Before Season 2 streams this Thursday (January 8, 2026), we’re taking a look back at the main The Pitt characters (and cast!) who made Season 1 so special. Although this will be limited to day shift doctors who we know will be returning — plus Dana, without whom that place couldn’t function — we also want to give a quick shoutout to Dr. Collins, who we’ll miss greatly, and to the night shift. Ellis, Abbott, and Shen really showed up when it counted, and without giving anything away, we really can’t wait to see more of them either.
For each of The Pitt characters below, we’ll discuss our most memorable moment(s) and/or overall favorite things about them. As a surprise to no one, we have a lot to say about why we love these people.
MORE: Want to know what’s next for our favorite doctors and nurses? Read our The Pitt Season 2 advance review!
Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle)
Shana: Season 1 was focused on the personal connection Dr. Robby had to that specific day (the anniversary of his mentor’s death) and how everything built to his breaking point. So, pretty much every episode had a big moment for him. Multiple ones, even, all of which Noah Wyle delivered expertly. I’ve talked about the scene in Episode 14 and why it was one of my favorite moments of the year a lot, so while that could easily also work here, I’m going to go with the way he reacts to Dr. Collins’ confession in Episode 11.
Heather doesn’t need to explicitly state that it was his baby — he just knows. And he doesn’t have anything but care and support for her. That’s how it should be, and it says a lot about the character to know that, even on a day that reminds him of such a profound loss and that (even by that point) is so difficult, he doesn’t make Heather’s decision about him and doesn’t judge her in any way for it.
Gissane: I have to second Shana on everything first. For me, “Dr. Google Bullshit” is also a highlight. There are so many amazing moments with Dr. Robby, but this one just feels so relevant, especially today. It’s something I think about frequently, and beyond this, I would say his overall energy. He’s the kind of attending you want in the case of an emergency, and Noah Wyle does such a great job of ensuring that comes across offscreen.
Lizzie: I think his Episode 13 meltdown was in a way, all of us. It felt like it was giving us permission to also break down? I think he was a very enjoyable character from the beginning, and very easy to relate to, but this moment made it feel like he wasn’t some untouchable doctor, but a real human. For a show that stays in real time, it’s hard to muster this level of empathy for a character, and Dr. Robby easily cemented himself as the center of the show in a way that just makes sense.
Shelby: All of those are such great moments; there really are so many to pull from for Robby in that first season. The ones that tend to stand out to me are often where the show bears Robby’s flaws. It could be so easy to hold him to a gold standard and not let any cracks show, but The Pitt isn’t interested in that. It wants the nuance. So, off the top of my head, I really, really like that final confrontation between Robby and Langdon in the season finale.
So much of Robby’s role comes down to leadership and what he believes a leader should look like, and that’s not someone who has a breakdown in PEDS. That scene outside the hospital with Langdon blurs the lines between professional and personal. Both of these characters have their spikes up out of fear and protection. I like the double-take that Robby does when Langdon mentions that someone saw him in PEDS. It’s a behavior that reflects how much Robby doesn’t want anyone else to know that vulnerable side of him. It makes so much sense that Langdon — at his most vulnerable — would poke at that part of Robby. It’s such a sore spot to leave them, but it gives them space to heal.
MORE: We came to the series premiere looking for “Dr. Carter from ER” (Wyle), but we wound up getting so much more.
Charge Nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa)
Shana: I’m going with two completely different aspects of Dana’s character for here. The more obvious one is her easy camaraderie with pretty much every single one of our The Pitt characters and that easy blend of gallows humor, knowing just how to poke fun in a way that keeps everyone in on the joke, and quick wit. Those walk and talks with Robby, like the “on fire today” exchange in Episode 4 among others, are pitch perfect. The same is true of the way she volleys back and forth with Langdon. (See also: The “Are you mean to everyone? Or just me.” “Just you” bit in Episode 6.)
There’s a reason Katherine LaNasa has won an Emmy and a Critics Choice Award for this role — I’d expect more to come — and most people will (rightly) point to the personality she’s built here and her exquisite timing on some of these jabs. However. The other “side” of Dana is just as important, both for LaNasa earning those trophies and for where the character fits into this ensemble.
