SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
"The Pitt," which wrapped its first season on Max this week, has been lauded for being one of the only medical shows to, quote, "get it right." The it is the nitty-gritty of medicine itself and what it's like to work in a big-city emergency room. There is another thing "The Pitt" is getting praised for getting right, though, and that is the portrayal of a neurodivergent character, second-year resident Dr. Mel King.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE PITT")
NOAH WYLE: (As Dr. Michael Robinavitch) As you can see, we have some new faces with us this morning. Good morning. Good morning. Come on over. Starting with second-year resident, Dr. Melissa King, fresh from the VA.
TAYLOR DEARDEN: (As Melissa 'Mel' King) Everyone calls me Mel. I'm so happy to be here.
DETROW: Mel is portrayed by actress Taylor Dearden, who joins me now. Welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
DEARDEN: Hi, thanks for having me.
DETROW: You know, you've seen this in all of the reviews of the show, and I have seen this in conversation with multiple doctors I know, including doctors who work in ERs. They've said, this show kind of - obviously, it's a show, and it's dramatized a little bit, but it gets it in an accurate way more than any other show. What is it about the approach that you all took that you think nailed it so well?
DEARDEN: Well, we had two weeks of medical boot camp before we started shooting, which was incredibly helpful. And all trauma scenes are directed by doctors instead of the director. It serves the medicine, is the whole goal. And I remember at the very beginning, John Wells told us that if we are unsure about something, instead of going to the director, if it's medical, just always listen to the doctor, even if the director wants something else. Like, always listen to the doctors.
DETROW: And the directors were OK with that?
DEARDEN: They don't know that that happened.
(LAUGHTER)
DETROW: Yes. You know, Mel is - we heard that early-on clip. This is a room filled with burned-out, cynical, frustrated people, and that is not her. She is not a cynical person. She is a joyous person. She is a positive person. What do you think it is that she finds so rewarding about an incredibly hard job?
DEARDEN: I think that it's incredibly hard and that Mel can do it. Recognizing that something's hard for anyone and then being able to overcome it if you are neurodivergent, like, hopefully, that should just make it even sweeter.
DETROW: Can we talk about the thing I mentioned in the introduction? And you mentioned it as well. You know, Mel is often, at times, a little awkward in a very charming way and likable way. And it seems like sarcasm is a tricky dynamic for her to pick up, among other things. And she's been talked about in reviews and online chatter as being described as having autistic-coded behaviors, which - my understanding is she's not. But I've heard you say in interviews that she has ADHD. What should we know, and what do you think about?
DEARDEN: I don't know what Mel's diagnosis is. I have ADHD.
DETROW: Yeah.
DEARDEN: So I think I've just been letting - some of the things that I am better at masking, I'm just letting the mask come down a little bit more. I have a few friends whose siblings are more need (ph) autism. And because of that, they never noticed that their younger child - my friends - are also autistic. And so I think, you know, trying to show that it really is a spectrum and also that, you know, ADHD has finally been put on the same spectrum as autism.
DETROW: I think a lot of people have somebody in their family or somebody in their life who does have ADHD and see all the different ways it can play out. It was interesting - you said that there's behavior that you sometimes mask that you don't mask in the scenes. Can you give us one example, maybe, from one scene where you kind of consciously thought about that or just played out that way on camera?
DEARDEN: I think a lot of my anxiety, I'm able to mask better. And I just kind of liked the idea that Mel can't mask much of anything, especially because of how sweet she is. It's just, you know, you get all Mel, all the time.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE PITT")
WYLE: (As Dr. Michael Robinavitch) You OK?
DEARDEN: (As Melissa 'Mel' King) I am - I get frustrated when I can't do things or at least it looks like it.
WYLE: (As Dr. Michael Robinavitch) Yeah, you and me both.
DEARDEN: (As Melissa 'Mel' King) Thanks, but my frustration manifests itself emotionally, and then I get upset. And then it looks like I can't handle things. And, you know, then I can't cry in front of the patient 'cause no one wants to see their doctor cry. That's just a big red flag.
WYLE: (As Dr. Michael Robinavitch) You just did a perfect cric (ph). You're doing great.
DEARDEN: I think there have been a few scenes of just, like, recovery, too. There's a scene where Mel is looking at a lava lamp app or listening to the ocean sound, and it's all of the self-soothing and stimming that is - which I'm really glad they show that part 'cause they don't usually show that.
DETROW: Is there anything that you personally, in real life, learned from this experience, whether it was that medical boot camp at the front end or way the show was approached or filmed?
DEARDEN: This is a - it's a very tough show for neurodivergents to be in.
DETROW: Yeah.
DEARDEN: It moves really fast. It's really hard words. It's actions we just learned. You have to put all of that together at the same time and as quickly as possible. And we go so quickly, we don't have much time to take a second to review, to calm down. And so it's definitely a challenge to shoot.
DETROW: Can I ask - you're talking about the importance of showing that recovery time for Mel, the character. Is that something you were trying to make sure to get for yourself as an actor on set in this environment that seemed just as overwhelming as it really are?
DEARDEN: Yeah. And it's tough to find the time. It's also very tough to explain to people what's going on inside. If it's not - you can't see that I'm panic-stricken. It's kind of hard to understand that I am. I eventually had to get some earplugs that just soften external noise so that you could at least try and hear better just what's in front of you. And I started wearing those, which I definitely pitched, like, I think Mel should wear these, which is just so that I can wear them.
DETROW: (Laughter) Yeah.
DEARDEN: There's a lot of things that have to happen for it to be - I don't know - comfortable to explore.
DETROW: We were talking about your experience on the set portraying a neurodivergent character as somebody who's neurodivergent yourself, and you're talking about kind of the challenges that creates. But it seems like you've also made a decision to be OK and open talking about it to the press, talking about it in public in a way that I think a lot of people would shy away from doing. Was that an active decision on your end? Why do you think that's important to be honest about?
DEARDEN: It was. When I talked to Scott and John early on in the med boot camp that we had, I told them that I relate to this character because I see a lot of the neurodivergent parts of Mel as something I experience all the time. And John said something that was just, like, I didn't even think about it, and he was just so wonderful. He said, do you want to come out of the neurotypical, neurodivergence closet, so to speak, for the show? Are you willing to do that? And I had never thought of, oh, yeah, that is something you have to think of.
And I took it home. I thought it over. And I realized it's, like, you know, I can mask only so much, and I'm really ready for people to know. I tell everyone I meet because there are certain social behaviors that might seem odd. And so I usually have to tell everyone I meet, like, in case I do this, just so you know, it's not on purpose. So it was great for them to let it be my decision completely. I feel like it's the right move.
DETROW: That is actress Taylor Dearden. She plays Dr. Mel King on Max's "The Pitt." You can catch the season finale tomorrow night. Thanks so much for talking to us.
DEARDEN: Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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