Since its first season premiered last January, The Pitt has been on a steep climb to being the best drama on television. Acting as a true ensemble show, every character gets their moment, however small it may feel in the moment. A sprawling cast that characterizes nurses, doctors, security guards, clerks, and patients seems unwieldy to handle, but Emmy winner Pitt actor Shawn Hatosy chose to direct an episode on top of being a guest star in the series.

Hatosy plays Dr. Jack Abbot, a night-shift attending that – we found out this season – also doubles as a field medic during the day. To hear Hatosy say it, this is Abbot's way of managing himself and his emotions, perhaps taking the suggestion of a therapist and twisting it to do something he enjoys and keeps his adrenaline pumping. Hatosy stepped into the director's chair for the ninth episode of the second season, "3:00 P.M." Though Hatosy doesn't have as much screen time as the regular ensemble, he makes his own impact with this episode, as "3:00 P.M." travels through the emergency department struggling with technology woes due to a potential cyberattack, Mel's sister showing up with her own ailment, a young boy who has blown off two of his fingers, and a cancer patient at wit's end.

Hatosy gets to show his commitment to camera choreography and blocking during the episode, the camera fluidly moving throughout, fast enough for the audience to suffer whiplash as the patients pour in and the day gets more difficult. As an actor (and former director on Animal Kingdom) on the show, he was already familiar with the planning that would be needed to get every part precise. The episode is tightly constructed and introduces the beginning of the end of the day, moving quickly but never rushed, every minute moving quicker than the last. The episode ends by introducing a major disaster that could influence the rest of the season: a waterpark slide has collapsed, and we all know where any potential patients will be going.

I spoke to Hatosy about getting the camera and blocking just right, setting up new relationships on the show, his preparation for directing "3:00 P.M." and how he's affected by the online community that loves him.