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It won't shock you when I say that "The Pitt" season 2 is one of my most anticipated shows of 2026. After the season 1 finale, I declared it the best show of 2025, and it held onto that crown in my final show of the year rankings. It even had one of the best episodes of TV in 2025, the utterly heartbreaking "2:00 P.M." that can still make me cry even though I know what's coming.
Potential spoilers for "The Pitt" season 2 premiere ahead
"The Pitt" remains a masterclass in balancing storylines
One of the most impressive things about season 1 of "The Pitt" was that it took place in real time: 15 episodes, each covering an hour of a 12-hour emergency department shift at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, plus a few bonus hours as Dr. "Robby" Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) and his team handled a mass casualty event. But it was equally impressive how the show managed to not only craft storylines and build characters over just 15 hours of real time, but then keep all the storylines interconnected in proper order, delivering on them only when it would be most impactful.
After watching the season 2 premiere, it seems like this will be a strong suit for the show yet again. Already, we have quite a few storylines that could deliver devastating moments. There's a kid, Kylie (Annabelle Toomey), who comes in with cuts and bruises that Dr. Santos (Isa Briones) believes stem from abuse. In season 1, we learn that Santos is a product of abuse, and so it's clear that, right or wrong in her instinct, she's definitely triggered by this patient.
There's also Evelyn Bostick (Jayne Taini), who comes in at the end of the episode. She has Alzheimer's and lives at a nursing home with her husband, Ethan, who we witness die earlier in the episode. The combination of memory loss and the loss of a life partner feels set up to be a devastating one, and I couldn't help but think of Samantha Sloyan's performance as Lily Bradley in season 1, coming to terms with her son being brain-dead following a drug overdose.
There are some differences, but 'The Pitt' is as great (and gruesome) as ever in season 2
Of course, while "The Pitt" season 2 feels familiar, there are some new wrinkles and some new faces. Chief among these is Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), a former attending at a VA Hospital who is coming in to replace Robby while he's on his three-month sabbatical. This season covers her first day — and Dr. Robby's last — and it's clear at some point this season they're going to butt heads over their approaches to emergency medicine.
There are also some new students at "The Pitt." James (Lucas Iverson) and Joy (Irene Choi), fourth and third-year medical students, respectively. But they feel familiar to last season's batch of med students, particularly James, who feels very Santos-coded.
As I mentioned earlier, this episode is a bit on the lighter side compared to many episodes from season 1. At one point, we're going at a nearly joke-a-minute pace. But despite that, we also get the show's signature gruesome realism, as we watch Dr. Robby and some of the other doctors open up a guy's chest cavity and restart his heart while blood has pooled on the floor.
So if you loved "The Pitt" season 1, congratulations. Season 2 appears to be more of the great combination of strong suits — interwoven storylines, well-executed exposition and hyper-realistic medical events — that made season 1 such a breath of fresh air. Now, we just need to hope that the next 14 hours don't let up, and the show maintains its addictive nature. I already can't wait to watch the next episode.
Stream the season 2 premiere of "The Pitt" right now on HBO Max
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