Posted in: Max, TV | Tagged: The Pitt

The Pitt Season 2: Dungey on Ep Count, Production; Wyle on Dr. Robby

The Pitt star/EP Noah Wyle on what's next for Dr. Robby; WBTV Group's Channing Dungey on Season 2 production, episode count, and more.

Though the first season of Max, EP John Wells, and series creator R. Scott Gemmill's EP Noah Wyle-starring and executive-producing critically acclaimed medical drama The Pitt has now officially wrapped its run, fans shouldn't have to wait too long for the second season. Recently, we learned that the cameras would start rolling on Season 2 for an Early 2026 premiere (possibly January 2026), with the action taking place ten months later and over the course of a July 4th weekend. Over the past few days, we've been getting some insights on what's to come and what's been going on behind the scenes of the second season – and we have more to pass along, courtesy of Wyle and Channing Dungey, Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group-WBD US Networks.

The Pitt Season 2: Channing Dungey, Noah Wyle Offer New Insights

In terms of the 15-episode season, Dungey shared that increasing the number was discussed (and could possibly happen in the future), but the focus right now is sticking with what's working. "There was a conversation about doing a little bit more. I think right now, we're still looking at 15 as the model. If it ends up going up from there, it would probably only be by a couple of episodes, certainly not all the way to 22," Dungey shared with Deadline Hollywood.

"What's wonderful is, this is a perfect collaboration," she continued. "John Wells, who is a master showrunner, but also someone who knows how to tell premium broadcast television stories. He brought those skills to play here with R. Scott Gemmill and with Noah Wyle. And it is truly gratifying because it's not that often that you have a show that really hits on all measures. It's critically acclaimed; audiences love it. It delivers on all fronts, and that's been so satisfying for all of us."

In terms of production already being underway on the second season (with filming expected to start soon), Dungey explained that a quick turn-around is key to maintaining the connection that the viewers have for the show. "One of the reasons that we wanted to have an early renewal is because we want to keep it on an annual cadence. That's the other part of this broadcast-style model. You fall in love with these [streaming] shows, you see eight episodes, and then you have to wait 18 months for there to be more," she shared. "The whole promise of 'The Pitt' was that we would be on an annual cadence, and we're going to be able to make that happen."

During an interview with Variety shortly after the season finale dropped, Wyle shared what it was like approaching a character for a second season after "you leave it all on the floor" during the first season, now knowing if Season 2 would become a reality. "That's a funny thing when you don't think you're going to do a second season; you leave it all on the floor in the first season. Then you suddenly go, 'Oh, my God. OK, life continues. So what do we do now?' The best way to answer that is to recognize that, in a perfect world, this show goes several seasons, so we don't have to rush this process. The responsibility is now on us to say, 'Where would these people be nine months later?' And answer that honestly and thoughtfully," he explained.

In terms of what Dr. Robby learned about himself, Wyle has a pretty clear understanding of what his character will confront immediately after the season's final episode. "He's going to go home after episode 15, drink that other beer, probably something else, so he can fall asleep, and he's going to wake up the next morning and no longer be able to pretend to himself that he doesn't need help," he revealed. "He can maybe pretend to a couple of people, but not for very long. So, even in a performative way, he's going to have to start exploring what different modalities are available and seeing which ones have resonance."

Of course, realizing he needed help was one major hurdle for Dr. Robby to clear, but seeing how he tries to make that happen – and self-sabotage along the way – is an aspect of his character's growth that Wyle is looking forward to tackling. "I'm really interested in the exploration of somebody who now wants to get help but is their own worst enemy in embracing it. He'll be devil's advocate. He'll try to shoot theories and holes in anything, but inadvertently, he'll find some kind of ladder, and in doing so, I hope that we are able to show a range of modalities of treatment, a range of options that people can make use of," he explained.

Joining Wyle (Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch) for the streaming series are Tracey Ifeachor (Dr. Collins), Patrick Marron Ball (Dr. Langdon), Supriya Ganesh (Dr. Mohan), Fiona Dourif (Dr. McKay), Taylor Dearden (Dr. King), Isa Briones (Dr. Santos), Gerran Howell (Whitaker), Shabana Azeez (Javadi), and Katherine LaNasa (Dana Evans).

Max's The Pitt is a co-production with Sky Studios, produced by John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, where JWP is under an overall deal. R. Scott Gemmill will write the first episode and executive produce the series alongside Noah Wyle (ER, "The Librarian" franchise, Falling Skies), Emmy-winner John Wells (Animal Kingdom, Shameless, The West Wing, ER) and JWP's Erin Jontow (Emperor Of Ocean Park, Rescue: HI-Surf, Maid), Simran Baidwan (Manifest, Ordinary Joe, The Good Doctor, Chicago Med), and Michael Hissrich (Shameless, The West Wing, Third Watch).

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