TV Talk: Pittsburgh native Margot Bingham brings Pittsburghese to CBS’s ‘Watson’

Already this season on CBS’s “Watson” (10 p.m. Monday, KDKA-TV), Sherlock Holmes (Robert Carlyle) returned, after being presumed dead, to investigate “The Pittsburgh Mystery,” and there were references to Kennywood and the Thunderbolt coaster and Prantl’s Bakery’s burnt almond torte.

“Best cake I’ve ever had,” Ingrid Derien (Eve Harlow) said in this week’s episode of the Pittsburgh-set doc-tective drama.

The series kicks its Pittsburgh bona fides up a notch in the Nov. 3 episode that introduces a new character, nurse Carlin DeCosta, who speaks with a Pittsburgh accent. DeCosta is nurse preceptor to nursing student Shinwell Johnson (Ritchie Costers).

“Your power is not as unlimited as you would hope it was when you take this job, but this was one example where I was like, OK, this actor has to be from Pittsburgh,” said Squirrel Hill native and “Watson” showrunner Craig Sweeny. “We need somebody who can actually bring the authentic Pittsburgh accent.”

“Watson” ultimately cast Pittsburgh native Margot Bingham in this recurring role, pairing her with Costers. Both actors starred in the 11th season of “The Walking Dead,” though they never had scenes together.

Shinwell, who is British, asks Greenfield native DeCosta about the use of “yinz.”

“Half the time I hear it, it’s being used ironically, so how can I tell who’s using it in quotation marks, and who’s using it because that’s the way they really talk?” Shinwell asks.

“Yinz is like jazz for Pittsburghers,” Carlin replies. “If you’re listening to jazz and you’ve gotta ask when the downbeat is, you need to listen to more jazz.”

Bingham, who previously starred in “Boardwalk Empire,” “New Amsterdam” and Pittsburgh-filmed “One Dollar,” said the “Watson” role came to her in the usual way, but when she saw the character breakdown with the call for a Pittsburghese dialect, she got excited.

“All of the years of me growing up with my parents making sure I did not walk out with a Pittsburghese dialect, feels so good to rub it in their face now that that’s my job,” Bingham said, laughing.

Bingham’s father is 1980s Steelers linebacker Craig Bingham, a native of Jamaica.

“My parents worked so hard to instill proper English in us,” Bingham said. “My dad being an immigrant from Jamaica, he worked so hard to sound like he was from this country, to make sure his English was perfect because he would get teased because he sounded like he was from Jamaica. He wanted a different life for his kids.”

To prep for the role, Bingham “was listening a little bit harder” to friends and strangers when she’s been back in Pittsburgh.

“I’ve been home so much in the past year … and it’s been so good listening to different waiters and friends and passersby of all of the different types and tones of Pittsburghese,” Bingham said. “Now I’m listening with a different type of ear.”

Bingham has never acted using the Pittsburgh accent before — she was encouraged to use it on “One Dollar” but didn’t think it was right for her South Side baker character.

“I am proudly born and raised in Pittsburgh and I have so much of my roots still there,” said Bingham, who lives in Atlanta. “And I do not sound like I’m from there and neither did the baker. … But John Carroll Lynch did [the accent on ‘One Dollar’] and he did a phenomenal Pittsburgh dialect. For a lot of the other characters [on ‘One Dollar’] they tried, and God bless them, they just couldn’t get there.”

When “Watson” came along, Bingham said the accent made sense for the character as conceived and written.

“Everything about this nurse was very Pittsburgh,” Bingham said. “She was just rooted in all things Pittsburgh and she’s the only one on the show [with the accent], so it’s more of a choice and something that feeds the character and something I could really use for her.”

So far, Bingham has filmed two “Watson” episodes as Nurse Carlin, but she hopes to be back for more, especially as “Watson” hints at the possibility of something more than a professional working relationship between Carlin and Shinwell.

“They both have a lot of history, a lot of past and they’ve both lived quite a life,” Bingham said. “I think they’re just at this place where grounded sees grounded.”

‘The Pitt’ impact

A study from the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California found viewers who watched “The Pitt” season one’s organ donation storyline were more likely to have sought organ donation information or shared information with others. More than a third of viewers who watched the show’s end-of-life planning storyline sought more information on end-of-life planning.

Because of its real-world impact, Hollywood, Health Society honored “The Pitt” with its Culture of Health Award at the 2025 Norman Lear Awards on Monday.

Sheridan moves to Peacock

The news came this week that producer Taylor Sheridan will move from Paramount+ to Peacock for a new TV deal in 2028. It makes me wonder what, if any, impact that will have on locally filmed “Mayor of Kingstown” and whether it will be renewed beyond its current fourth season. “Kingstown” is the lowest-rated among Sheridan’s Paramount+ shows.

Conception of a fifth season is ongoing, but Paramount+ has yet to formally announce a “Mayor of Kingstown” renewal.

FRP ‘Show You Care’ shorts

Fred Rogers Productions will launch several short-form documentaries under the “Many Ways to Show You Care” banner on Nov. 7, featuring three Pittsburgh children.

The multiplatform content — which will be available at pbskids.org, the PBS Kids Video app and the PBS Kids for Parents YouTube channel — will showcase caregiving for kids ages 2-6, their families and caregivers.

The three Pittsburgh children featured include 6½-year-old Ramiro, who helps his grandma with tasks; 10-year-old big sister Anabella, who helps her parents care for her two younger siblings; and 11-year-old Josh, who helps his father who has a traumatic brain injury.

These stories were filmed by Pittsburgh production company Vinegar Hill, which was behind the recent documentary “Clemente,” and are hosted by FRP characters Daniel Tiger, Donkey Hodie and Alma Rivera.

A music video featuring a reimagined version of Rogers’ “There Are Many Ways to Say I Love You” will launch in conjunction with the series, along with educational materials developed by FRP and child development experts.