‘Variety’s’ Excuse for ‘The Pitt’ Cover Could Send Me to the ER

On Thursday, Variety unveiled its Emmys issue ahead of the 77th annual nominee announcements next week. On the cover are The Pitt‘s Isa Briones, Taylor Dearden, and Katherine LaNasa. If you’re among the 10 million people who watched the record-breaking show, you already know that those names belong to some of the only white and/or white-passing women on The Pitt‘s ensemble cast. If you didn’t, well, now you do.

Given the breadth of truly revelatory talent on The Pitt, from Supriya Ganesh to Shabana Azeez to Tracy Ifeachor, Variety‘s decision to center these women in recurring roles on its cover deserves further scrutiny. While Briones, Dearden, and LaNasa all play important roles in the show, Ganesh, Azeez and Ifeachor indisputably have more consequential arcs: Ganesh, as a self-assured ER vet clashing with rookies who think they know better; Azeez as a newbie railing against nepo baby expectations; and Ifeachor, as a doctor whose determination veils a devastating reality.

 

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Further, they’re infinitely more interesting off-camera, too. Ganesh, who is also queer, has stated numerous times that she almost quit acting prior to landing the role on The Pitt; Azeez has offered a plethora of poignant observations about victims onscreen in recent interviews; and Ifeachor, well, she’s literally a fan favorite. Surely, there’s enough material there, no?

In the story, Variety did make a poor attempt to address its cover choice. Its excuse begins with citing all of the women in The Pitt and their contributions to the series and ends…like this:

“That’s why it’s important to note that while LaNasa, Briones and Dearden are on the cover of this issue, they’re representing all the women of “The Pitt.” We simply didn’t have the room for all the talent on this show on our cover.”

Frankly, it’s insulting that the suits at Variety thought “there just wasn’t room!” would be a valid justification for three white women of one of the most diverse casts on television appearing on its cover. To be clear, that would be like choosing Denise Gough, Stellan Skarsgård, and Kyle Soller to be representatives of Andor. Fortunately, Briones, who is half Filipino, has spoken up on Instagram.

“Of course I’m pinching myself that I’m on a cover of a magazine and am so grateful,” Briones posted on her story. “But the Black and brown women of this cast make The Pitt what it is. So honored to be among these incredibly talented women.”

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