An ecstatic Katherine LaNasa showered thanks on The Pitt’s EP John Wells, its writers, fellow cast members led by Noah Wyle and “all the nurses that inspired Dana” Evans, her character on the freshman HBO Max medical drama, as she accepted the Emmy for Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
“Oh my goodness, I am so proud and honored to receive this award from the Academy. My whole career I wanted to work for John Wells and he elevates everything in his wake. John, I am so much better when you’re around. Mostly because I don’t want to get fired,” she joked.
LaNasa has been praised for the integrity she brings to the role and has said that her experience as a cancer survivor informed how she approaches it. “I really wanted to honor the people that treated me with Dana,” she told Deadline’s Pete Hammond. “It was very spiritual to me, you know, that I felt like I was having a hard time getting a job, and then going through the cancer, it was a rough period, and finally getting this job was really like a testament of faith. It was really beautiful, and it has been just one of the best experiences of my life. I feel so grateful.”
Yet her win was a surprise as most pundits had their money on The White Lotus, which had a whopping bakeoff with four nominees in the category – Carrie Coon, Aimee Lou Wood, Parker Posey and Natasha Rothwell. Patricia Arquette from Severance was also nominated.
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It’s LaNasa’s first Emmy nod and nomination.
The Pitt is set in the emergency room of a Pittsburgh trauma with each of the 15 episodes unfolding one hour a single day between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.