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Max’s Big Bet on The Pitt Paid Off
A lean, mean procedural can be the right medicine for streaming. HBO and Max chief Casey Bloys explains why he took a chance on one.
While Max doesn’t release specific viewership numbers for its series, there are plenty of signs that The Pitt ’s deliberate throwback strategy is connecting with audiences — and, just as importantly, delivering on what execs at the streamer wanted when they green-lit the show: As satisfied as Max execs are to have launched a new hit show, the success so far of The Pitt also validates the somewhat risky decision to take a chance on a linear network-style procedural — something which, until recently, the conventional wisdom held wouldn’t work in streaming. Netflix’s solution has been to just make so many shows that there’s something new every week, and while it has also recently shifted toward lower-cost procedurals ( Lincoln Lawyer,next month’s Pulse), there’s no indication yet the streamer is ready to abandon its dogmatic insistence on binge releases and limited episode tallies.
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