Everything We Know About The Pitt Season 2

The Pitt is currently the best drama on television. I say that with my whole chest. And at the Emmys this month, the medical drama was officially awarded the honor. After taking home five Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series, the medical series was hit with a bit of backlash. Fans of Apple TV’s Severance weren’t happy that their show lost to an “easily digestible derivative piece of media.” Yes, I’ve been holding a grudge ever since I read that post because not only does it prove the poster clearly hasn’t watched a single episode of The Pitt (if you watched episode 12 and thought it was “easily digestible” you need therapy more than Dr. Robby), it also takes a condescending approach to all medical dramas. Sure, after two perfect seasons, Grey’s Anatomy devolved mostly into a saccharine soap opera (that I still loved), but comparing The Pitt to any other medical show — except for ER, and not just because they both star Noah Wyle — is unfair and inaccurate. 

Season 1 of The Pitt was great because it was unlike anything we’d see on TV for a long time, and in certain instances, ever. The birthing scene in episode 11 was the most accurate, gory, and riveting fictional depiction of childbirth in television history, in my opinion. And The Pitt tackled grief, miscarriage, mental health, mass shootings, and every sensitive case that came through the doors in 15 episodes with compassion, intention, and care in ways that felt revolutionary. In a time when science is being attacked, hospitals are becoming more and more dangerous for marginalized communities, and basic human decency is derided as “too woke,” The Pitt is firmly and unapologetically standing up for those who need the most help, just like good doctors do.  

Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Wyle) is the show’s moral and calming center. Behind his tough exterior is a soft, empathetic leader, a doctor with a vulnerable and impeccable bedside manner, and a man wading through trauma in real time. But it’s not just Dr. Robby who makes The Pitt great. There’s Dr. Abbot (Shawn Hatosy), Dr. Collins (Tracy Ifeachor), Dr. Santos (Isa Briones), Dr. Mohan (Supriya Ganesh), Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball), Dr. McKay (Fiona Dourif), Dr. Javadi (Shabana Azeez), Dr. King (Taylor Deardon), Dr. Whitaker (Gerran Howell), and the nurses Mateo (Jalen Thomas Brooks), Perlah (Amielynn Abellera), Princess (Kristin Villanueva), and Dana (Katherine LaNasa). 

Every single one of the aforementioned characters leap off the screen with depth, authenticity, and individuality. And after Season 1, each one left audiences wanting to clock into another shift at The Pitt. And we’re in luck because the HBO series has been renewed for a second season (it’s already in production) and recently set a record for post-season viewership growth since its finale in April, more than any debut season of any HBO Max show, according to Deadline.

With the help of the cast and industry reports, here’s what we know about The Pitt season 2:

Like any good workplace, the thing that makes The Pitt so great is the people. And if you fell in love with the ragtag group of doctors and nurses during their 15-hour emergency department shift, we’re happy to report that most of the cast is back for Season 2. At the Warner Bros. pre-Emmys celebration party in LA this month, we caught up with a few cast members and they confirmed who will and won’t be back. Fresh off her Emmy win, Katherine LaNasa, who plays nurse Dana Evans, will return to the show. “It's really just felt like a gift from heaven. I'm not kidding,” LaNasa told me on the red carpet about playing Dana.

“I had a really hard time finding work during a lockdown when I couldn't go and do live auditions and [then] I got cancer. And I was like, I don't understand what's happening…. and then I got this job where all of my experience of being a patient, being in the hospital, came into play, and it was just a really spiritual experience.” LaNasa will continue that spiritual experience in Season 2. Even though Dana was punched in the face by a patient and seemed intent on quitting at the end of Season 1, the teaser trailer for The Pitt season 2, however, confirmed that Dana is still at the hospital and still acting as the emergency room's charge nurse.

“There was something I did already [for Season 2] and I told the producer that I think I needed some jewelry for it. Like he needed to give me some diamonds,” LaNasa teased to Variety. “You’ll see. It’s in Episode 2. It’s disgusting.”

Supriya Ganesh, who plays Dr. Samira Mohan also teased the graphic hospital depictions — aka blood and gore — will be dialed up a notch. “All I will say it’s that it’s pretty gross and we have some cool things planned. Keep an eye out for the first couple of episodes,” she told us on the Emmys red carpet, also foreshadowing some deeper storylines for her character in Season 2.  “I think everyone has questions about who Samira is. They have questions about her past and her background. I love that everyone is so in my corner.” 

Alexandra Metz (Dr. Garcia), Fiona Dourif (Dr. McKay), Taylor Deardon (Dr. Mel King), Isa Briones (Dr. Santos), Gerron Howell (Dr. Whitaker), Shabana Azeez (Dr. Javadi) and of course Emmy winners Noah Wyle (Dr. Robby) and Shawn Hatosy (Dr Abbot) will also be back. 

