In The Pitt Season 1, Robby is “a drowning man that doesn’t know he’s drowning but,” says star and government producer (and author and director) Noah Wyle. “On the finish of it, he acknowledges the necessity for a life preserver. He’s nonetheless bought a protracted solution to swim to shore although.”
The critically acclaimed HBO Max medical drama obtained 13 Emmy nominations, together with Lead Actor in a Drama Collection for Wyle, and is deep in manufacturing on Season 2, set to premiere in January 2026. The collection is advised in real-time, with every season one shift (and every episode one hour), and it’ll decide up 10 months later (on Fourth of July weekend). Once we final noticed Robby, he’d had a breakdown after failing to save lots of his stepson’s girlfriend and Abbot (Shawn Hatosy) discovered him on the roof — nearer to the sting than the vet had been within the premiere, which Wyle advised us was on goal.
Now, “this can be a man that may not take a look at himself within the mirror and admit that he doesn’t have an issue, however medical doctors don’t all the time make the very best sufferers and the way he goes about attempting to get himself wholesome, it’s a giant a part of what we’re attempting to grapple with this season,” Wyle tells TV Insider. But it surely was vital that he undergo what he did in Season 1 — together with the affected person losses, dealing with what led to his mentor’s demise throughout COVID, and the breakdown — to be “who he’ll on the opposite facet.”
As for who that’s, “I don’t suppose he’s absolutely realized” it simply but in Season 2, provides Wyle. “It’s a course of that, in success, hopefully will run a number of years and we are able to peel this onion very slowly, which might be very gratifying to observe, I feel. However a part of that’s being practical with the place he can be 10 months later. He’d most likely tried a therapist or two. He most likely shot them down, intellectually sparred with them, tried to seek out fault with their methodology, has give you his personal plan that he thinks will work simply superb to maintain all people at bay, demonstrated from the management standpoint that he’s going by means of the motions of utilizing the sources obtainable in order that he can mannequin that for the folks underneath him and make it possible for they do. However all of it’s, what’s he actually letting in? What is absolutely taking root?”
Followers will wish to take note of the Season 2 premiere. “There’s some actually pretty issues that we’re going to be enjoying with that will likely be evident virtually instantly in the best way that we roll [it] out,” reveals Wyle.
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He can’t share if there’s something joyful developing for his character, however he does tease, “I feel I’ve already smiled extra within the first 4 episodes that we’ve shot than I smiled within the first 14 episodes that we shot final yr. Whether or not that smile is a masks or real will likely be up for interpretation, however I’m using one.”
The breakdown in Season 1 Episode 13 was one thing he ready for all through filming main as much as it, and there isn’t a second like that he’s already fascinated with in Season 2 “to that diploma, however he’s grappling with one other large life choice. And there are going to be peaks and valleys within the season that basically exemplify that,” Wyle says. “However this season additionally affords different characters a chance to maneuver a bit of bit into that lane of primacy, which I feel is wholesome for the present’s longevity and for the steadiness of the narrative. Final yr was an exquisite Computer virus to introduce this complete ensemble to the world and this area, however it’s a lot bigger and far richer than simply Robby’s character. And we’re going to play a bit of bit with that this yr, too.”
To that finish, there are new characters coming in, together with a brand new attending (Sepideh Moafi). “She’s a formidable character and vitality in our emergency division,” based on the star and government producer. “We now have some new medical college students. After which after all, Dana’s [Katherine LaNasa] all the time a great confidant for Robby. And he could have a brand new favourite. He could have a brand new acolyte.”
After the Season 1 finale, government producer R. Scott Gemmill advised us that they have been having conversations about Robby’s previous relationships and what meaning shifting ahead. Wyle confirms that’s a barely greater a part of Season 2.
“Clearly you may solely play with what you may play with within the office, however we’re doing a bit of bit extra to type of discuss — as a result of that’s all a part of what makes him, his pathology — his incapacity to make connections, whether or not it’s romantic or fraternal or familial,” he says. “He has some partitions up, and dismantling these partitions is what’s the enjoyable a part of doing this. The writing on this present is attempting to determine them after which assault them.”
We will’t blame him for these partitions. In spite of everything, the resident who was near being a piece pal — “Your phrases, you’re by no means going to get me on document saying I’m pals with Langdon,” Wyle interjects — turned out to be an addict who was stealing drugs from sufferers. And when confronted, Patrick Ball‘s character hit Robby the place it harm within the finale. Season 2’s shift is Langdon’s first again at work after rehab.
“He hoped that their shifts wouldn’t overlap, after which they do,” Wyle admits of his character. “Robby could be petty, and forgiveness is typically tougher for some than others. And yeah, betrayal is a giant deal. Like anyone that has partitions up, in the event that they let their wall down for you and you’re one of many few that get to share an intimacy, after which that turns into any sort of betrayal, the wall goes up twice as excessive because it was earlier than, and that’s what we’re going to play with most likely.”
Usually, in terms of Season 2, the problem was what labored so effectively (a lot) in Season 1 and discovering the steadiness of constant that and introducing new components.
“[Executive producer] John Wells mentioned, ‘We don’t have to return again greater, higher, quicker, funnier, extra explosive, extra dynamic. We simply must do it once more,’” Wyle shares. “I used to be so gratified to really feel once we got here again to shoot Episode 1 that proper off the bat, it was like we have been capturing Episode 16. It was like we’d not left. All people — foreground, background — knew precisely what to do, besides they have been coming again excited and invested in a manner that — final yr once we have been ending, the present was debuting. Now, all people is aware of which present we’re on and are tremendous excited to be right here. And that confirmed to me within the enthusiasm and dedication proper off the bat. And so I used to be thrilled to have a look at the primary couple cuts and see, we’re simply telling Episode 16 and 17 and 18. We’re simply including to the chain. These all really feel of a household.”
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The Pitt, Season 2, January 2026, HBO Max