Brains Behind New CBS Medical Show Attended University Of Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The brains behind CBS's new medical drama went to medical school at the University of Pittsburgh. In fact, the show might not exist at all if not for Pitt.

These days, Dr. Ryan McGarry is an executive producer on "Code Black." It's based on a documentary he made a few years ago while he was in med school at Pitt.

He started shooting the film while on a research rotation at LA County Hospital. When the rotation was over, the film was not, so he made a call to Pitt.

"I'm a fourth year med student, I'm out here in LA, at the LA County Emergency Department, and I just… I want to make a film. Is that cool? Can I have a few extra weeks to do this?" says Dr. McGarry.

Fully expecting a resounding, "no," Dr. McGarry was pleasantly surprised when Pitt said "yes."

"They said, 'You know what, this sounds really engaging. We think you could learn a lot about the history of this specialty and the realities of medicine," said Dr. McGarry. "And I think they had a lot of faith in me and the project."

So he spent another four weeks in LA, working as a one-man film crew.

"I was just enough of an insider to know where to put that camera, but also just enough of an outsider to still be amazed by it," he said.

The film ended up winning awards at film festivals, nationwide. So how do you turn a real-life documentary into a fictionalized version for TV?

"'Code Black' the TV show has a really impressive degree of authenticity," says Dr. McGarry.

He and his co-executive producer are both doctors. They also have an entire team of medical experts who consult on scripts.

While it's important to get all the medical stuff correct, his ultimate goal is to make you feel the intensity of emergency medicine in today's sometimes cumbersome health care system.

"You really are on the front lines of America's greatest health care challenges," Dr. McGarry says.

Another thing about Dr. McGarry, he survived stage-4 lymphoma at age 19 while an undergrad at Penn State. He says that's definitely added to his unique perspective on health care.

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