Why Do The Pitt Cast Shakeups Only Involve Women Of Colour?

It’s been a rough few days for fans of The Pitt. On Thursday, April 2, it was announced that Supriya Ganesh, who plays fan favourite Dr. Samira Mohan, will not be returning for Season 3. The news caught many off guard, especially given the fact that it spoiled one of The Pitt Season 2’s main plotlines, which has revolved around Mohan’s uncertain career plans, but as a woman of colour and fan of the show, I was disappointed to see that this news seemed to confirm my suspicions: The Pitt is treating women of colour as interchangeable, and fans are noticing. 

Never has this attitude been more clear than in the news of Ganesh’s exit, which was announced in a Variety article that simultaneously broke the news of Ayesha Harris’ promotion to series regular in Season 3. Citing a source close to the show, the report called the decision “story-driven,” noting that the show takes place in a teaching hospital where doctors would, realistically, rotate out. Announcing both casting changes at the same time was likely meant to soften the blow and assure fans that the show is still committed to showing a diverse staff of doctors. Instead, it immediately raised suspicions about The Pitt trading in one woman of colour for another and using the hospital setting as cover. 

Feelings of unease about The Pitt’s treatment of the women of color on the cast have been brewing in the fandom since Season 1. First, there was the unceremonious announcement that Dr. Collins (Tracy Ifeachor) would be written out of the show for Season 2 despite being seemingly positioned as Robby’s love interest. The Pitt then brought on Sepideh Moafi to play Dr. Al-Hashimi in Season 2 — a move that, while welcome, had many fans on guard for the possibility that the show would become a revolving door for actors of colour.

Another red flag popped up when Variety published a cover story about the women of The Pitt as promotion leading up to the 2025 Emmy nominations. The cover notably featured only Katherine LaNasa, Taylor Dearden, and Isa Briones — about half of the show’s main female cast and only including one woman of colour, who also happened to be the fairest. Though the show itself wasn’t necessarily at fault, it raised questions about which cast members were being campaigned for awards and the cover left many fans feeling unsure about how Season 2 would treat the rest of the cast.

Ganesh herself has been outspoken about the effect of bias in the media. She made headlines ahead of Season 2 for calling out outlets for mixing her up with Shabana Azeez, who plays Dr. Javadi. She later explained her reasoning, telling The Wrap that the frequent misidentifications were “painful.” She continued, “It makes me feel like either me or Shabana would have an easier time if one of us wasn’t there.” This season, both Azeez and Ganesh have had significant screentime and story arcs, which is proof that there is more than enough room for the two of them, if only the creatives behind the scenes were willing to commit. In light of this casting news, though, it really feels as if Ganesh was right all along — and fans are rightfully upset. 

It’s possible that more cast changes have yet to be announced. A white character could still be written out of the upcoming season. Still, the fact that the only announcement so far is that The Pitt is writing out a woman of colour for the second time makes it feel less like a story-driven decision and more like the show’s way of meeting a strict woman of colour quota that it can’t — or won’t — exceed. 

Does it make sense that a teaching hospital would have regular staff turnover? It does. And yes, Mohan’s storyline this season has been setting her up for a potential specialty change.

If The Pitt were a real hospital, her departure wouldn’t just make sense, it would be expected. But this is a TV show. As a character, Mohan is beloved. She’s one half of one of the series’ most talked about ships, which is, for better and for worse, a major driver of fan engagement. Whether The Pitt writers intended it or not, Dr. Mohan has a large and invested fanbase. Why, on a procedural drama where you could write whatever you want and make her storyline one that keeps her in the hospital, would you write out a character fans are so engaged with? And why announce it so unceremoniously? 

Mohabot shipping aside, Ganesh’s character has also been significant on the show for standing up for her patients of all backgrounds. In Season 1, she first butt heads with Robby over spending extra time caring for a black female patient to ensure the best care possible. She’s the doctor we all wish we had, and an important reminder to healthcare professionals to check their biases. How predictable, then, that her character would be the victim of such biases in Hollywood. 

And it is a bias, whether full conscious or not. And we’re seeing that play out onscreen. Why is it that Mohan leaving the department can be excused by regular hospital turnover when Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball) continues to work despite stealing drugs to fuel his own addiction in Season 1? It can’t, unless Season 3 is going to include Dr. Robby being confronted by his bias against women of colour.

Sadly, given star Noah Wyle’s recent BuzzFeed UK interview, this doesn’t seem likely. “It’s less aggressive than I think people perceive it,” Wyle said of Robby’s decision to berate Mohan as she’s in the middle of her first panic attack in Episode 10, “4:00 PM,” and later encourage her to leave emergency medicine to pursue a specialty in geriatrics. He continued, calling it Robby’s way of paying “the ultimate compliment, which is to say, ‘You’ve got a big future, don’t get in your own way.’” Wyle, who also acts as a director, writer, and executive producer on the show, might not see Robby’s actions as indicative of bias. But the women who tune into The Pitt week after week can see it for what it is: a cruel power move that could severely undermine her career and create a hostile work environment for her and those who look like her.

It would be one thing if Robby treated all residents this way, guiding them via public humiliation to learn valuable lessons, but he doesn’t. In Season 1, when Robby learned that Langdon was stealing drugs from the hospital to treat his own addiction, he confronted the white male doctor in private. He then allowed Langdon to return to work in Season 2, despite the effects this would have on Dr. Santos (Briones). In the episode leading up to his confrontation with Mohan, he met with Dr. Whitaker (Gerran Howell) in private to caution him against getting too involved with a patient’s widow. 

Robby is capable of employing discretion when it comes to the white men on his staff. The women working there, however, are not awarded such courtesy. And it’s not just Mohan, or even just women of colour. In Season 1, Robby questions Collins for refusing to falsify medical records for a teenager with an unwanted pregnancy. He also puts the future of a white teenage boy over the lives of teenage girls and later makes Dr. McKay (Fiona Dourif) feel guilty for not following his lead. As a character, Robby has a history of dismissing the women around him, and the fact that Wyle is seemingly unaware of this doesn’t give me much faith that The Pitt will be tackling it in seasons to come. 

That said, Wyle isn’t alone in the writers room. Though Wyle and showrunner R. Scott Gemmell are at the helm, The Pitt has a diverse team of writers that includes women of colour. And fans appear willing to give the show the benefit of the doubt. I’ve never seen an American TV show feature so many Asian American characters who aren’t related to one another, and for that, I want to give The Pitt grace to course correct in Season 3. 

For many fans watching, the show has been a shining example of what meaningful onscreen inclusion can look like, which is why Ganesh’s departure feels like such a betrayal. And if The Pitt continues to treat its leads of colour as disposable while continuing to elevate—and employ—its white cast members, that betrayal will only fester.

Regardless of intent, the facts are clear: The Pitt has a problem with women of colour, and the creatives need to fix it before it’s too late.