The Pitt is not only one of the most accurate medical shows out there, but it’s also one of the most entertaining and immersive series to grace our screens at home. It captured the attention and imagination of audiences with its first season (no mere feat) and returned for a season two with a lot of weight on its shoulders. But did it live up to the hype? In short, yes. But before I talk about the incredible second season of this superior HBO Max show, I must give you a heavy spoiler warning. I’m going to be discussing this fantastic season in great detail, so be sure to be up to date before continuing along. Let’s dive into my The Pitt season two review, looking back at the season in full.
The Pitt season two starts off on our nation’s birthday, the Fourth of July. As it opens on a waiting room full of sweaty and frustrated folks—the tone for the following strings of episodes is, as it was with the first season, very much set. The way The Pitt takes viewers along for a ride through a grueling 15-hour ER shift at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center continues to provide some of the most immersive and bingeable episodes to date. I speak from experience; I managed to binge all 15 episodes of the first season in two days and caught up with season two with time to spare. Truthfully, I’ve dreaded this day. I don’t know what I’m going to do without my new favorite show now that this season has beautifully wrapped itself up.
Season two doesn’t have quite the same gut-punch feeling as the first season does with the mass shooting at the festival, and that’s fine—we really don’t need another mass shooting to deal with, fictional or not. But The Pitt’s sophomore season has plenty of smaller arcs that fill our time with some touching stories that will stick with you long after you’re done watching the show, touching on a few poignant points. Some of these are very real to many folks out there, and The Pitt makes it its mission to show every side of healthcare.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room—The Pitt‘s season two episode where ICE comes in with a detainee. As soon as the hospital feels ICE’s presence, members of the hospital staff walk out, and patients in need of dire care feel forced to leave without their doctor’s blessing out of fear that ICE might take them away. The series shows that if one dares to question the agents or tries to step in between them and their victim, one is also beaten down and dragged away with only questions asked and no answers given.
After nurse Jesse is taken to goodness-knows-where by ICE agents for trying to protect the detainee, Dr. Javardi begins looking for any information on where he’s being kept while making TikTok videos to raise awareness of it; a scenario truly reflective of our current existence. The Pitt taps into what is unfortunately happening out there with precision and shows how it affects us all. As an immigrant, it hit hard. I can only hope this episode of The Pitt season two creates more empathy towards those currently targeted in the United States.
Another very real thing this season touches on is the length folks will go to avoid expensive healthcare bills in this country because of a lack of healthcare coverage. We have Mr. Orlando Diaz, who comes into the hospital unconscious with diabetic ketoacidosis and ends up leaving the hospital very much against medical advice instead of staying in the ICU for even a few hours to try and get the DKA to resolve and stop his blood from being so acidic.
His reasoning for such a drastic choice? He lost his insurance coverage a little while ago and can’t afford it. He goes on to say that, since his meds are so expensive, he’d been taking only half the dose he needed in order to save money. And, of course, his family has no idea. Why worry them, right? The number of people who live in such a reality feels alarming. And given the way healthcare works in this country, a better future may not be around the corner. This is all very real and very sad. The Pitt uses its gripping storytelling tactics to make us feel for those struggling, to get us all to think about our neighbors. It’s tough out there, friends.
One more topic that The Pitt season two successfully shines a light on also deserves the spotlight. Hospital staff, nurses in particular, are attacked at work more often than you’d think. The way little baby nurse Emma gets attacked and put on a chokehold by a patient while simply taking his vitals is something that’s seen around the country, and something that nurses don’t have a whole lot of protection from. For example, my husband, who’s an experienced Registered Nurse, has a friend who was slapped so hard by a patient that they couldn’t remember their date of birth while filing the police report.
Imagine the same people you’re there to care for are hurting you, and you’re not able to do much about it. Though hospitals have started implementing more security measures and attempting different approaches to keep their staff safe, there remains a lot of work to do in this department. This issue is not widely considered in the mainstream landscape, and The Pitt taking the time to highlight it truly shows how well the series understands the truth of its own story.
Another fantastic inclusion, especially in The Pitt’s season two finale, is a look at how men’s mental health should be talked about. We see men like Dr. Abbot, Dr. Langdon, and Michael Robinavitch’s biker friend, Duke, repeatedly bringing up the fact that it’s ok to need help and to seek it, that it’s ok not to be ok as long as you’re helping yourself feel better. In today’s society, men’s mental health is often chalked up to the side thanks to the stigma surrounding it. It was refreshing and encouraging to see men supporting men in such positive masculinity.
The Pitt is pretty realistic, has been since its first season, but this season kicks it up a notch. From medical accuracy with procedures like the clamshell thoracotomy (when cuts across both sides of the chest and through the sternum are done to open up immediate access to thoracic organs like the heart and lungs) to even making a big deal out of EKG leads being out of place on a large-breasted woman, this show does an amazing job at showcasing what healthcare in America truly looks like.
It was fun hearing my husband, who has had his fair share of stories in his years of nursing, call out things as the doctors did them. Having him share some of his experiences working in the ICU, cardiac surgical step-down, cath lab, and PACU, as he related to events from the show, only made watching it all more immersive. Though, as a Medical Assistant myself, I have to say we’re there t o do much more than just provide comic relief or get into arguments with our significant others on the phone during chaotic times.
With the second season under wraps and the third one on the horizon, we temporarily say goodbye to our favorite doctors and nurses. Just as with The Pitt season two, cast exits and shift changes are likely to emerge as we head into season three. With talks about season three airing in January of 2027, more details should be coming out soon. Until then, I’m sure I won’t be the only one replaying seasons one and two on repeat on HBO Max for a while… Or singing Alanis Morissette on karaoke night.