On The Pitt, Taylor Dearden performs Dr. Melissa “Mel” King, a second-year emergency-medicine resident at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Middle. Dr. Mel exudes empathy as she cares for sufferers, proving herself to be as variety as she is competent. Dearden’s previous roles diverge considerably from her portrayal of Dr. Mel, particularly Orphelia Mayer in Candy/Vicious, a short-lived MTV sequence about two younger faculty college students who grow to be vigilantes to struggle again in opposition to campus intercourse offenders.
The bodily variations between Ophelia and Dr. Mel are stark. The previous’s inexperienced hair and sarcasm distinction with the latter’s extra healthful, optimistic persona. Regardless of this, there is a kindness and concern for others that pervades each Ophelia and Dr. Mel.
The Pitt
- Launch Date
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January 9, 2025
- Community
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Max
- Showrunner
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R. Scott Gemmill
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Noah Wyle
Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch
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Tracy Ifeachor
Uncredited
Taylor Dearden Performed Ophelia Mayer in ‘Candy/Vicious’
Initially known as Little Darlings, Candy/Vicious premiered on MTV on November 15, 2016. The present targeted on Jules Thomas (Eliza Bennett), a scholar and sorority sister at Darlington College, and Ophelia Mayer, a stoner trust-fund child additionally at Darlington. After Jules is attacked and Ophelia involves her rescue, they crew as much as fight sexual violence on campus.
Jules and Ophelia act as vigilantes and, by 10 episodes, expose a pornography and hazing scandal within the sorority, unmask a number of sexual offenders, and try and actual justice. Jules and Ophelia are polar opposites in some ways in demeanor and look, however they continue to be united of their purpose to struggle on behalf of ladies.
Low scores doomed Candy/Vicious, and the present was canceled after only one season. The ten-episode arc of the primary season was intense and related, however as MTV stated in 2017:
“We’re extraordinarily pleased with this critically acclaimed sequence and are deeply upset such an impactful present didn’t discover a bigger viewers. Candy/Vicious was a present we liked from the beginning, with empowering feminine leads and a message we consider in. We’re grateful the sequence began a much-needed dialogue round sexual assault.”
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Taylor Dearden Described Jules and Ophelia as Unlikely however Relatable “Superheroes”
The dichotomy between Jules and Ophelia in Candy/Vicious was described by Ella Ceron in Teen Vogue, “Jules serves because the earnest insurgent, who believes she’s serving a higher good. Ophelia is her wisecracking foil, who, regardless of her look, serves as one thing of a voice of motive. They support and abet one another.”
Jules is a “sorority sister making an attempt to deal with an assault that has understandably ripped the framework of her world aside,” whereas Ophelia operates as “a green-haired slacker whose abilities embrace sarcasm and hacking.” Because of this the duo is actually unlikely superheroes who complement one another with endearing and compelling honesty.
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For Taylor Dearden, this heroic component was a part of what appealed to her when she took the position of Ophelia. She defined to Nylon that it was, “a present about girls written by girls… It is from a spot of data and sympathy and pleasure, or the struggle to do the fitting factor.”
On this means, Candy/Vicious was well timed however not exploitative and tapped right into a common expertise for girls. Jules and Ophelia had been heroes of their story however as Dearden identified, “it is a cool factor that nobody ought to do. And I hope that the intention is obvious, that it’s a superhero story — we’re not stopping vehicles and lifting them up, however it’s a extra real looking subject than superhero stuff is — so it does toe a line.”
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Taylor Dearden Sees Herself in Dr. Mel King From ‘The Pitt’
Dr. Melissa “Mel” King from The Pitt seems to be nothing like Ophelia from Candy/Vicious and doesn’t behave like her both. In distinction to Ophelia’s jaded and laborious exterior, Dr. Mel is useful and hopeful with an endearing vulnerability. Very like Dearden might relate to what Ophelia and Jules had been experiencing and witnessing in Candy/Vicious, the actress additionally had a private connection to Dr. Mel.
Dr. Mel can be neurodivergent, one thing to which Dearden relates. She instructed Decider in February 2025,
“I’m neurodivergent so I believe it’s actually coming from me. I’ve extreme ADHD. So we’re on the identical spectrum now as autism, which was I believe for all ADHD folks was like, “Ohhhhh.” After which all autistic individuals are like, “That’s why we obtained together with them.” I’ve by no means actually seen a personality, particularly with ADHD, however being on the identical spectrum, it simply feels, it felt proper anyway.”