(Diff anon lol) Thank you for being level headed about all the weird Robby/Noah marketing hate given he’s the lead POV character of an ensemble show that was kinda flying under the radar when it first kicked off and has since exploded into an award winning production with Noah as a Best Actor.
IDK how much everyone knows about modern hollywood media marketing, but I wanted to add a couple thoughts re: Noah being the face of everything from the perspective of someone that’s worked in film and TV in LA for a hot minute (grain of salt tho, I’ve since left the industry due to the same LA film work turndown Noah’s been vocally rallying against, so I own my bias here):
- Season 1, Dr. Robby is the lead POV character of an ensemble cast show that had been partially been greenlit on the back of face/name recognition of Noah Wyle as one of the most prominent TV doctors on network television in the last 30 years. ‘Network’ being the key - since HBO is now primarily satellite/streaming, a show like The Pitt would bank on gaining nostalgia views/subscriptions from a demographic that watched John Well’s ER and remembers Wyle from his Dr. Carter days. He’s the lead because a skilled actor and he’s marketable to the audience they want to cultivate.
- Film/TV Actors that win big awards are almost always put FRONT AND CENTER in marketing campaigns for the next seasons - this goes double for Best Actor. That’s the absolute best advertising you can ask for. If Shawn Hatosy had won Best Supporting and Noah lost Best Actor, I guarantee Shawn would have been highlighted more heavily in S2 marketing. That said, since the Emmy wins there has been a ton more marketing featuring the extended cast and nominees—but that marketing does not override that the lead POV character actor is now also a Best Actor winner, and that by default puts him at the top of the marketing heap.
- Studios often outsource trailers/posters/award campaigns to third parties to create materials that are then signed off on by studio teams that aren’t working day-to-day with the productions, because by this time production has wrapped. These teams work with what they have and what will draw the most attention. Whenever you see a movie trailer or a poster that gives away a pretty blatant spoiler (think ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ revealing Colin Firth is in the film, despite the director’s open objection to the reveal) that’s usually a marketing team that didn’t work on the project trying to cut together the most exciting preview they can (at the expense of the creative narrative).
- Actors and creatives have little to no control over how their projects are marketed, and it’s not uncommon for an actor to take issue with scenes/glamour shots they’d have prefer not to be highlighted because they didn’t negotiate likeness approvals into their contracts. Unless you have a lot of pull, great manager/contract, etc., you’re kinda out of luck. Moving forward, because John Wells renegotiated his overall deal with WB, this may change. He may have more veto authority with how the The Pitt is marketed, but even then from a studio organizational structure, marketing is not really his responsibility/purview (nor is it Noah’s at all).
- Actors, especially leads, are often contractually obligated by the Studio to show up for interviews and FYC events, sometimes at the expense of other projects they’re working on. If you’re getting annoyed by how often you’re seeing an actor give the same interview over and over, I promise you the actor is likely tired of it too, because their involvement is probably mandatory.
(anyway, you’re amazing, keep killing it 😘)
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