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Editor's note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Pitt Season 2 premiere.
When The Pitt first debuted on HBO Max last year, it would have been easy to dismiss it as an ER rip-off, another hospital drama starring Noah Wyle. Once viewers started watching, however, they were drawn in by the show's tense premise that plays out in real time during a stress-filled 15-hour shift at a fictional Pittsburgh hospital. Wyle, as senior attending physician Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch, may have been the lead, yet the supporting cast, including Patrick Ball, Taylor Dearden, Supriya Ganesh, Fiona Dourif, Shabana Azeez, and Katherine LaNasa, kept viewers tuning in. After its first season had finished airing, The Pitt won several Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series and acting trophies for Wyle and LaNasa.
Now, The Pitt is back for Season 2, with this shift centered around one chaotic Fourth of July. Months after Season 1, there are still many questions looming: How are the new doctors doing? Is Langdon (Ball) back as a doctor? Is Robby in a better place mentally than the last time we saw him? Here's everything that goes down in The Pitt's Season 2 premiere, "7:00 A.M."
'The Pitt' Season 2 Premiere Features the Return of Dr. Langdon and a New Attending on the Scene
"7:00 A.M." begins with the sun rising over the city and Robby riding his motorcycle to work at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. The waiting room is already packed, but Robby is ready for the day to be over before it even begins because he has a three-month sabbatical coming up as soon as this shift is over. He's sullen as he notices a plaque on the wall about the Pittfest shooting, but he can't focus on it long. Duty calls, even though it's relatively slow so far. The first patient is a religious woman named Margaret, followed by a man, Mr. Burgess, with leg cramps.
Robby meets a new attending, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), who will be his replacement while he's on sabbatical, while Dr. Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez) and Dr. Dennis Whiaker (Gerran Howell) are helping new med student James Ogilvy (Lucas Iverson) perform CPR on a patient. Al-Hashimi walks in and tells everyone to stop because the patient is dead, while Robby walks in and introduces himself to the attending, a pretty serious, by-the-book woman who used to work at the VA. Robby and Al-Hashimi observe as the others work on a stabbing patient, and right away, we're forced to wonder: who's really in charge here?
Meanwhile, Dr. Frank Langdon is sitting in the ER's waiting room, readying himself to walk into work. He's nervous as he passes through the doors and goes to his locker, the same place where Robby once told him to go home. Even though she was ready to quit at the end of last season after being punched by a patient, Dana Evans (LaNasa) is back as well after taking some time off. Langdon's looking for Robby, and Dana knows she'll have to keep an eye on him, but right now she has to help new nurse Emma Nolan (Laëtitia Hollard). Back in trauma, Robby wants Al-Hashimi to let the doctors come up with the plan rather than telling them what to do or trying to take over, and they disagree on how best to help the patient, but Robby's suggestion works. In another room, Dr. Cassie Kay (Dourif), Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones), and Dr. Melissa King (Dearden) begin helping an injured girl, but King seems distracted. They move on to another patient, where they're joined by Langdon, and an excited Mel has to stop herself from hugging him.
An Abandoned Baby Is Discovered in 'The Pitt' Season 2 Premiere
Robby suggests to Al-Hashimi that they split up to be more efficient, and she tells him that they can discuss it without simply complying with his idea. Uh oh. In the hall, a stressed-out Dr. Samira Mohan (Supriya Ganesh) is on the phone with her mother, who is going on a trip around the world right as her daughter has committed to moving back home to New Jersey next year. That just leads Cassie to muse about how she needs to get laid.
Robby catches Langdon watching him and walks the other way. The young doctor finds him anyway and wants to talk, but Robby isn't interested in that right now. Langdon thinks he's being punished by being sent to work in Triage, yet he knows to show up and not complain. Ogilvy is struck by how quiet the ER is, but he's warned about the morning rush of nursing home and assisted living patients. Meanwhile, Santos vents to Javadi about how the new attendee is already on her for being behind. Forget life and death, because Javadi has a scarier moment when her mom, Dr. Eileen Shamsi (Deepti Gupta), walks up and wants to know why she isn't returning her calls or texts. Javadi's busy, though, even on her 21st birthday, which she doesn't want anyone to know about. Eileen then goes to Robby about how she thinks her daughter is wasting her time in her current role. Yikes.
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Al-Hashimi comes to Robby with an idea: how about they stop referring to the ER as The Pitt? She thinks it has a negative impact on people, but Robby doesn't seem to care about something so trivial. While he deals with that, Javadi tends to a nun with an eye infection as Dana trains Emma and tells her that the code word for any threat is "hula-hoop." That'll likely be relevant later. Meanwhile, Landon is treating regular ER patient Louie (Ernest Harden Jr.) for an infected tooth, but he's also short of breath. The doctor takes a moment to admit to Louie that he's a drug addict who stole some medicine the last time he treated him. As he's unburdening himself, a new crisis emerges: someone has just abandoned a baby in the bathroom.
What's Going on With Dr. Al-Hashimi in 'The Pitt' Season 2 Premiere?
Image via HBOWhitaker is training Ogilvy and fellow med student Joy (Irene Choi) on not intervening for a patient with a DNR. Robby watches as the old man from the nursing home passes away, but witnesses Whitaker insisting on a moment of silence for the patient and can't help but smile proudly at that. Meanwhile, Cassie treats a possible concussed patient who doesn't really want her help. He's more worried about his busy day and insurance costs. However, when she shakes his potentially broken hand and he screams in pain, the guy quickly changes his mind. It's worse than she thinks, too, because he starts talking incoherently, a sign that his head trauma is more severe.
Santos tells Mel about the baby the nurses discovered, but she's still acting distracted and mopey. It turns out that she was named in a malpractice lawsuit and today's the deposition, but Santos isn't worried because every doctor gets sued sooner or later. What she is worried about is the little girl she saw earlier, who she just learned has been treated a few times lately for injuries. Santos gets her alone to ask the girl if she's been abused. She denies it without batting an eye, but a urine sample is filled with blood. Mohan spends time with an elderly female patient who apologizes for her grumpy son's behavior. The woman eats a dozen pot cookies a day for pain, which could be increasing her dementia symptoms.
In the hall, Langdon and Louie run into Whitaker and his new students, who are going to drain fluid from Louie's abdomen. As they deal with that, Robby and Al-Hashimi treat the abandoned baby. The new attendee wants to join Robby on the next patient, which he initially disagrees with, but caves because she wants to learn more about his routine. Things get awkward when Santos doesn't know who to address about her young patient. Mel is giving a young man stitches on his leg when he starts to flirt with her. It's just as awkward for Dana and Emma as they help a very dirty unhoused man wash up outside. As Emma helps him get dressed, Dana assists a couple of paramedics with bringing in more patients. Al-Hashimi is checking over the abandoned baby, but then sees something that makes her freeze. What's going on?
Release Date January 9, 2025
Network Max
Showrunner R. Scott Gemmill
Directors Amanda Marsalis
Writers Joe Sachs, Cynthia Adarkwa
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Noah Wyle
Dr. Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch
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Tracy Ifeachor
Dr. Heather Collins
Pros & Cons
- The episode does a compelling job of showing familiar faces in a different place.
- The action takes its time to build rather than starting off with a huge inciting incident.
- Dr. Al-Hashimi is a welcome addition as an opposing character to Dr. Robby.
English (US) ·