The Pitt fans are counting down the days to the season two premiere on January 8, 2026 (71 to go, at time of writing) and wondering how and where we will find our favorite emergency room doctors 10 months after the events of season one. We already know that season two will take place on July 4th and that it will be Dr Frank Langdon's (Patrick Ball) first day back in the ER after rehab; at the end of season one, his boss and mentor Dr Michael 'Robby' Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) discovered Langdon had been stealing benzodiazepines from patients to feed his own drug addiction.
Dr Heather Collins (Tracy Ifeachor) will not be in season two after being written out – presumably because she finished her residency and will have moved on to a new role – while Dr Mel King (Taylor Dearden), Dr Samira Mohan (Supriya Ganesh), Dr Trinity Santos (Isa Briones), Dr Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif) and Dr Dennis Whittaker (Gerran Howell) will all be back for another rotation of their residency, along with a few newcomers.
Dr Jack Abbot will also return, and Emmy-winning actor Shawn Hatosy shares with HELLO! that his appearance in the ER will give viewers "a different side of Abbot". Viewers saw the war veteran turned ER doctor in the opening scenes of the first episode, as he handed over the night shift to Robby before he returned later in the series to help the day shift when a mass casualty incident took place. With Abbot a staple on the night shift, it stands to reason we may only see him again in several scenes in season two.
However, Shawn reveals that there will be an "unexpected" return for Abbot, telling HELLO!: "His return is a little bit of a surprise. He comes back in a slightly unexpected way – but not totally unexpected – and we're going to see a different side of Abbot."
As for how Abbot will respond to Langdon's return, Shawn says that Langdon will impact "the entire arc of the season". "How will he be? What will the reception be? How will Robby deal with having somebody there that has been through rehab? It's a big part of our season," says Shawn, who won his first Emmy for his work in the HBO Max series for Outstanding Guest Star in a Drama Series.
© Warrick Page/MAXSix weeks on from that win, Shawn says that the statue has pride of place on his mantel at home alongside pictures of his kids; Shawn is married to wife Kelly and they have two sons. "Right now it's on the mantel. They took a Polaroid of me and my wife at the HBO party, and we have pictures of our kids all over the mantle but we don't have any pictures of us, but we took that Polaroid and it's now on the mantle with the statue," he says.
© Getty ImagesIt's been "a crazy year" for Shawn, who is now also appearing in CBS series Fire Country after a 2024 stint on NBC's Chicago PD. "If you had told me when I started The Pitt, doing that one scene on the roof in the first episode, that my year would have turned out like this, I would have laughed in your face," he says.
© Getty Images for Row K EntertainDespite limited time on set in season one, the awards season with his cast and crew saw him bond with them deeply, and he has returned to season two with a new role: director. He has helmed one of the middle hours of the second season, which will also have 15 episodes set across one 15-hour shift.
© Getty Images for UCLA Rape TreatShawn shares that it has been a blessing to have experienced the nuances of the show as an actor and to be able to show up as a director for his friends. "Having been on the show and experienced how difficult it can be sometimes with the language and the props, I think [the cast] appreciate having a director who's been in their shoes. I'm an actor's director and, and I've really enjoyed the whole experience because it's a whole different set of skills and a whole different hat," he says.
"The show is so specific, and the way that we shoot it, it's incredibly immersive. It's a high-pressure job to be a director on this show, and I'm looking forward to doing as much as they'll let me."
© CBS via Getty ImagesDoctor, firefighter, police officer… which first responder would Shawn like to tackle next? He laughs. "I don't know, maybe Public Defender or something like that? I've never played a lawyer!"
Over to you Law & Order…
