Filipino representation in American medical dramas – finally!

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LOS ANGELES, California – For many years, the lament about American television medical dramas is the absence of Filipino characters when in reality, Pinoys abound in hospitals and health care facilities in the United States and Canada.

Max’s The Pitt, which recently earned 13 Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Drama, and is now filming its sophomore season, made up for the underrepresentation with not one but three Filipinas, played by Isa Briones, Kristin Villanueva, and Amielynn Abellera.

“I feel so proud to be a small part in representing Filipinos in health care alongside Amielynn Abellera and Kristin Villanueva,” said Isa, who plays Dr. Trinity Santos, part of a big ensemble cast led by Noah Wylie (Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch), whose performances garnered raves.

In an email interview, Isa echoed the sentiment about the disparity of Filipino representation in dramas set in hospitals. The actress said, “For so long, medical shows have lacked Filipino representation, which is so baffling because Filipinos make up a huge population of our health care workers.”

On the welcome visibility of three Pinay characters in the hit series which has a unique real-time format, compellingly depicting a single 15-hour shift in the emergency room of fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital, Isa said, “I think it’s so beautiful that the three of us get to show that there is a broad spectrum of what Filipino is and looks like.”

“Amielynn representing Muslim Filipinos as Perlah, Kristin being a born and raised Filipino [plays Princess], and me as a mixed person. We are such a diverse people and it’s time that the world sees that. The show, as a whole, with a beautifully diverse cast, shows what America looks like.”

The Pitt’s ensemble reflects not only Filipinos but also Asians who are often relegated to supporting or minor roles in mainstream television.

In the medical drama created by R Scott Gemmill, Isa’s portrayal of the brash, ambitious Dr. Santos is praised for its complexity and depth. Asked about the backstory of her character, Isa answered, “Dr. Santos is a very strong-willed and competitive person. The writers and I talked about how these traits definitely come from her background as an athlete.”

“As one season takes place over one day, we can’t fully explore everyone’s backstory at once, but over time, we get little glimpses into everyone’s past in very realistic and tasteful ways.”

The daughter of actors Jon Jon and Megan Briones and the sister of Teo Briones, also an actor who recently starred in Final Destination: Bloodlines, explained, “The writers have been so artful in the way they sprinkle all of our individuality throughout the show without it feeling forced or needing huge exposition scenes.”

“The audience just gets to live the day in real time with us and learn about the characters as one would if they were working in the ER with us.”

On what she enjoys about playing a character that is often described as polarizing — although to Isa’s credit, she imbues Dr. Santos with humanity and empathy — Isa replied, “I really enjoy getting to play such a divisive character. It’s kind of the dream as an actor. At the end of the day, our job is not to be liked, but to make the audience feel something viscerally.”

“So the fact that people have such strong opinions about Santos makes my job really fun. I also have never really gotten to play a character like this before who, admittedly, feels more similar to myself than I had originally thought.”

She added, “Dr. Santos has a lot of walls up, but that’s due to her life experience. I think anyone who punches first before they can be hit is always hiding deep vulnerability inside. It’s very human and relatable.”

It’s a breakout role for Isa, whose previous series was Patrick Stewart’s Star Trek: Picard, where she played Soji, Kore Soong, Dahj, and Sutra.

Dad in ‘Miss Saigon’

Born in London when Jon Jon was in Miss Saigon (he and Megan, who is American, met in another production of the musical in Germany), Isa also performs in theater, making her Broadway debut as Eurydice alongside Jon Jon in Hadestown, joined the first national tour of Hamilton, and won an Ovation Award in LA for Next to Normal.

As for her relationship in real life to doctors and nurses, Isa shared, “I myself don’t really have family in the healthcare profession, but as a Filipino-American, it feels so much a part of your life. You have friends and chosen family, titas and titos (aunts and uncles), who are nurses here in the States and who were doctors back home.”

“It feels like such a big part of Filipino culture. But it is also not the only thing Filipinos do or are.”

