitt is ER. It’s not like ER. It’s not kind of ER. It’s not sort of ER. It is ER with the exact same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio and network as the planned ER reboot,” the lawsuit states.
Warner Bros. has denied the accusations, calling them “baseless.”
“The lawsuit filed by the Crichton Estate is baseless, as The Pitt is a new and original show,” the studio said in a statement. “Any suggestion otherwise is false, and Warner Bros. Television intends to vigorously defend against these meritless claims.”
This story was updated to include additional context about Variety’s decision to only feature three stars from ‘The Pitt.’
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