The Pitt Season 2 Premiere: “7:00 A.M.” Review

Warning: This review contains full spoilers for The Pitt Season 2, Episode 1!

The Pitt is certainly a refreshing blast from the past in today’s streaming TV landscape. Not only does the relatively long, 15-episode structure hearken back to a simpler time, but it’s a series that doesn’t leave us hanging for years in between new seasons. The Pitt is already back for Season 2, almost a year to the day that the first season debuted, and it doesn’t miss a beat in the process.

Clearly, creator/showrunner R. Scott Gemmill has no intention of reinventing the wheel with Season 2. Once again, we connect with Noah Wyle’s Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch at the start of what promises to be another grueling day shift at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. The real-time format that worked so well last time around is still in full effect.

Things do seem to be looking up a bit for Robby compared to where we last saw him at the end of Season 1. As far as we can tell, he’s no longer plagued by PTSD-laden memories of the COVID pandemic, and he’s even gearing up for a badly needed three-month sabbatical. Something tells me he’ll be desperate for that escape by the end of the season…

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The one real notable change from Season 1 is that Tracy Ifeachor’s Dr. Collins is gone, with Sepideh Moafi stepping in as new attending physician Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi. This is a bit of a disappointment, as Ifeachor was one of the highlights among Season 1’s uniformly strong cast. Moreover, it didn’t feel as though her story was finished after Season 1, despite whatever creative decisions led to this shake-up. That’s definitely a sore spot heading into the new season.

Not that Moafi struggles to float among that strong cast. She immediately makes a strong impression as a stern, methodical force trying to instill order in a sea of chaos. And as much as Robby and Collins butted heads at times in Season 1, it’s clear that Baran is meant to be a much more antagonistic presence in his life. If anything, this episode probably goes a little too hard on that front. It’s hard to react to the character as anything other than an annoying interloper, given her prickly demeanor and the way she’s so blatantly out of step with Robby’s managerial style.

Clearly, that’s the intent with her character. Robby is the closest thing we have to a focal point on the show, and we’re meant to mistrust this Gloria-approved rule stickler as much as he does. But, hopefully, over the course of this season, we’ll see different shades of Baran and come to appreciate her medical philosophy a bit more.

Easily the highlight of Episode 1 is reconnecting with Patrick Ball’s Dr. Frank Langdon. Not only is this Robby’s last day on the job before vacation, but it’s also Langdon’s first day back after completing drug rehab. He’s the character who’s grown and changed the most in the months since Season 1’s shift from Hell, and you get a great sense of that in Ball’s performance. The confidence and bravado are diminished, replaced by a man who’s unsure of himself and trying to regain some semblance of order in his life. Ball is great here, particularly during his touching reunion with Ernest Harden Jr.’s Louie (whose story I can only assume is going to take a dark turn this season).

Other than that, it’s mostly business as usual for the Pitt crew. The rest of the main cast returns, even Katherine LaNasa’s Dana Evans, the one character I would have thought was being retired after Season 1 (not that more Dana is a bad thing by any stretch). The various residents and interns have had the better part of a year to gain some experience, and it’s fun watching that evolution play out in the various subplots. Gerran Howell’s Dennis Whitaker in particular comes across as a whole new man compared to Season 1, and it’s fun watching him exercise a little authority for a change. The jury is still out on the new batch of trainees, however, and I’m sure it’ll once again take several episodes to even memorize their names.

It’s definitely the start of a slow burn for Season 2, and it’s going to take several episodes to build toward the sheer chaos and life-or-death stakes we eventually got with Season 1. If anything, this episode feels a bit more light-hearted, finding ample moments for humor and reminding us with Charles Baker’s Troy that compassion is often the best medicine. Things will get darker soon enough, and I’m very much looking forward to it.