Spoilers for The Pitt
There’s analysis of the character development in The Pitt which points out that Langdon and Santos essentially switched roles, with early villian Santos redeeming herself and seemingly good guy Langdon revealed as an addict unwilling to take responsibility. Some of you mentioned in the comments of our last article about The Pitt that you were hoping Langdon was off the show after this season. He’s a contemptible character, especially after he weoponized Dr. Robby’s trauma against him. Thankfully Robby and Abbott also switched roles somewhat, with Abbott comforting Robby in the finale. Dana also consoled Robby, telling him that he should go easy on himself. Dana is the heart of the ER and her decision to quit has many of us worried that we won’t see her again.
Season two of The Pitt is already planned and will take place over the Fourth of July weekend, which is 10 months after this season was set. The time jump allows for offscreen camera development, with both Langdon and Dana set to return! Elle has a good overview of what we can expect when The Pitt comes back next January.
When season two is set and what it will cover
During a Contenders TV panel, executive producer R. Scott Gemmill said season 2 will be taking place over Fourth of July weekend, a holiday noted for its numerous fireworks injuries, Deadline reported on April 5. The publication specified it would take place within “ten months” following the first season, so it’s also not a huge time jump.Gemmill and producer John Wells have already started discussing season 2 themes with medical professionals.
The preparation for season two and what we can expect
“Part of what we do in the very early process of a new season is about going back to the experts,” Gemmill told TheWrap after the season 1 finale. “We’re talking to immigration specialists, autism specialists. We’re talking to PTSD specialists, because everybody has gone through this trauma now, as well. If you can think of it, we’re talking about it…”On April 12, in an interview with TV Line, Gemmill revealed the new season will “pick up on Langdon’s first day back at work,” giving both the viewers and characters a chance to catch up with what’s happened the last ten months “as he catches up with all those people.”
He explained that “everyone has been promoted or graduated to the next level. So we’ll see everybody, for the most part, and some people might be working different hours and different shifts, but it’s pretty much the same crew.”
And don’t worry: Dana will be back.
“Obviously, I can’t get rid of Katherine,” Gemmil said of actor Katherine LaNasa.
I’m so glad Dana will be back! I hope she gets a chance to decompress and have some space from her chaotic, soul-sucking job. I also want to see the patient who abused her be prosecuted. It’s clear we won’t see much outside the immediate ER though. In the interview with TV Line quoted above, Gemmill says that we probably won’t see Doug Driscoll again because the set is just the ER. He said “We don’t really leave our set. We don’t leave the ER. We did a few things at the very end where we saw people going home and stuff. But beyond that, I don’t expect us to go anywhere beyond the hospital and the ambulance bay until the last episode of next season, and maybe we’ll see a couple other parts of the hospital.” As for Dana’s character, he said “I think when she comes back, she’s going to have a bit of an attitude adjustment, though. She’ll be even less tolerant of bulls—t. She’s going to be much more protective of her flock.” At least she sees through Langdon.
Also, the thought and care that goes into researching and accurately portraying an ER, both technically and psychologically, is so obvious. I’m not surprised to hear that they consult with PTSD experts along with doctors and nurses.
This is from Patrick Ball’s (Langdon’s) Instagram stories! He writes “I’ll be better stg.” As much as I want to hate him, it just means he’s a great actor. Maybe I could say the same for McKay, but I’d prefer to see less of her moving forward.
I’m so glad Dana will be back! Love this show but still hate Santos, she’s a bully imo. I hope Noah gets all the Emmys
She gave some of her coworkers stupid nicknames (not even really offensive). That’s it. That’s all she’s done. It was obviously a defense mechanism on her part, to appear tough and in control because she feels insecure and has been through some shit. Has trouble connecting with her peers. She’s shown to be a good doctor with incredible instincts and a lot of compassion and was very smart and brave about the Langdon situation. Yet people cling to their misogyny and find her being annoying some sort of crime on her part.
I love that Katherine (Dana) is returning, I really didn’t think she wouldn’t. I’m still hoping that Dr. Collins (Tracy Ifeachor) I really love her character and liked what she brought to the team dynamic.
You don’t like McKay? She’s my favorite! I also want another Brad Dourif cameo!
How many nepo babies are on this show?!
Several! They’re everywhere. I like the irony though that Brad got a little gig and even some good lines thanks to his daughter. If you are going to boot Mackay because she is a Dourif though, you will also have to boot Dr. King. I say keep her and maybe Bryan Cranston can come in with leprosy for five minutes or something.
Same! Shes a good mom trying to co-parent with a moron and she was right to push with David because doctors have a duty to warn and to do risk assessments on folks that may be dangers to others. She did nothing wrong on either front in my book.
She’s a fine actress in an awesome role.
The Pitt is one of the few medical series I’ve watched from start to finish in years. I usually get irritated and give up. Hollywood’s erasure of the nursing industry from it’s series and movies has always irked me (I’m an RN nearing retirement).
The Pitt did a little of that diminishing of nursing but overall it was a fantastic series in it’s accurate portrayal of what is the bottomless pit of the ER.
The only other medical series I’ve watched in entirety are ER and House, MD.
I’ve made a lot of progress in my pandemic-caused PTSD. Through therapy I learned the root of it was my terror at recognizing that the trusted hierarchy of my healthcare employer was crumbling. My brain didn’t know what the next step would be to take when I could no longer trust the hierarchy that I’d worked from for decades. And I’m a step-by-step type of person. It’s why I’m an excellent nurse.
The loss of patient life (and some family members) was distressing but it surprisingly didn’t cause my PTSD. The insane, screaming, even physical fights I had to manage amongst my superiors, people like that quitting on the spot, and those superiors lying to us about protocol…… that’s what broke me.
It was an overwhelming time for everyone in healthcare but it revealed the true character of people that I was supposed to respect and follow their orders. It was disarming for my overworked brain.
I have a military background and I’m from a military family, so the hierarchy, the trust in it, the duty & commitment to it, it’s all so ingrained in me that without it…. well, I drowned.
I’m not understanding how Dr. Langdon is a contemptible character. He’s a brilliant doctor who is also addicted to drugs, displaying behavior typical of people who are addicted to drugs. He’s also shown genuine moments of caring and compassion (when he wasn’t being an ass to Santos, which he still needs to apologize and make amends for). I hope he gets help and comes back better than ever.
You can’t trust an addict.
They will betray anyone to feed their addiction.
In a medical setting, having people around that you can’t trust such as addict, is a tremendous liability.
Trust me, it’s not worth having an employee like that.