When Dr. Wendy Ross logged on for a Zoom meeting in early 2024, she wasn’t sure who to expect on the other side of the call.
It was a digital writers’ room, Ross tells Fast Company, “and in the upper left-hand corner—I’ll never forget it—was Noah Wyle.”
Ross, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician and the director of Jefferson Center for Autism & Neurodiversity in Philadelphia, had received a request to lend her expertise to the writers of a new medical series—but they told her only that it was set in an emergency room and would potentially feature an autistic doctor. “I had no idea what was going to happen, but I thought it sounded kind of cool,” she says.
That show went on to become HBO’s hit drama The Pitt, which won three Emmy Awards and averaged 10 million viewers an episode in its first season. Wyle is an executive producer and a star of the show, making his return to medical dramas 30 years after his breakout role on ER. (Ross recalls that show airing at the same time she was first studying medicine: “In my fangirl world, we went to medical school together,” she says—though when meeting him over Zoom, she kept her cool.)
From the get-go, Ross says, The Pitt’s writers “were very serious about not portraying a stereotypical situation” regarding autism. “That was in the original request that was posed to me,” she says.
Her advice eventually helped shape fan-favorite character Dr. Mel King (played by Taylor Dearden), a bright-eyed resident new to the ER in the show’s first season.
Mel exhibits many autistic-coded traits, like self-soothing, the occasional dropped social cue, and a knack for repetitive, focused tasks. But notably, she’s never confirmed on the show to be diagnosed as neurodivergent. Instead, viewers get to see many sides of Mel as the season unfolds: her compassion as she comforts a child losing her sister, her earnestness as she befriends her fellow doctors, her eccentricity as she calms herself by repeating Megan Thee Stallion lyrics like a mantra.
The decision not to confirm a diagnosis onscreen was a recommendation from Ross.
“I suggested that it not be clear whether or not this character knew she was on the spectrum, but that some of these characteristics unfold subtly and naturally, as they do in real life,” she says. Autistic women are often diagnosed later in life than autistic men; Ross even points out that many women don’t receive diagnoses themselves until their children are diagnosed, prompting them to recognize shared traits. Mel stands in for these women, whose autistic traits could pass for neurotypical if unexamined.
“You see her sometimes do these quirky, unexpected, very enthusiastic things that are kind of subtle,” Ross says, “but for people who know, you know.”
A difficult reality
The year prior to being tapped by The Pitt’s writers’ room, Ross co-authored an article on the experiences of autistic doctors in the workplace in collaboration with Autistic Doctors International.
“The data in that article was very disconcerting and, frankly, a little bit sad,” she says. Ross and her fellow researchers found that of the 225 autistic doctors surveyed, 77 percent had considered suicide, while 24% had attempted it. 80% of respondents said they’d worked with another doctor they suspected was autistic, but only 22% had worked with a doctor they knew was autistic.
“There’s a lot of anxiety and depression related to being an autistic doctor,” Ross says. “Part of it is, it’s a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ kind of situation, because people are afraid of the stigma, and by the time they do disclose, they’ve had so many challenges that things quickly become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
Banishing stereotypical mythology
Ross’ work with autistic doctors caught the attention of The Pitt‘s development team, who contacted her through the University of Southern California’s Hollywood, Health & Society program, a service that connects the entertainment industry with experts in medicine and safety.
“I think that this is an extremely sincere group of people that is motivated by more than the popularity of a show, and I think that’s really special,” says Ross.
Ross advised The Pitt to avoid overused tropes of autistic characters on television—particularly, what she calls the “stereotypical mythology” of autistic people being savants.
“While there are some autistic savants, many autistic individuals have varying levels of cognitive abilities like the rest of us,” she says, noting that their actual “super strength” is in dealing with other neurodivergent individuals in stressful situations (like being in an emergency room).
“It’s really important that we understand all kinds of minds, that we understand that everyone has strengths that they bring to the table,” Ross says. “They don’t have to be savants to provide added value.”
Ross also recommended that The Pitt cast a neurodivergent actress in the role, which she says “lends a level of authenticity” to any portrayal of autism.
The Pitt did so in casting Dearden, who shared that she has ADHD after the first season aired.
Dearden, for her part, has shared the importance of bringing authenticity to her performance as Mel: “I’m really sick of what people usually do on TV,” she said in an interview with Variety. “I feel like every time it’s ever been portrayed, it’s usually complete robots or completely dysfunctional and can’t survive at all. It’s ridiculous.”
The value of authentic representation
Now airing its second season, The Pitt has garnered massive critical acclaim not only for its portrayal of Mel, but for tackling themes like gun violence, substance abuse, and burnout in the healthcare industry. Beyond its stellar cast and writing, Ross attributes the show’s success to its focus on empathy.
“That’s a pervasive theme that expands well beyond the autistic characters,” she says. “This idea of having authentic representations of people, of accepting all kinds of people, and understanding that we all have strengths and challenges that we engage with is really critically important.”
Ross hopes that on-screen portrayals like The Pitt’s can inspire the real-world healthcare industry to do better by neurodivergent folks—not only patients, but doctors and other healthcare professionals. She compares it to the implementation of ramps for wheelchair users: Though designed for the needs of a specific demographic, they improve the lives of all people with mobility issues.
“The strategies that we deploy for this population are things that all of our patients and colleagues benefit from,” Ross says. “This kind of care is the kind that some people really have to have, but that all of us ultimately deserve.”