The Pitt fans were shocked when news broke in July that Dr. Heather Collins, played by Tracy Ifeachor, would not be returning for Season 2.  “The creative team said it all — it was a decision that they made based on the story they wanted to tell,” Ifeachor told me at the Warner Bros pre-Emmys party. “And I respect their decision and their right to do that.” TVLine and Deadline reported that Ifeachor would depart the series due to a “creative decision” and that the storyline just didn’t call for Dr. Collins’ return. In Season 1, the character suffered a miscarriage and left her shift early. She did not come back and was absent from the latter half of the season. After lots of online speculation (including unsubstantiated rumors about Ifeachor being a part of a church with anti-abortion, homophobic and all-around conservative views), Wyle shut down any reasons for her departure other than storytelling: “We’ve all been sort of amused by the speculation about what everybody thinks might be a reason,” Wyle told Deadline. “But truthfully, we loved the actress. We enjoyed having her with us very much. She’s gotten really big and we will miss her.” 

And here’s what Ifeachor told us: “I'm so grateful for HBO for ensuring that there was no kind of crazy stuff out there,” she said of the online speculation surrounding her exit. “I mean, sometimes you read this stuff, you're like, No one's gonna believe that. Then you get messages, “are you okay? What happened?” It's the industry, and it happens like that,” she said, maintaining that there was no truth to the rumors (which her publicist also vehemently denied). “The thing I remain most proud of is the work ethic. I lead with kindness, I lead with integrity, and I show up, and I do what I'm there to do.” 

Ifeachor also squashed any rumors of beef between the cast. “I love that so many of the cast wrote that lovely tribute to me. They're like, ‘we miss her. She's so beautiful.’ I was like, Oh, thank you!” I can also confirm that based on how the cast was acting backstage at the Emmys, they all seemed like friendly coworkers who like and respect each other. There were lots of laughs and hugs — yes, with Ifeachor included — as they waited backstage to claim their Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. As for Dr. Collins, she was one of my favorite characters in the series and I’m devastated she won’t be returning. Ifeachor knows the impact the character has. “She's just such a powerful character, Dr. Heather Collins,” Ifeachor said. “Obviously, when we're making it, we never know what we're gonna be making. So to have a character that landed so well and so unexpectedly is wonderful, and I wouldn't change that for the world. She's part of the foundation, part of the fabric, and nothing will ever change that.” 

Patrick Ball’s Dr. Langdon may be The Pitt’s most polarizing character. Season 1 fans either loved or hated him. To recap, in Season 1, Langdon was caught by Dr. Santos stealing medication from the hospital — which Dr. Robby was not happy about to say the least — and he was revealed to be a drug addict. Season 2 kicks off with Dr. Langdon’s first day back in the pitt, on July 4, ten months after the events of Season 1. I’m sure Dr. Langdon is going to have to deal with a lot of backlash and rumors in the halls of the hospital and Ball has been facing the blowback of his character’s actions on the internet. When I asked him if he’s seen the discourse, he confirmed he has. 

“Yeah. I mean, I had to get off Twitter because it was a lot,” Ball said on the Warner Bros. red carpet. “But I think it's a really smart story that [showrunner R. Scott Gemmill] is telling. And I think telling the story of addiction is really important to me, and to tell it with as much integrity as possible.” He continued: “I think we have done a pretty good job of setting up an archetype of somebody that is confident and somebody that is good at their job, and exposed that even those people can be suffering silently and often do.”

Ball also weighed in on the rivalry between his character and Dr. Santos. The Pitt fans have picked sides, and Dr. Langdon vs. Dr Santos is going to be the most anticipated showdown in Season 2. 

“I definitely have to surf my internet haters, for sure, but I think, especially, the back and forth between Langdon and Santos invited a lot of really interesting conversations,” Ball said. “So I'm here for it. Hate on!” 

When I talked to the cast of The Pitt, the overwhelming sentiment was gratitude to the real-life healthcare workers they’ve encountered who have felt “so seen” by the show. “The medical professionals really feel seen, and [when I had cancer] I know that there were some nurses that went above and beyond when I was getting treatment and the little things mattered so much,” LaNasa said. “And so I tried to put that into Dana.” 

“I feel so seen,” Metz (Dr. Garcia) told me. “I’m now stopped on the street by my people of color, my women of color, who are like I see you, you’re representing! And then I’m like ‘what do you do?’ and they’re like, ‘I’m in the sciences, I work in [hospitals] and I’m like, ‘I see you.’ We are out here. Period.” 

Ifeachor also shared that she has women coming up to her and sharing how her character made them feel represented. “So so many women have come up to me often with tears and told me how they really felt seen,” she said. “I’ve heard and women from all different backgrounds, and that, to me, has been the most wonderful experience…. I'm grateful I watched something like 300 hours of footage of people talking about miscarriages and different choices that they have made so I'm really grateful that it translated, because you make it, and you hope so. I'm really glad that that came across.” 

“I get stopped a lot by medical professionals,” Fiona Dourif (Dr McKay) told me on the Warner Bros pre-Emmys red carpet. “A lot of nurses come up to me and say that they’ve never seen something that actually reflects their work so that’s been really cool.” 

The Pitt Season 2 will premiere on HBO Max in January 2026.