Isa, who asked the show to change her character’s last name to Santos to reflect her Filipino heritage, said, “As an actor, it is beautiful to see that we are getting more chances to represent who Filipinos are across the board. Nurses and doctors, but also everything else that makes us who we are.”

“We are a diverse and multifaceted people. We are everywhere, and we’re here to represent and keep going forward.”

The Pitt earned additional points, even from health care professionals, for its authentic depiction of medical procedures and protocols.

Asked how the cast prepared to play doctors and nurses in intense situations in ER, Isa remarked, “We began Season 1 with a two-week medical bootcamp with doctors and nurses teaching us about general procedures that we’d be able to do seamlessly as our characters, but also sharing with us what it feels like on a personal level to be a health care worker.”

“That, I think, is what makes the show feel so real. Not just the accuracy of the technical medical scenes, but also representing the hardships, emotions, and relationships that these medical professionals deal with day to day.”

“They are humans, after all,” Isa added. “I think we often look to doctors as these people who are so emotionally detached and just get through things with facts and science. But they are also human beings witnessing people’s worst days every day. That weighs on you, and we get to show the humanity behind our heroic health care workers.”

Being set in real time, The Pitt is a jam-packed immersion in the ER, with patients continuously being wheeled in, each one presenting a different medical dilemma, with personal dramas thrown in.

On how she decompresses from filming with so many characters and situations all the time, Isa admitted, “It is definitely an intense crucible we are in every day. The set is so immersive, and we work really fast, so there’s not much time to come up for air when you’re in the thick of filming.”

“It’s challenging, but I really love that as an actor because it means you are immersed fully in the scenes at hand. So your character can flow so easily throughout the day because you’re never checking out.”

She clarified, “However, it can be hard not to take that home. I’m still trying to find the balance of letting the intensity stay at work and be able to fully rest at home, but it’s hard.”

“I’m trying to focus on doing things that have nothing to do with the show or acting when I have time off. Get my creative energy out in a way that is just for me, like art, writing, music, etc.”

Overworked health care workers

“It’s hard to think of a favorite episode that we filmed because in the aftermath, it all feels like a blur,” Isa replied when asked what episode in Season 1 she enjoyed filming the most. “Because of how intense those eight months of filming are.”

“But I think episode 10 was one of my favorite episodes to watch.” One of that episode’s plot points was the brewing tension between Dr. Santos and Patrick Ball’s Dr. Frank Langdon, a senior resident. “It felt like a real turning point for the season, and everyone’s performances are so fantastic.”

The show is anchored by Noah Wyle, who really comes across as the wise, experienced, grizzled Dr. Robby. The medical drama veteran, having played Dr. John Carter for 11 full seasons on ER, is The Pitt’s gravelly voiced heart and soul.

“He is such an incredible human and actor to have at the helm of this,” Isa praised Noah. “He has such a calming and loving energy that sets the tone for the whole cast and crew.”

“You can tell he loves what he does so much, and he is working non-stop. He is acting in the show every day, but he is also in the writers’ room and producing all of it. It’s really inspiring to watch how hard he works and still never loses the love of it.”

As to how different her The Pitt experience is from her stint on Star Trek: Picard, Isa pointed out, “It feels quite different. In Star Trek, we felt the responsibility of delivering something great to the lifelong fans of the franchise, which is very important.”

“But in The Pitt, we feel the responsibility to the long overworked, underappreciated, and underfunded frontline health care workers to represent what they go through with accuracy and empathy.”

“The stakes feel quite high in a beautiful way,” Isa stressed. “But I also appreciate the parallels of the goals of these two types of show. Star Trek, and sci-fi in general, have always been a creative and entertaining way of addressing our current state as a human race by showing how the world could be.”

“The Pitt shows exactly how the world is, and in doing so, makes the audience yearn for and, hopefully, fight for how the world could be.”

Looking forward, Isa enthused about Season 2 of The Pitt. Max announced that shooting began last June 16 on the famed Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California.

“I’m really excited to see how everyone’s characters develop,” Isa said about the next season, which will premiere in January next year. “I can’t wait to get more peeks into the characters’ past and see how everyone grows.” – Rappler.com

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