‘Pitt’ Boss John Wells on Netflix’s Endgame — and Whether the WGA Strikes Again
The legendary creator on how the U.S. healthcare mess connects with audiences — and why originality will beat AI
I spoke to Universal’s book guru Jordan Moblo about the battle for IP, wrote about the resurgence of traditional pilots, and interviewed the Bell Media execs who bet on breakout hit Heated Rivalry. I’m lesley.goldberg@theankler.com
It’s hard to surprise John Wells. The veteran showrunner has seen his fair share of successes (The West Wing, ER, Shameless) and a couple failures (American Woman, Rescue: HI-Surf), but he tells me he was stunned by how quickly audiences embraced The Pitt.
HBO Max’s Pittsburgh-set medical drama, which drops the fourth episode of its 15-part sophomore season Thursday, reunites Wells with ER favorite Noah Wyle and writer R. Scott Gemmill (creator and showrunner of The Pitt). The Warner Bros. TV-produced series, already renewed for a third season, is the result of conversations between the trio that arose after negotiations with the estate of creator Michael Crichton for an ER sequel fizzled. (The estate has since sued Warners, Wells, Wyle and Gemmill, claiming The Pitt is “derivative” of ER, which all parties have strongly denied.)
The Pitt launched in January 2025 with favorable reviews and saw ratings grow each week of its run. It also renewed interest in the old broadcast model of larger episodic orders that return on an annual basis — all while being produced for a modest budget between $4-$5 million an episode. HBO Max executives are now applying The Pitt model to multiple pieces of development with hopes of delivering a solid drama slate that returns annually. Other hits, like The Last of Us, can take multiple years between seasons.
Wells, 69, is a two-time former Writers Guild of America president (1999-2001, 2009-11) with seven Emmys (including a drama series win for The Pitt), who has weathered five mergers during the course of his time at Warner Bros. TV, where his John Wells Productions has been based since 1986. The prolific showrunner could soon become a Netflix employee should the streamer close its $83 billion all-cash acquisition of the storied Warner Bros. film and TV studios, HBO and HBO Max.
As Wells’ catalog migrates across platforms, his shows — including Animal Kingdom and Shameless — continue to find new audiences untethered from where they were originally made — a reflection of how distribution, not provenance, now shapes viewer habits.
This month, Southland became Wells’ latest cable drama to find new audiences on Netflix as the gritty cop show — which aired for five seasons from 2009-2013, one on NBC followed by four on TNT — climbed to No. 4 on the streamer’s top U.S. TV series.
With The Pitt’s current season having wrapped production Friday, Wells’ next work is for Netflix on Unaccustomed Earth, the Freida Pinto-led immigrant drama based on Jhumpa Lahiri’s collection of short stories. He previously delivered limited series Maid for Netflix in 2021 and has season two of crime drama Untamed coming to the streamer. He’s also plotting a possible return to the White House with The Aisle, in development there.
I asked Wells about how streaming vibes are feeling a lot like old-time broadcast, his thoughts on the next round of WGA negotiations and if, after returning to the medical fold with The Pitt, he’d revisit Southland and cop dramas. “We’ve had lots of conversations about it,” he reveals.
Today from my Q&A with the TV drama master (lightly edited for length and clarity), you’ll hear about:
His theory on why Netflix really wants Warner Bros.
What he thinks could actually trigger another WGA strike this time around
Why Wells isn’t panicking about AI replacing writers — but which jobs he is worried about
Why The Pitt’s portrait of America’s healthcare system struck a nerve — and why Wells didn’t expect it to
The one creative choice that drew executive pushback, and why he refused to budge
Why policing, ICE and the news have him seriously considering another cop show
What he’s learned from five regime changes at Warner Bros. and his strategy for riding out disruption