Hi There,
In praise of TV drama series – The Pitt & Blue Lights.
In the last decade or more, traditional long-running precinct-based, procedural TV drama series have not been fashionable but, to my mind, when done well, there is no more enjoyable and creatively (and commercially!) fulfilling screenwriting form.
These long-running series enable you to invest so deeply in characters that become more layered and emotionally rich with every episode and series. That combination of engaging regular characters and repeatable and inherently dramatic story potential is such a winning one.
And recently two series have stood out and reminded me of the possibilities of drama series storytelling.
In the UK, Blue Lights. And in the US, The Pitt.
While Blue Lights is not as strictly precinct-based as The Pitt, the police station is nonetheless the dominant location – even though the police officers on the beat in Belfast and also occasionally these regular characters in their homes play a part.
Like The Pitt, much of the point of view of the series is from that of the rookie cops (or in the case of The Pitt, the rookie medics). This device – the audience learning about these new worlds as these newbies do – is a very familiar one in series TV. But one of the things I enjoy about both shows is that they’re not trying to re-invent the wheel – they’re using tried and trusted methods. They lean into the tropes and conventions of their genre – but the execution of the storytelling in both series is a cut above.
It’s interesting to me also that The Pitt seems to have reignited an audience for its (now very old) forerunner – ER. I was a big fan of ER back in the day. I won’t be going back to rewatch it – but it’s interesting to me that some people I know who have now watched ER for the first time having watched The Pitt, say that it still stands up as an outstanding show – for any era.
Blue Lights has a slightly more relationship-based approach; and some of the most compelling stories are when the regular characters and their relationships are impacted by what they experience on the work frontline. The Pitt (as far as I’ve got into season two anyway) has resisted the romantic relationships between regular characters that is a big part of Blue Lights. (While these relationship stories provide some of my favourite moments from Blue Lights, there is, it seems to me, a slight danger that this pairing-off of characters gives you diminishing returns – they deny you the ongoing relationship friction that often drives these shows; and so many of the characters now seem to be paired off that the only thing left to do (as they are doing) is breaking some of these relationships up!
There are so many things I admire about The Pitt – in particular the way that it makes a virtue of its logistic limitations. It’s so rare for a show these days to be almost completely confined to a single interior location – but this feels like a virtue rather than a limitation. The stories that are told within this single location are so much more compelling than so many stories that are much more wide-ranging and cinematic.
I love the way the story strands exist both in isolation and as a reflection of the human qualities of both regular medic characters and the incoming patients.
I love how emotive the show is and how it celebrates its regular characters as (flawed, damaged, struggling) heroes.
I love the pace, intensity and humour of the show.
I love how pretty much every single episode closes on such a strong hook that it’s hard not to carry straight onto the next episode.
I will be very sorry when I’ve got to the end of the 2nd series and I’m nearly there.
Also, part of the appeal of The Pitt is, without doubt, the format. To quote Gwilym Mumford in The Guardian, ‘How did not one TV producer have the idea to mash together ER and 24 before? It was right there, staring you all in the face! (Jed Mercurio, whose forgotten 2015 medical drama, Critical, also had a real-time element, might have a finger raised in objection at this point.)’
Here’s a link to this full article, a fascinating reflection on medical drama series across the decades https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/17/the-pitt-revives-the-classic-medical-drama-and-ensures-the-genre-remains-in-safe-hands
And yes, Critical, which sadly wasn’t recommissioned for a second series by Sky, was one of the standout medical series (along with his earlier Cardiac Arrest and Bodies) of recent years.
So, when creating your new series think about what might constitute that winning combo of content and form. One of The Pitt’s standout qualities is definitely that real-time format.
There is so much to learn for any writer looking to create and craft their own series from both The Pitt and Blue Lights.
BAFTA TV Awards 2026
Last weekend saw the BAFTA TV awards. I was delighted to see several Channel 4 screenwriting course alumni win awards.
To see Cat Moulton (4screenwriting 2019) there on stage; and to remember conversations with her at the start of her screenwriting journey; also remembering that I was originally introduced to her brilliant work by one of the great champions of writers – the much-missed Muirinn Lane Kelly (4screenwriting script editor 2016) – was bitter-sweet. Cat wrote such a wonderfully exciting script on 4screenwriting – her talent was obvious. And it was great that one of the episodes of Code Of Silence was written by another 4screenwriting alumnus, Will Truefitt (4screenwriting 2021).
And the Children’s Scripted award was won by Crongton (lead writer Archie Maddocks, 4screenwriting 2018), another writer who I had the complete pleasure of script editing on 4screenwriting; another fantastic, original script that showcased his abilities. And other writers on Crongton included Thara Popoola (4screenwriting 2021) and Haleema Mirza (4screenwriting 2019).
It was also great to see photos from the evening of Paul Williams (4screenwriting 2016, who was script-edited on the course and supported ever afterwards by the afore-mentioned Muirinn Lane Kelly), a key part of the writing team on the outstanding BAFTA-nominated show, What It Feels Like For A Girl.
CREATIVITY FOR SCRIPTWRITERS
I will be running this course in central London on Saturday June 13th. A day spent doing a series of fun creative exercises that will help re-energise your writing, arm you with new ideas, characters and stories – in a warm, supportive, non-judgemental setting. This day is always a lot of fun – and many brilliant story ideas have come out of it. (Several of which are referenced in my screenwriting book!)
Guest speaker for the day is playwright / novelist / screenwriter / political activist, the brilliant ANDERS LUSTGARTEN.
https://script-consultant.co.uk/creativity-for-scriptwriters/
The next newsletter will be out on Friday May 29th.
Best wishes
Phil
PHILIP SHELLEY
Friday May 15th 2026