She’s all warmth, comfort, and support. I love how she’s able to be there for Mel in that stairwell in Episode 6 while knowing she can get close but maybe not go for the physical comfort, or how she was so strong in that hug with Dr. Collins after learning about her pregnancy loss at the beginning of Episode 9. Dana isn’t just the gold standard for nursing — she’s the gold standard for being an empathetic human being. Another great example of Dana just knowing what someone needs in the moment: She tries to avoid learning whatever the exact issue is with Dr. Langdon. And I love the way she tries to nudge him away and side-step all his attempts to gain an ally, all while gently trying to convince him Robby knows what’s best and to just listen.
Dana loves her “kids” too much to see them like this, to know the bad things, or to have to pick a side. And I love her for it.
Gissane: With Dana, I think it’s more her vibe than a regular moment. Like the way she and Collins are with each other. How she’s basically the heart of the ER and how we all flipped when Doug Driscoll punched her. She’s too important in the story, and it’s entirely because of how much she cares, so her vibes are just comforting.
Lizzie: I agree with Gissane here, with Dana it’s hard to pick just one because Dana feels like the character that just makes everything work by existing. So, just Dana is a mood. But I guess if I had to pick one, it would be her breakdown near the end. Because even the strongest of all have a moment where things get too much. And then, people like Dana still get through it.
Shelby: For Dana, I couldn’t agree more that her general vibe is memorable. There’s no denying that this whole thing would fall apart without her. So many great moments have already been mentioned. Because Dana is, well, Dana, there are still so many more. I really love the “human Utah” scene with Javadi in Episode 9. It’s small and grandly inconsequential, but Dana’s words are so supportive (“I wish you many, many Utahs in your life”) and exactly what Javadi needs to hear.
Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball)
Shana: Whenever Dr. Langdon gets out of his own head and truly listens to others — Mel especially — he’s just as easy to love as other The Pitt characters. In Episode 7, when Dr. King gets his autistic patient to open up to her in a way he couldn’t, there’s something powerful about the way he pauses and fully sees her in the moment. Also, like Gissane mentions below, there’s also the Episode 9 interaction where he sits beside her on the floor and acknowledges how difficult the ER is for “sensitive people.”
In that same vein, his reaction to Dana saying she’s not coming back is remarkable. He’s in the middle of this manipulative, desperate behavior because of his addiction, trying to get someone on his “side.” But the second he hears her shocking news, that energy completely shifts from being all about him to worrying about her and the hospital, too. (Which, yes, includes him. But to be in such a spiral and redirect like that says a lot about what Dana means to him and who he could be at his best.)
Gissane: Credit where it’s due, I think his arc is the strongest in Season 1, but I think we get a clear sign of his character when he recognizes how important Mel and people like her are in this field. So, I’m going to have to say the moment he sits beside her on the floor to acknowledge it.
Lizzie: I have family history with addiction, so I’m always very sensitive to stories about addiction. Perhaps that’s why Langdon hit me so hard, because I could see where the spiral was going, and I feel like Patrick Ball played it masterfully. I think Season 1 was Langdon’s downward arc, so I actually enjoyed his scene with Robby when he realizes he’s not just put his job in jeopardy, but he has perhaps lost Robby. Gut punch, the good kind. I mean, bad, but well acted!
Shelby: I’m such a fan of Langdon’s final scene with Dana in the season finale. Really, I think that scene is as good a Dana moment as it is a Langdon one. I often think about how his voice breaks when he tells Dana that he’s scared — I believe him! Interestingly, I like seeing Langdon when all the bravado and confidence are chipped away. I like seeing him like this because it feels raw and honest.
MORE: Langdon returns in The Pitt Season 2, which made our list of shows we’re looking forward to seeing in 2026.
Dr. Samira Mohan (Supriya Ganesh)
Shana: I think out of every single one of the The Pitt characters, it’s easiest for me to pick exactly when I fell in love with Dr. Mohan. That’s not to say that she doesn’t have a ton of standout moments at all — because she so, so, very does — but this particular situation happened so early on and told me everything that I needed to know (and love) about her. Episode 2. She is so utterly and completely horrified by how the EMTs are treating Joyce, even before the patient says she has sickle cell. The way she screams “STOOOOOP” the second she hears “sickle cell” and immediately asks Joyce her name, believes her when she says the pain is from her disease, and jumps right to action ordering medications is just…it’s everything.
I’m not at all exaggerating when I say doing a quick rewatch to get the order of events right has me an emotional mess, especially knowing how the rest of that case, and the rest of Samira’s day, play out. Honestly, the assertive, confident way she starts giving her orders in that moment is a sign of what’s to come as her character grows throughout the mass casualty event that caps off Season 1’s nightmare of a shift (and over the months between seasons). This is the doctor she is. And it is the best, best, best kind. Even as a teacher, when she takes Whitaker aside, she does it the right way instead of stressing Joyce out more or making Whitaker feel small in front of their patient.
