Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Creating ‘Three Rivers’, Part Two

In his Tuned In Blog, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette TV editor Rob Owen continues his conversation with writer/executive producer Carol Barbee in part two of Creating ‘Three Rivers’.

If you missed part one, you can read it about it here.

Barbee did her initial research for the show at the Cleveland Clinic, where Dr. Gonzo Gonzalez-Stawinski is a surgeon in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

As you may remember, Alex O’Loughlin’s character, Dr. Andy Yablonski, is based on the real life transplant surgeon and Alex sat in on several of his surgeries in preparation for the pilot.

In this second instalment of the interview with Carol Barbee, adding local flavor to the series is discussed, including sandwiches from Primanti Bros. and a scene involving Pittsburghese that, unfortunately, had to be cut from the pilot.

Although the show will be shot in the hospital set being built on the Paramount backlot in Hollywood, Barbee is hopeful that they will be able to shoot some scenes in Pittsburgh once or twice a year.

On her wish list is a scene involving one of the two remaining incline railways in the city. “I really want to get those rivers and bridges in there. I really want to do a big funicular scene. We have to use that,” she tells Rob Owen.

We can expect part three of Creating ‘Three Rivers’ to be posted next week.

[tags]alex o’loughlin, alex o’lachlan, three rivers, andy yablonski, cbs, carol barbee[/tags]