The reality of the hbomax medical drama The Pitt is shaped in part by two women whose time at Berkeley taught them to observe life closely and turn those details into an immersive narrative. But what exactly goes into making a show — now a massive hit with more than 10 million viewers per episode — feel so real? How do you build a world that pulls you in so completely you forget the place and the people on screen don’t actually exist? Two UC Berkeley alumni know the answer. Nina Ruscio and Cathy Sandrich Gelfond both work on The Pitt — Ruscio as the production designer and Sandrich Gelfond as a casting director. The two graduated from Berkeley in 1983 with degrees in English, a program widely regarded as one of the best in the country. “I always tell people who say that English is an impractical degree, ’Are you kidding me?’” says Sandrich Gelfond. “It’s about storytelling. It’s about character and tone and human behavior. If you know how to write, if you know how to communicate yo...