REVIEW: ‘The Pitt’ Season 2 - HBO Max’s Medical Breakout Returns in Top Form
- Jay Belle
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
This review covers the first nine episodes of The Pitt Season 2.
The Pitt, one of 2025’s most acclaimed and talked-about series, is finally back, and in a streaming landscape defined by long delays between seasons, the Emmy winning show's timely return feels especially welcome.
Picking up nearly a year after the events of Season 1, the second season drops us into the chaos of the July 4th weekend as our favorite doctors and nurses take on the holiday shift. Season 2 once again follows the staff through a grueling 12-hour stretch, immediately finding its rhythm. While the season doesn’t reinvent the formula, it builds on the relationships and character dynamics that audiences grew to love in its debut year.
One of the elements that sets The Pitt apart from other medical dramas is the time it allows us to spend with patients and the care they receive or at times, don’t receive. The series lets us spend time on these encounters in a way that feels true to life, often mirroring the frustrating, imperfect realities many people face when visiting an emergency room. A standout example of this is a storyline involving a deaf patient, thoughtfully illustrating how difficult treatment can become for both patients and doctors when proper resources aren't accessible and can make communication for something as important as healthcare very frustrating.
The Pitt Season 2 also introduces a subtle but intriguing shift by offering deeper glimpses into the characters’ lives outside the hospital, while teasing potential colleague relationships. These moments are handled lightly but reward attentive viewers with small Easter eggs that fans who have been shippers of certain characters will enjoy catching.
Similar to Season 1, there’s an unmistakable sense that a major, urgent tragedy is building beneath the surface. An event at the hospital introduces an unexpected twist to its day-to-day operations, setting the stage for developments that should keep viewers engaged as the season continues. It doesn't feel like the stakes are risen high during the first half of the season but I doubt feeling will be the same by the end of the 15 episode second season.
On that note, Season 2 remains impressively well-paced, much like its predecessor. There’s no sense that the showrunner or cast are overreaching simply because the series has found a larger audience. Instead, the season allows viewers meaningful time with their favorite providers (shoutout to Katherine LaNasa’s standout performance in Episode 6 and 7) while also creating space to get to know new faces like Joy, Hucklebuck, and Dr. Al-Hashimi. Fans will also be excited to see more of the nighttime shift cast, that we got to really spend time with in the final episodes of Season 1.
The Pitt feels well worth returning to, largely because the performances remain just as strong as they were in the first season. Season 1 succeeded in making viewers care deeply about these characters and Season 2 maintains that emotional investment without missing a beat. The patient cases also feel new and refreshing, steering clear of rehashing past moments in Season 1.
My only minor gripe with the season so far lies in its handling of Dr. Heather Collins. While it was previously reported that the character was written out of Season 2 due to creative differences, her departure feels abrupt on-screen. Dr. Collins was one of the storylines many fans – particularly Black women – strongly connected with in the first season, making the lack of a more substantial explanation rather disappointing. Aside from brief exposition by Dr. Robbie, the show offers little closure around her exit.
I also found myself wishing the season had done more with another of the show’s Black characters, Brendan Mendez Homer’s newly certified nurse practitioner, Donnie Donahue. With Dr. Collins written out, this felt like a natural opportunity to further develop another Black character within the ensemble. However, based on the first nine episodes, Donahue largely remains in a smaller supporting role rather than being given the space to truly shine. However, if Season 2 is anything like Season 1 there is still time left to give this character time to shine on screen.
Overall, The Pitt feels well-positioned for a strong second half of the season, and it’s exciting to consider what intense stories the creative team has in store next. With less than a year between the releases of Seasons 1 and 2, the series maintains a momentum that’s rare in today’s streaming landscape, that I would bet leaves fans both satisfied by this chapter and eager for what comes next.
Rating: ★★★★☆
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.
