HBO Max's medical drama medical drama genre, following the staff of Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital throughout one 15-hour shift rather than across a more extended period of time. Combined with the series's realistic aspects, the result is a uniquely intense medical drama that showcases the extremes that hospital employees can experience in one day.

Langdon's drug misuse. Though Langdon's secret is only revealed as the series progresses, one cut line from the pilot episode could have changed this.

The Pitt Episode 1 Cut A Line Where Collins Jokingly Accused Langdon Of Being On Drugs

The Characters' First Interaction Was Changed

One of the biggest reveals in The Pitt was that of Langdon's drug use and its potential impact on patients. Midway through the season, Santos began having concerns about Dr. Langdon and eventually reported Langdon to Dr. Robby after noticing that the amount of pain medication being used did not match up with what the doctors had been prescribing to patients. This process happened throughout several episodes, allowing audiences to get a better understanding of what Langdon was doing and how it impacted everyone at PTMH.

However, this major plotline could have felt very different to viewers if the show had kept one original interaction. Recently, the creator of the series, R. Scott Gemmill, shared his original script for the first episode with Deadline, and one of Dr. Collins' first lines could have foreshadowed The Pitt's Langdon reveal. In the scene where Robby enters the hospital and Collins and Langdon are introduced as they look at the surgical board, Collins makes a telling comment about Langdon's behavior:

Collins: "Your enthusiasm sometimes makes me think you're on drugs, Langdon"

Langdon: "I am--endorphins, baby. I ran a quick six this morning, followed by a 12-minute ice bath. Eliminates all inflammation in the body and boots the immune system through--"

Collins' seemingly innocent line about Langdon's readiness to start the day reads totally differently, knowing where his story ends up. The lines are clearly meant to introduce the characters and their personalities, with Collins expressing worry and Langdon taking a much more positive approach to the challenges that lie ahead. However, knowing that Langdon was truly taking medicine from the hospital gives the quick line a completely different meaning and could have made his character arc too obvious.

Collins' Cut Line To Langdon Would Have Been Too On-The-Nose For Setting Up His Dark Twist

Even As A Joke, It Would Have Put The Idea Into Audience's Heads

The pilot script shared by Gemmill gives great insight into who the characters are in the quickest way possible, something essential for a series that moves as fast as The Pitt, so it makes sense to use Collins' line to establish the differences between her and Langdon. However, as a viewer, lines like this can automatically come off either as too jokey or as intentionally foreshadowing a major development later on. Given that The Pitt is serious drama, Collins' joke about Langdon's drug use may have given too much away.

The full reveal and the other characters finding out that Langdon had been abusing the hospital's pain medications would have been diminished if it felt like the show was setting it up too much.

Even though audiences would have known that Collins did not think Langdon was on drugs, her comment could have gotten the idea stuck in the audience's heads. Any time Langdon did or said something questionable, it would have been seen as evidence that he was using drugs to get through the work day. Then, when his actions were revealed, the drug misuse would not have had nearly as big an impact on audiences.

The full reveal and the other characters finding out that Langdon had been abusing the hospital's pain medications would have been diminished if it felt like the show was setting it up too much. Instead, The Pitt was able to build on the suspicions of the other characters and allow audiences to get a sense of who Langdon is, creating a far more interesting watch. Ultimately, The Pitt made the right choice in removing the brief interaction because it allowed audiences to understand Langdon and sit with the serious ramifications of his drug use.

Source: Deadline