The Second Season of 'The Pitt' Will Hit Max Sooner Than You Might Think

Thank heavens for The Pitt. The Max original hospital drama wrapped up its first season on April 10 following 15 episodes, and in that time, it reminded everyone why we used to like good, old-fashioned TV shows. Following the first season finale, though, plenty of people are wondering what there is to learn about the show's second season.

Among the questions on some people's minds is when the show will be back, who will be returning and whether the show's format will stay the same. Here's what we know.

Although there's plenty of stuff that we don't yet know about the second season, showrunner R. Scott Gemmill has revealed that the show's second season will take place approximately 10 months after the first, during a hectic 4th of July weekend in the emergency room.

He explained in an interview with Decider that because the show shoots in September, it limits their ability to set the seasons during different times of the year.

And while we don't know exactly who will be back yet, it sounds like there are plans for many of the core members of the ensemble to return. At the same time, Noah Wyle, who is a producer on the show in addition to being its star, wants to be realistic about the ways the staff in an emergency room turns over as time goes by.

"One of the things that is tricky when you’re making a very realistic hospital show is that not everybody stays in the hospital forever, you know?" he told TV Line. "So, the longer the show goes, the more we’re going to have to reconcile with the realities of where people would be — not just in terms of their emotional life in the hospital, but where they would be in their matriculation."

The most pressing questions fans have are about the returns of Langdon (Patrick Ball) and Dana (Katherine LaRosa), whose fates are left a little uncertain at the end of the first season. While it makes sense that there would be some changeover in the cast, I think we can all agree that if Taylor Dearden's Melissa King does not return for Season 2, riots in the street would be justified.

Unlike many modern streaming shows, which are off the air for years between seasons and seem to return almost at random, Max is trying to establish a more regular cadence for The Pitt. The show will return in January of 2026, which is about a year after it first premiered on the service. In that way, then, it will have a throwback-y schedule in which we will get a season every year at about the same time.

The streaming revolution brought many great things with it. Thankfully, though, The Pitt is here to remind us about how TV used to be, but with more guts and curse words than we could ever get on network shows.