The Pitt Season 2: Everything We Know So Far

Debuting in January 2025, the Max medical drama "The Pitt" managed to set itself apart from similar shows with its gritty realism to become a huge watercooler hit. The fast-moving series takes a look at life in the emergency room of the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital. The central character — and the eyes through which the audience watches the joys and horrors of life in medicine — is frazzled senior attending physician Michael "Robby" Robinavitch (Noah Wyle), who has survived the COVID-19 pandemic but has not managed to emotionally recover from the experience.

Every episode of the show covers one hour of a gruelling 15-hour shift for Robby, following him in real time. With Season 1 being such a roaring success, it's unsurprising that Max renewed "The Pitt" for a second season. But when will fans get to see more of Robby in action? Who else will appear in the show's sophomore season? And what will Season 2 be about? Here's everything we know about the next installment of "The Pitt" so far.

Thankfully for fans of the show, the gap between the first and second season of "The Pitt" isn't going to be all that long: The series is set to return in January 2026, one year after Season 1 premiered on Max. While an exact date hasn't been revealed just yet, we know that the cast and crew will reconvene for shooting in September 2025. Earlier reports suggested that production would begin in June 2025, but that was apparently too early ("It has to look like the right time of year," series creator R. Scott Gemmill told TV Line). What's more, "The Pitt" is set to become a January tradition — the show's producers have vowed that a new batch of episodes will be available for fans every year, and Noah Wyle is on the record promising that "The Pitt" will last several seasons so that Robby's tale will be told properly.

Since Season 1 was released from January to April with episodes dropping weekly, we can presume that Season 2 will follow a similar model. It's old-school television in format and function, and that's part of the appeal — while it feels fresh in many regards, "The Pitt" is also something of a throwback to medical dramas of years gone by, and viewers are loving it. "People really do underestimate the lag between seasons causing drop off and lack of interest," Redditor u/Lestranger_1982 wrote. "TV had a very specific schedule for a lot of reasons. Some of it was just how people want to watch TV. Weekly episodes, new season every year. TV is often about comfort and consistency."

According to "The Pitt" creator R. Scott Gemmill and executive producer John Wells, there will be a significant time jump between the end of Season 1 and the start of Season 2. They have also confirmed that the second season will take place on a holiday. "We're going to do Fourth of July weekend," Gemmill told TV Line. "Nine, basically 10 months later, gives a lot of room for us to have developed a few stories in the interim, and catch up with everyone."

We also know that Robby's troubled protégé Dr. Frank Landgon (Patrick Ball) will return for "The Pitt" Season 2. Robby told Langdon that he needed to check himself into rehab after discovering that he was using prescription meds to cope, and he apparently did just that — he'll be done with rehab and totally clean by the time Season 2 kicks off. In fact, Gemmill has said that "the biggest driver" behind the time skip was so that Langdon could come back clean and ready to repair his relationship with Robby.

One of the biggest questions that fans have about Season 2 is whether or not charge nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) is really gone: She seemingly quit her job after being punched in the face while on shift. The creators have all-but-confirmed that she will return for Season 2, having had some time to cool off. Gemmill said: "I think when she comes back, she's going to have a bit of an attitude adjustment, though. She'll be even less tolerant of bulls***. She's going to be much more protective of her flock."

Noah Wyle will definitely be back as Robby for Season 2, and we know that Patrick Ball and Katherine LaNasa will also return as Langdon and Dana, respectively. But who else will be back in action? During his interview with TV Line, creator R. Scott Gemmill was asked if some of the medical students will have either quit or been moved on to new departments by the time "The Pitt" comes back for another season. He confirmed that we'll be seeing both Shabana Azeez as Victoria Javadi and Gerran Howell as Dennis Whitaker in Season 2, saying: "Whitaker will be an intern next year — so, finally, his character will finally be getting paid. Javadi is going to be doing a sub-internship, and we find out that maybe that's just her stalling because she doesn't want to make up her mind about where she wants to go."

Gemmill went on to say that "we'll see everybody, for the most part, and some people might be working different hours and different shifts, but it's pretty much the same crew." That's great news for fans, but the fact that the creator of the show said "for the most part" does leave the door open for some departures. In fact, executive producer John Wells stated in the same interview that the very nature of the show makes a turnover of cast somewhat inevitable in the long run. He said: "One of the things that is tricky when you're making a very realistic hospital show is that not everybody stays in the hospital forever, you know? So, the longer the show goes, the more we're going to have to reconcile with the realities of where people would be — not just in terms of their emotional life in the hospital, but where they would be in their matriculation."

The people behind "The Pitt" have yet to reveal which directors will be working on Season 2, but if it's anything like Season 1, viewers can expect a wide variety of talents to take the helm. Season 1 featured everyone from "ER" legend John Wells to "Ozark" director Amanda Marsalis, bringing in the cream of the crop when it comes to dramatic shepherds. Some of those people took on multiple episodes, with Marsalis and Damian Marcano ("American Gigolo") each directing four outings. Wells directed two episodes (the all-important series opener and the Season 1 finale), as did John Cameron ("Dune: Prophecy") and Quyen Tran ("The Madness"). Silver Tree, known for the likes of "Dead to Me" and "You," took charge of one episode.

The cohesive nature of "The Pitt" in spite of its differing directors is a wonder to behold, and a lot of that seems to do with the fact that it's a team effort on set. Cameramen and sound people don scrubs while filming to avoid being detected and lend an air to the show's documentary-like feel. Interestingly, "The Pitt" actors aren't allowed to use one item on set: cell phones. While phones are a big no-no, the set does have a lending library, which encourages everyone to get their read on. The end result is a more cohesive experience for everyone that really puts them in the mood and feeling of the moment. We wouldn't be surprised if some (or, indeed, all) of the directors from Season 1 return for Season 2.

Valerie Chu was the head story editor for Season 1 of "The Pitt," and she wrote one episode. Series co-executive producer and co-creator R. Scott Gemmill wrote six episodes; Simran Baidwan wrote three; Joe Sachs wrote four; and star Noah Wyle wrote two. Cynthia Adarkwa and Elyssa Gershman wrote one each. There's no word on whether or not the same group will be handling Season 2, but it's quite possible new writers will be added as the story develops.

For Season 1, R. Scott Gemmill, John Wells, Simran Baidwan, Michael Hissrich, Noah Wyle, and Erin Jontow split executive producer duties. Damian Marcano, Amanda Marsalis, Joe Sachs, and Terri Murphy are co-executive producers, while Michelle Lankwarden and Cynthia Adarkwa are regular producers. Fred Einesman works as a consulting producer. There's no concrete info on whether there will be any changes in the hierarchy going into Season 2, but we know that Wyle will definitely be back.

The first season of "The Pitt" was rated TV-MA for graphic, bloody scenes, including on-screen surgery. A mass shooting is depicted, and it coats the hallways with blood and viscera. Nudity (almost always seen in the context of an examination), violence, and occasional strong language also contribute to the series' rating. There's also a mild amount of drug abuse on the show, between Frank Langdon's ongoing addiction storyline and a case where a kid accidentally ingests CBD gummies. 

It's safe to assume that the show won't be taking its foot off the gas for Season 2 — to do so would be demeaning to the integrity of the series. So, one can expect to see more surgery, more calamity, and more honesty as this new lot of episodes unspools. All in all, "The Pitt" is definitely not the sort of show you want to show your children on a Friday night — the TV-MA rating is well earned.

Want to watch the first season of "The Pitt" again? You can relive every heart-breaking, blood-boiling, enervating moment of Season 1 by snagging a Max subscription. At the moment the series isn't available outside of the streamer, nor can you sample the show in pieces by buying individual episodes. It's Max or bust. Plans start at $7.99 a month.

At the time of this writing, "The Pitt" is not available to buy on DVD. There's no word on whether or not the show will ever be released on physical media. If you've already watched Season 1 and you're looking for something to scratch that medical drama itch while you wait for Season 2, then why not check out our list of 13 shows that are like "The Pitt" while you wait for the second season to come around.