Of all the Pittsburgh references "The Pitt" uses to ground itself in Pittsburgh, the opening of Season 2 might be one of the most effective.

Upon hitting play for episode one, viewers will notice the smooth shaking of a tambourine with the bold white letters: "Max Presents." The drums will kick in, progressively growing louder until they are greeted with two things: the show's title (in classic yinzer gold) pasted on top of the city skyline of Pittsburgh, and the voice of Scott Blasey singing The Clarks song "Better Off Without You."

After another grand shot of PNC Park, it cuts to Noah Wyle's lead character Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch driving a motorcycle (without a helmet) across the Rachel Carson Bridge. He overtakes an ambulance and speeds off to his next shift at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, based on Allegheny General Hospital in the North Side. "Better Off Without You" plays prominently in the background.

Blasey, an avid fan of "The Pitt," said it was mind-blowing to hear his song when the preview for Season 2 was shared with him.

"When I first saw it, I must have watched it a dozen times right away," Blasey said. "I played it for my wife and kids and couldn't wait to tell people about it."

The series' creatives reached out to The Clarks' manager Rishon Blumberg, who had a connection to one of the show's executive producers. R. Scott Gemmill had been looking into the Pittsburgh band's music.

"He listened to our music, really like it, ordered a couple of our T-shirts and said: 'We need to get The Clarks' music on 'The Pitt',' so it all kind of happened at the same time," Blasey said.

Under their agreement with the studio, The Clarks didn't know how "Better Off Without You" would be used. Since "The Pitt" is light on its use of music, the song could have been pushed to the background or played on a radio for a short period of time.

Then, the opening scene for Season 2 dropped on YouTube.

"It's the main opening song, it's very prominent, I mean it's loud," Blasey said. "We've had [previous music] in movies and it's kind of in the background, you can hear it maybe for 10 or 15 seconds and then it's gone. But I mean, you can't miss this."

In a media event interview with the Post-Gazette in December, series showrunner Gemmill, who was wearing a shirt that said "Steel City," said "The Pitt" tends to "lean into Pittsburgh" whenever it can. That was especially prominent in Season 1, with references to the city's restaurants, neighborhoods, highways and more.

Blasey "loved" these references during his two binge-watches of the first season, but thought the waiting room of the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center could have used a few more yinzer accents.

"I noticed right away that they brought in lunch for everybody and it was from Primanti's, which was awesome," he said. "I noticed at least one Steelers jersey and that's the things I noticed about product placement. But obviously, when they're showing a scene when they're up on the roof, it's just amazing to see the city."

And to see a Clarks song layered on top of those wide cityscape shots in the beginning of the next installment is "very cool."

"It definitely has more impact for me, the fact that I love the show and now that it's gotten so popular and they've won all these awards," Blasey explained. "The profile of this show is much greater, they'll have a lot of viewers tuning in for that first episode in a little over a week."

The opening will likely draw new and old listeners to the band — a great reminder to the "timelessness" of all music. A handful of "The Pitt" viewers probably haven't heard of The Clarks.

"It's a really cool thing that a song that was released 25 years ago, that I wrote over a quarter century ago, is suddenly gonna gain this huge exposure," Blasey said.

To mark the occasion, The Clarks are releasing an EP called "Echoes From The Pitt," which will include two covers, two recently released singles and a re-recorded version of "Better Off Without You." It will be available on Thursday, Jan 8 — the same day Season 2 launches on HBO Max.

Remaking the song was a reminder to Blasey of the fun he had writing "Better Off Without You" decades ago. He reflected on the way Pittsburgh embraced The Clarks in the 1980s — around when they began to perform in the region.

"I think for Pittsburghers who are fans of ['The Pitt'], it really makes it authentic to hear us as opposed to just any band from anywhere on the opening scene," he said. "It's authentic, which is awesome."

The sophomore season of "The Pitt" releases on HBO Max on Thursday, Jan. 8. Episodes will air each Thursday at 9 p.m. until the finale on April 16.

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