REVIEW: ‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Episode 1 is a Return to the Chaotic Nature of R. Scott Gemmill's Award-Winning Show

The Pitt © HBO Max

The Pitt, HBO Max's latest medical drama, has been the talk of the town for the past year and is currently sweeping award season. It was only earlier in the week that it once again won "Best Drama" amongst several other awards at the Critics Choice Awards. There's a lot about The Pitt that makes it stand out amongst other streaming television shows. It retains quality across all departments that allow it to be recognised as prestige TV, and although its first season only debuted last year in January, it's already back for another 15-episode season, which is bound to throw us back into a chaotic shift at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Centre.

The Pitt Season 2 returns us almost a year after the events of the last season. We follow the doctors and nurses of Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Cetre aka The Pitt on their daunting and gruelling 15-hour shift on the Fourth of July weekend, with each episode taking place within an hour of the shift. It's the same structure as the last season, but this first episode builds on some of the storylines that began in the last season, introduces us to new characters and builds on the dynamics of characters that we love.

A lot took place during the last few episodes of Season 1 as an active shooter was discovered at Pittfest, the music festival that Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch's (Noah Wyle) stepson, Jake (Taj Speights), was attending. Unfortunately, there were some lives lost, including the life of Jake's girlfriend, Leah (Solan Mannino). The efforts of the doctors weren't forgotten, and there's a plaque in the building, thanking and commemorating them for their hard work on that night. Robby is back for yet another shift, which we soon find out is his final shift, as he goes on sabbatical for three months, which brings the introduction of Dr Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), the new attending that will be covering Robby while he's gone.

Before we even get to meet Al-Hashimi, we quickly learn what type of character she is from the surrounding nurses and doctors. She's arrived early to meet the night shift; she has plans and "quality improvement changes" for The Pitt which are already in motion, as patient passports have been distributed to give the patients a better idea of how long their overall procedure may be. On her first shift (mind you, she's arrived earlier than expected, throwing Robby off his game), she's already been described as having taken "giant balls of disrespect" for some of the stuff she's already pulled.

Tracy Ifeachor unfortunately doesn't return in The Pitt Season 2 as Dr. Heather Collins, and as of this first episode, her absence isn't mentioned, but it's felt as Al-Hashimi feels like a replacement for the character. On this season's shift, there are now two attending physicians, and they both work completely differently, and we're shown just how they both clash, making attempts to lead at the same time, which creates tension between the two. It's unfortunate to see Ifeachor's departure from the series and to see it handled as such so far, but hopefully future episodes will bring closure to her character.

Alongside Robby, there are two other characters who make a return whose storylines were previously unknown. There have been a few changes with Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa). Firstly, although Season 1's finale made it seem like she had decided on retiring, we see her back for a shift, ready to tackle the day ahead. She took some time off for herself, and hopefully we won't be seeing any more retirement threats this season unless something blindsides her. In the last season, Dana got blindsided by a patient while she was having a smoke, and we get to see how that's still affected her, as she's quit smoking and replaced cigarettes with nicotine gum. She's also now holding the hands of Emma (Laëtitia Hollard), a new nursing school graduate who's been seen bouncing around the place helping Dana out. It's yet another character surrounded in mystery, but if we get to spend more time with Dana and Emma, we might soon get to find out what her character is all about.

The Pitt © HBO Max

In the last season, we discovered that Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball) has an addiction and stole a patient's dose to help calm his withdrawal symptoms instead of seeing a doctor in fear of losing his licence. This storyline saw Langdon and Robby going at each other, and it ended in a pretty bad spot. In the very first episode, we see Langdon return after he's taken some time off for rehab and counselling. His first encounter with Robby is an awkward one, as we see Robby try to avoid him and fail before forcefully sending him to triage, which to Langdon feels like a punishment, while Robby makes snarky comments such as "pretty sure we can cover for you; we've been doing it for months" as Langdon tries to avoid going to triage. It's here that we discover that Louis, his patient whom he met earlier outside in the waiting room, is the patient he had stolen the doses from last season. Langon receives forgiveness from Louis, but it's a matter of whether Robby will have the same change of heart for him.

What makes The Pitt so engaging to watch is that its writing doesn't treat its audience like idiots. I, as a viewer, have no clue what they're talking about half the time, but they still make it incredibly easy to follow through the eyes of their patients. Whether it's lying to get yourself home early (been there, done that), to avoid an expensive medical bill, or to hide the truth because you're scared of the outcome, The Pitt ensures its patients, bedside or in the waiting room, are also characters within the show that we can connect with. R. Scott Gemmill also doesn't hold the audience's hand, telling them every little update and detail about the characters, but instead throws hints through their body language and dialogue, allowing us to connect the pieces.

The greatest improvement is that it feels like time has actually passed within the world of The Pitt. We have Dennis Whittaker (Gerran Howell), who has grown more confident and seems to be taking the lead with new medical students, Joy (Irene Choi) and James (Lucas Iverson). Not much to say on them yet, but Joy seems pretty pessimistic, and James is eager and excited to get on with the shift. Trinity Santos was shown to be a character that's defensive of young women who may be in sexually abusive relationships that involve family, and this season doesn't waste any time with throwing Santos into a dilemma which involves a 9-year-old girl who seems to be telling a completely different story from what Santos believes and what evidence seems to be showing.

Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez) is still avoiding her mother and doesn't want people finding out about her birthday, a secret that will be quickly revealed due to Trinity's cockiness. Samira Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) also seems to be struggling with family and Melissa "Mel" King (Taylor Dearden) has "Mel... ancholia," according to Trinity and has been stressed and quieter than usual due to a malpractice lawsuit which involves her having her deposition on that day. We'll likely see a development of Mel having to deal with this malpractice lawsuit, but it seems like we might get to see her form a relationship with a patient who seems to have quite an interest in her.

One of the crazier stories from this first episode of The Pitt Season 2 is that a 1-month-old baby was found in the restrooms, which are currently being treated on high alert as they don't have enough information on the child. We are left on the cliffhanger of Al-Hashimi coming back to noticing something that Samira has yet to notice, and unfortunately, we're left in the dark until next week's episode. If an abandoned baby, a likely victim of child SA and a man who smells like complete and utter dog aren't an indication that The Pitt Season 2 is only going to get more chaotic and emotional, then I don't know what will. It's time we all brace ourselves for the oncoming storm.

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The Pitt. © HBO Max

About The Pitt

Premiere Date: January 8, 2026

Episode Count: 15

Showrunner: R. Scott Gemmill

Production: John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television

Distribution: HBO Max

Cast: Noah Wyle, Patrick Ball, Katherine LaNasa, Supriya Ganesh, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden, Isa Briones, Gerran Howell, Shabana Azeez, Sepideh Moafi.

Synopsis: The Pitt is a realistic examination of the challenges facing healthcare workers in today’s America as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh.