After a dynamite 15-episode first season that became a word-of-mouth sensation, Max's new hit medical drama series The Pitt has fans already thinking about season 2. While there's a bit of waiting to be had for Dr. Robby's next shift, it's already been confirmed that The Pitt season 2 will kick off sometime in January 2026 on Max. In the meantime, all fans can do is theorize about what happens next based on the exciting teases the cast and creative team have provided so far.
The Pitt season 1 finale wrapped up the stressful, emotional, and life-changing 15-hour shift for Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) and his team, including four new doctors who were working their first day. What a shift to have as your very first! But it wasn't easy for anyone, leaving the futures of two characters uncertain going into the second season. Both of these characters are fan-favorites, so surely the won't actually be going anywhere, right? Right?!
Thankfully, creator R. Scott Gemmill and series star/executive producer have already addressed what's next for two of the show's best characters, Dr. Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball) and charge nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa). Will they make their way back to the Pitt in season 2, or was the season 1 finale really the last we have seen of Dr. Langdon and Nurse Evans? No, they will both be back, and the creative team revealed the circumstances of their returns.
Dr. Langdon and Dana Evans will be back in The Pitt season 2
In case you hadn't heard the latest about The Pitt season 2, the next season will maintain the show's real-time format, though season 2 won't pick up the day after season 1's shift ended. The creative team opted to put some space in between the seasons in order to give the medical staff time to recover from the grueling first season shift. Season 2 will pick up 10 months after season 1, which will bring the calendar from September to the Fourth of July weekend.
Additionally, the showrunner has also started teasing what to expect from the season 2, including the fact that the new season opens with Dr. Langdon's first day back at work. Dr. Robby had told Langdon that if he wants to return to his job, he will have to complete a 30-day inpatient rehab program, which seems to have been long completed by the time season 2 premieres. Perhaps he stays in treatment longer, but we'll catch up with Langdon in season 2 at the same time he catches up with his colleagues.
Here's what Gemmill told TV Line about Langdon's return in season 2:
"I think we will pick up on Langdon’s first day back at work, but it’ll be more than a month…. The biggest driver of [the season 2 time jump is] Langdon. Thirty days is probably the minimum he would have to do. [...] 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. And with it being Langdon’s first day back, we get to catch up as he catches up with all those people."
So, Patrick Ball has been confirmed to return as Dr. Langdon in The Pitt season 2, but what about Katherine LaNasa as her fan-favorite character Dana Evans? In the season 1 finale, Dana was all but ready to leave her nursing career behind after being hit by a patient. But those around her don't seem as convinced as she was about leaving, as Dr. Robby told her that he would see her on Monday. There's still a question surrounding her future, but Wyle basically confirmed she'd be back:
"But, obviously, I can’t get rid of Katherine. Obviously, Dana is an important part [of this show]. But Dana choosing to come back — if she chooses to come back, and how she comes back, and what Dana is like having made the decision to come back, and what she’s going to allow this place to either do or not do to her going forward, becomes the stuff that, you know, is the grist for the mill."
In a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Wyle joked, "Fan favorite Katherine LaNasa not come back? Come on now." The actor spoke to the realism of the show that not everyone who works in a hospital returns to the job. People come and go. And as Gemmill explained, there's a chance that Dana leaves after season 1 and later decided to return to her job at the hospital. He admitted that if season 2 took place the day or week after season 1, we would not see Dana.
It's a real sigh of relief that The Pitt season 2 takes place nearly a year after season 1 and allows the staff time to heal and process what they experienced. Mostly because that means we get two of the shows best characters back. Much of the main cast is expected to return for season 2, though there are always opportunities for The Pitt to expand its cast with new characters coming in to shake things up. Stay tuned for more news and updates about season 2 from Show Snob!