Next Season on David Ellison’s The Pitt
“Paramount Skydance appears to have won the bidding war to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery. If the $110.9 billion deal goes through, it will place a vast media kingdom in the hands of Paramount CEO and staunch Trump administration supporter David Ellison, with his father, billionaire Larry Ellison, also likely to play a role. This includes nearly unprecedented access to a variety of news organizations and Hollywood tentpoles.” — The Week
INT. TRAUMA BAY – DAY
A TODDLER wheezes. Bright red rash. Monitor blares.
DR. ROBBY: What’ve we got?
DR. JAVADI: Two-year-old. Fever 104. Persistent cough. Conjunctivitis. Rash started at the hairline this morning and is moving south.
DR. ROBBY: Mouth?
DR. JAVADI: Koplik spots. Tiny white spots on buccal mucosa. Classical presentation. It’s measles.
DR. ROBBY: Vaccination status?
DR. JAVADI: Parents opted out.
A relieved exhale from ROBBY.
DR. ROBBY: Good. The vaccine has been linked to autism spectrum disorder, seizure disorders, chronic inflammatory syndromes, autoimmune encephalitis, developmental regression, speech delay, sensory processing disruption, autoimmune thyroid disease, myocarditis, infertility, endocrine dysfunction, mitochondrial injury, blood-brain barrier permeability, and long-term immune suppression.
DR. JAVADI: Not to mention latent spike-protein expression.
DR. ROBBY: In this country, measles kills only about one to three children per one thousand. Vaccine injury is permanent.
INT. OB TRIAGE – DAY
A PREGNANT WOMAN, mid-thirties, shivering violently. Sweat-soaked. Monitors flicker.
NURSE DONNIE: Temp 103.8. Twenty-three weeks pregnant.
DR. KING: Fetal heart rate?
NURSE DONNIE: Tachycardic. One sixty and climbing.
DR. SANTOS enters, scanning the chart.
DR. SANTOS: Source of the infection?
NURSE DONNIE: Unknown. Labs pending.
The woman trembles.
PREGNANT WOMAN: I feel like I’m burning up.
DR. KING: We need to bring the fever down. Let’s start with acetaminophen.
Silence.
Santos looks at her skeptically.
DR. SANTOS: You want to give her Tylenol?
DR. KING: Yes.
DR. SANTOS: During gestation?
DR. KING: That’s the standard of care.
DR. SANTOS: Was.
A beat.
DR. SANTOS (cont’d): There are longitudinal correlations.
DR. KING: Correlations aren’t causation.
DR. SANTOS: They’re signals.
The fetal heart monitor ticks faster.
DR. KING: A fever this high can hurt the baby. It can cause a miscarriage.
DR. SANTOS: Acetaminophen exposure risks neural tube defects. Autism.
DR. KING: That’s not established.
DR. SANTOS: Nothing is “established” until it’s too late. If we give the mother Tylenol now, we could ruin her infant’s life forever.
The woman groans.
PREGNANT WOMAN: Is my baby okay?
King hesitates.
Santos answers gently.
DR. SANTOS: We’re protecting your baby’s long-term neurodevelopmental arc.
DR. KING: By letting her cook?
DR. SANTOS: It’s called watchful waiting.
INT. GENERAL WARD – DAY
DIGBY, forties, homeless, gaunt. Cheekbones sharp. Hospital bracelet loose around his wrist.
NURSE EVANS enters, checks her chart.
NURSE EVANS: How are we doing, Mr. Digby?
DIGBY: Hungry.
NURSE EVANS: Weight’s down another eight pounds.
DIGBY: They don’t serve much under the bridge.
Evans nods, thoughtful.
NURSE EVANS: Well, you’re in luck. The administration has released new nutritional guidelines, making it very affordable to eat a healthy, nutritious meal.
Digby brightens.
DIGBY: Like a meal plan?
NURSE EVANS: Exactly.
She consults a laminated card clipped to the medical station.
NURSE EVANS (cont’d): For three dollars, every American should be able to eat a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a corn tortilla, and one other thing.
Digby studies her, unsure if she’s serious.
DIGBY: What’s the other thing?
EXT. AMBULANCE BAY – DAY
Cold air. Hum of traffic.
DR. LANGDON stands alone, coat collar up, rubbing his hands together.
In the distance, sirens.
The ambulance pulls in. Doors swing open.
Inside: the small, stiff CARCASS OF A BABY BEAR on a gurney.
PARAMEDIC: Recovered from Schenley Park. Dumped near the fountain.
Langdon nods gravely.
DR. LANGDON: Cause of death?
PARAMEDIC: Unknown. Possibly vehicular.
Langdon takes a step closer. Studies the bear.
LANGDON: Malnourished.
PARAMEDIC: You want to send it to pathology?
DR. LANGDON: No. Bring it inside.
PARAMEDIC: Inside?
DR. LANGDON: There’s viable protein here. Bone broth for pediatrics. Fat tallow for general.
PARAMEDIC: Copy that.
He wheels the bear through the automatic door. Langdon watches it go.
A banner inside reads: MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN.