Alexandra Metz on Dr. Yolanda Garcia’s Journey in The Pitt on MAX | Character Deep Dive & More

[00:00:09] Alexandra, thank you for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged. My pleasure. Congrats on the series. Like I was telling you before we jumped on, this is my favorite show in 2025 so far. Yes! We love to hear it. What's been like the reaction from fans, family about this series? It's been so beautiful. I think we all knew we were working on something really special in the midst of it and we were hoping it would be received in a positive way. But it's been above and beyond that.

[00:00:39] Beyond anything anyone could have imagined. I have so many doctor friends who are elated to feel and see the representation that this presents finally in our industry. I mean there's so many doctor shows and so many iterations on doctor shows but it's so nice to say that we are getting it accurately and that people are seeing something that's new in that genre.

[00:01:07] And yeah, from people who don't know me personally, friends and you know, new friends. I'll say the fans are new friends. It's been so sweet. I mean no one's shy about sharing the positive feedback and the hype for the show. I've had a couple people send me links to the Reddit and my God that Reddit goes on and on. People are so involved and invested. It's beautiful.

[00:01:33] It's, you know, like, because I've seen, you know, I've seen most of the series. I have like two episodes left but it's like people are already asking like what are we going to hear the news about season two? We're ready for a season two. I don't know if you're ready or not. Yes, absolutely. You know, it was announced that season two is definitely coming so it's going to be really exciting to see how this same format is used and yeah, built off of.

[00:01:56] That's amazing. So, you know, when I was doing some research on you too, like your acting career, you know, it spans, you've done different, you know, roles, genres. Like what attracted you to Dr. Garcia and how did, how is this different compared to everything else you played?

[00:02:08] Oh my gosh, it's so different. I've gotten to play a doctor before but in this case, playing a surgeon is just a whole new realm of, you know, does not mince words. It knows exactly what needs to happen in the room and it's just this level of badassness that was so fun to step into.

[00:02:32] I know a couple doctors, I know some surgeons and hearing from their point of view of, you know, there's only a limited amount of time in these life or death situations to make a call and you can't really, you can't vacillate. You got to make a call and you got to be confident in that call. So stepping into that role was so, so enriching and I learned so much playing Garcia.

[00:02:59] Did you originally, what about the audition process? Did you originally go for this role or was it a different role? No, I went for this role originally. Yeah. Yeah. There was something, honestly, it's all in the writing. Kudos to the entire writing team. It's so well written that I got this. I felt like it was super clear, you know, the actions, the surgical actions, but also the relationships.

[00:03:23] And even though I had to do a little bit of research in terms of the hierarchy in those spaces, you know, attending versus resident versus intern, it still was so evident. So all I had to do was really show up and be in action and be servicing the patient in the scene. What was it? Oh, go ahead. With intention of saving a life, which everyone has different ways of doing that. You learn every doctor has a different way. What was the description of your character when you first auditioned?

[00:03:53] Oh, good question. I would have to look it up, but basically a badass. Yeah. Well, she is, as you can see some of the seeds. Yep. Yep. Does not mince words. Just comes in, tells people what needs to happen. And yeah, I'd be curious to go back and look now because essentially that's what it's been distilled to in my mind.

[00:04:16] But she's a boss. She knows what needs to happen to get the accomplishment in the room is saving life. Yeah. I like how she, you know, like she had to throw out the series, you know, she faces like numerous high pressure situations. Was there a particular scene or episode where you felt like the character was truly tested?

[00:04:36] Oh, yeah. There's the episode, I believe it was episode eight after getting stabbed in the foot with a scalpel, which admittedly was a mistake.

[00:04:48] It still, it still was, you know, the first patient that she came back to was one that she was not familiar with how to help best and kind of hit a wall and then goes to Santos and Javadi to get that, to get that support. Javadi obviously being related to Dr. Shemzi, a surgeon who I work with and respect.

[00:05:15] She's definitely going in there and trying to make it happen so that it doesn't fall on her, that this patient is not well taken care of. You mentioned Santos, you know, she looks up to Garcia, you know, as a mentor, of course, and everything. How would you describe that chemistry, that relationship? Well, yeah. I mean, it's our first day meeting and she comes on the scene and she is super confident and knows she's intelligent.

[00:05:43] She makes some really good calls, asks really good questions, and she shows up with this energy that I think our CSEs, oh, that's the energy we get in the surgical, you know, upstairs in surgery. That's what we're looking for, that level of competence. So I think she sees in her a possible protege.

[00:06:06] I think she's excited by, you know, what they could do together and how they could also accomplish more because Garcia has a lot to do running up and down between surgery and the ER. And if she knows that someone's there kind of holding it down, even though she's still, you know, lower down on the chain of command, it's helpful.

[00:06:28] It's helpful to know that you have people who are supporting the outcome of saving lives. She wasn't too happy about the whole Dr. Langan thing, do you, with the trying to tell on him and everything? And you were like, stay away from me. I don't want to know about that. Yeah, she doesn't want to be implicated. I think there's a whole chain of command again. And the fact that she's not the attending of this, of the ED. That's Dr. Robbie.

[00:06:56] And I think she has a lot of respect for Dr. Robbie. She trusts that he's going to take care of his underlings. And also, Garcia hasn't seen Langan, you know, inebriated in any way that has. First of all, she hasn't seen him inebriated. And it hasn't been, you know, a negative effect on any of the proceedings that they're doing. So. Yeah, you're right. Because throughout the episodes, he doesn't look like he's, you know, high or just that just he's doing his thing.

[00:07:26] He's a functioning addict. Right. And I think that also is such a common thing we've heard. Like, I've heard from my doctor friends and, you know, in talking to the medical team on set, all the advisors and the consults. Like, it's a super, super common thing, unfortunately. But it's something, it's a story we're telling for a reason. And I think the fans were happy when he shows up on episode 12. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he had to jump in, right?

[00:07:56] We already worked for staff. Describe that episode. That's a powerful emotional episode. Oh, my God. I mean, it's so fun. As an audience member, now I'm just so, I'm watching it like I'm not even, you know, I'm on the other side of it, just taking it all in. And it's, I'm going for the ride. I'm fully on the ride, just as everyone else. It brought me to tears. A lot of the episodes bring me to tears.

[00:08:22] But 12 is just when everything hits the fan with this tragedy. To see the level of the calm and the, just everyone just locks in in a way that is chilling. And people need to understand, like, this is what happens when there's like a mass shooting like that. All the hospitals just get buried. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, I didn't have a conversation with anyone about, like, what that actually looks like.

[00:08:50] I didn't speak to anyone who's lived through that experience. But in watching it, it's so apparent that that's how it must be. I mean, obviously, there's people who are overlooking this. Dr. Joe Sachs is the top doctor who's making sure that this is accurate. But in watching it, I thought, oh, my God. It's, it really captured that. It's a fine balance of, they're running between patients.

[00:09:18] They're doing what needs to be done. But it's also, the tone of it was so beautifully captured. You mentioned you, your friends with a couple of doctors. But I know you guys had people on set also. What's one of the best advice they gave you for filming a series like this? From a doctor's point of view who's never been on a set, it's not that they're giving you advice on how to film, right?

[00:09:43] It's more that, you know, they're telling you, walking through the patient and what we're talking about regarding the patient. And, you know, what are the factors? What is the order of events in which you have to, like, ask these questions in order to get to a better understanding of what you're dealing with?

[00:10:04] And I met with, over a phone call or two, I spoke to a surgeon friend who basically just taught me about the hierarchy and the social aspect of a hospital space so that I could have that understanding. But, yeah, it's interesting because it's a totally different world that, as someone who's been in the hospital before and as a patient, you start to pick up on little things.

[00:10:33] But you don't realize the dynamics and the conversations that are being had in order to make sure that your care is the utmost quality, you know? And there's so much going on there. There's just so much that I learned throughout doing this series. Was there, like, a certain scene or anything that you were like, oh, my God, like, I hope this never happens to me, you know, like, the way they do things? Oh, man. God, I hope none of these things ever happen to anyone.

[00:11:02] But specifically, you know, the burn victim was particularly hard for me to see. I mean, and then to play, like, okay, well, you have to cover that. You can't have emotion when you're helping these patients.

[00:11:17] And, God, yeah, knowing what I know now, which is that the percentage of the body that has been burned, you subtract that from 100, and that's the patient's chance at survival.

[00:11:32] And so, in that case, that patient had been burned 90% of his body and his 10% chance and the susceptibility to infection and all the things resulting from the burn just make you think, my God, that's a terrible way to go. We have 15 episodes. Is there a specific episode that has already been aired that's been your favorite or coming up? Oh, my gosh.

[00:12:00] You know, I think I have to go back and watch them all because it's so amazing. And I'm just, it feels like one long, beautiful day that, you know, splitting up the episodes, I'd have to go back and watch. I will say, like, there's some really fun stuff in the beginning, and specifically with the banter with Langdon, that was just like this, you know, sibling rivalry that we have.

[00:12:26] And having respect for each other, but to the extent that we get to joke around and make light in these really serious rooms. Is there a specific cast member you want to have more scenes with season two? That you're going to get a chance to season one? Oh, man. Or to work with in the operating room? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love everyone on that set. If I were to pick, I might say Dr. McKay.

[00:12:56] I think it's really cool that she's come to medicine later in life. And her commitment to the craft of medicine is really beautiful to watch on screen. And I, as a surgeon, I think it'd be fun for Garcia to interact with her and see what she's learned and what she has to learn still. I mean, Garcia is not really a fan of teaching, even though it's a teaching hospital. That's more for the ED to take care of. And when she comes down, she's kind of like, can we move on?

[00:13:26] Because I have patients to see upstairs. But McKay would be a really fun one to interact with. I could go on and on about all the characters. She's a tough cookie, too. Yeah, yeah. She's tough. She's tough. Yeah, equally tough and deeply cares about her character, the patients that she's working with. And yeah, that'd be really fun. Is there anything you would change above Garcia? Anything you would change?

[00:13:56] You know. I don't think there is. Garcia is she's a complex character. And there's so much that you don't see because, again, she's in and out of these rooms and dealing with cases that you're not aware of upstairs. That, if anything, you know, maybe just divulging a little bit more of. Yeah, those layers, the layers that you're not seeing.

[00:14:25] But that's one thing that I love about this show. It doesn't hold the audience members hand and explain every little bit of every little character. These are human beings. They're layered and they're moving up throughout their day and doing the best that they can to, you know, do the job that they've signed up for and that they're incredibly confident. Would you be friends with would you be friends with Garcia? Oh, my gosh. You know, it's funny. Garcia is an amalgamation of a few different people and doctors that I know.

[00:14:55] And, you know, they're they're slightly difficult personalities because they they know what they know and they know that they're right. And sometimes it's hard to interact with that and have a balanced conversation with that. But I think that I would be friends with her in the sense that I respect her greatly.

[00:15:21] And whether I you know, it's we don't know what Garcia is like outside. You haven't seen what Garcia is like outside of the hospital. I think I think Garcia has a really fun side to her. You know, in the little quips, she she invited Santos out to drinks. And I think when she is outside of the hospital setting, she lets loose a little bit. So I think I would be. I know, like, you know, the series, you know, we have like every episode is one hour, the shift and everything.

[00:15:49] But down the road, it's like a wonderful see, like maybe a flashback for your character or something or something outside of work that people have the writers thought about anything like that. Do you know? If I did, I wouldn't be able to divulge. I tried. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Doesn't hurt. Doesn't hurt. Doesn't hurt. So we have two episodes. Yeah, yeah. Episode 30. So we got two more to go. When now have they asked? Have they told you when you're going to go film season two?

[00:16:19] It starts back up in June. Oh, wow. So I see it around this time next year. I think it probably would be around the same schedule. January premiere. That's amazing. That's my guess. Don't quote me on that. What's the I want to end this with what's one message you want to give to the fans out there that love this show? I'm one of them. Oh, man. Thank you for loving it so much. It's been so wonderful to make it. And it's so cool to know that all the hard work put into it is received in such a beautiful way.

[00:16:50] Alexander, I want to thank you for giving me a few minutes today. You know, like I said, I'm excited. I can't wait to finish the series. And, you know, good luck for season two. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.