HBO Max Planning Two New Medical Dramas With The Pitt’s Blueprint

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HBO is planning two original medical dramas in line with how The Pitt has been operating.

HBO’s The Pitt continues to be a hit with viewers, consistently ranking among the platform’s most popular shows since its second season launched on January 8, 2026. Praised as “TV’s best medical show,” the series – led by Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch and his team – has been renewed for a third season, with the announcement coming as season 2 began streaming.

HBO is expanding its international content with two new shows planned for France and Italy. According to Sarah Aubrey, HBO’s Head of Original Programming, these series, which are similar in style and ambition to existing HBO dramas, are set in and around hospitals and are currently in the early stages of development. She told Deadline that while progress is being made, details aren’t available just yet.

Aubrey explained that “The Pitt” has been incredibly successful because it’s both a captivating drama with well-developed characters and features protagonists working in jobs people can connect with. He believes the show’s characters are the kind of heroes we need more of today.

The first season of The Pitt, a medical drama set in Pittsburgh and created by R. Scott Gemmill, received 13 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won five, including awards for Outstanding Drama Series, lead actor Noah Wyle, supporting actress Katherine LaNasa, guest actor Shawn Hatosy, and outstanding casting for a drama series.

The first season had 15 episodes, each representing one hour of a continuous 15-hour period, and the second season is following the same pattern. These two new shows, set in hospitals, are aiming to achieve the same popularity as The Pitt, as HBO tries to bring its realistic medical dramas to audiences around the world.

I’m really excited about the new shows they’re planning! Right now, things are still super early – they haven’t announced who will be running the show, the writers, or even who’s going to be in the cast. But considering The Pitt seemed to be made on a pretty reasonable budget and felt really authentic with its Pittsburgh hospital setting, I’m guessing these new medical dramas will probably be filmed in real locations too, and won’t be crazy expensive to produce per episode.

HBO is quickly growing its reach internationally, and three upcoming shows for international audiences are: In Utero, starring Sergio Castellitto, a drama set in a Barcelona fertility clinic; 500 Beats, a tense medical thriller about a heart transplant; and Peccato, a funny mockumentary comedy series featuring Emanuela Faneli.

Speaking at Content London in December 2025, Sarah Aubrey noted strong viewer interest in classic TV genres like medical dramas, legal shows, and police procedurals, saying audiences consistently enjoy them. This suggests a strategy of creating globally appealing, consistent original content to attract subscribers and support bundled packages.

HBO isn’t creating a new show like The Pitt, but they are using the show’s core ideas as a starting point for future projects. They plan to experiment with these ideas in different countries, working with local creators, to see how far they can take a realistic, character-driven medical drama and what kind of audience it can reach.

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2026-03-24 23:44