Dr. Mohan is what healthcare should be but, far too often, isn’t. Just like I said in my Episode 2 review, “Dr. Mohan is there to actually care about the health of the patient.” Nothing defines this more than Joyce’s case, but again, she has far more opportunities to show who she is after that.
Gissane: My other baby girl. Mohan is such a special character, and like Mel, there’s basically no moment that I don’t love. It’s an awful moment, but her breakdown is what gets to me in the finale. It’s such an authentic display of vulnerability to show us just how much she’s tried to keep it together. All the ways she’s been called “Slow-Mo,” every case she’s been on, Mohan’s kept it together, and the second she cracks, her strength fully comes to the surface because we can see just how deeply she cares in that moment.
Lizzie: Somewhere around Episode 2, Samira Mohan became my favorite character, and I never looked back. I think my love for her started from the first moment Robby told her to stop spending so much time with patients. I think if you’ve had the misfortune of spending too much time with doctors, you know how rare that is. And how much it is appreciated when someone does it. But then, she’s also a character who kept on building so well in Season 1. Like, the things I love about her from the beginning ended up being magnified, even when faced with a situation that required her to move fast.
She’s just a good doctor and a good person. But she’s also a good character. It’s such a rare combo.
Shelby: Where do I even begin with my favorite character on this show?! Is it cheating just to say every scene? That’s my honest answer. I admire her dedication to her patients. I love that she takes the time with everyone, especially those who often slip through the system’s cracks. Every scene with Joyce St. Claire’s case of sickle cell disease comes to mind when I think about Dr. Samira Mohan. I just love that she listens and learns and wants that for characters like Santos. I like that she can be the smartest person in the room, and I hope she gives herself more credit in that regard in the second season.
MORE: Read our Supriya Ganesh interview for more on one of our favorite The Pitt characters!
Dr. Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif)
Shana: I mean, she busted off her ankle monitor in the middle of the mass casualty knowing what that could mean. So, she’s kind of a BAMF, but at the same time, she’s so sweet with her kid — who, I’m pretty sure, Mama Bear would cut someone to defend. Add that to her willingness to take David Saunders’ list seriously (no matter how that, uh, turned out…), and Dr. McKay fascinates me. I think, out of all of The Pitt characters, she winds up being the most surprising, in a lot of ways. And that, I think, is what stands out to me the most. Also, dare I say it for fear of jinxing her, but: Dr. McKay is an authentic “strong female character,” moreso than the type of TV character on TV that usually gets that descriptor.
Gissane: We’re clearly all going to go with the same moment, aren’t we? But I think that’s what’s so great with McKay. She feels like a character who’s so comforting on screen because it’s easy to appreciate what she stands for. I’d want to work with her. I’d want to be around her, and I think a lot of that is credit to Fiona Dourif.
Lizzie: We all agree about the moment, but I hilariously think we all love McKay for different reasons. Because I think my favorite thing about her is that she seems so strong and is so strong, and yet she isn’t. She’s got moments where we can see she’s struggling, and that kinda makes it feel like you can struggle too. The strongest people you know are struggling and still making it through, somehow.
Shelby: A legend! Obviously, the ankle monitor scene is incredible; I agree with Shana. Weirdly, one of my favorite McKay scenes isn’t from her perspective; it’s from Chad’s. I know, I know. But I like that scene when Chad comes into the ED and sees McKay in her element. Well, she’s working during a mass casualty, and she’s entirely in control. She’s good at her job, and she’s calm under pressure. She’s incredible!
MORE: We finally met Dr. McKay’s son Harrison Episode 10…and no, his father is not one of our favorite The Pitt characters.
Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones)
Shana: Santos is kind of a tough one because she’s, well, Santos. The mean nicknames, treating some of these complex procedures like badges of honor instead of means of helping save lives, not knowing when to take a step back and do the right thing the right way…all of that could make her generally unlikeable. But, somehow, it doesn’t. A lot of what makes it impossible to hate her comes from Isa Briones just having a certain special something about how she plays the character, but I think it’s also more than that. When you start to see how Trinity cares about protecting the vulnerable and sticks to her guns in doing the right thing — even when she knows others will hate her a little for it — she starts to become someone who’s obviously flawed, yet still kind of a hero worth rooting for.
So, my favorite moments with Dr. Santos tend to be in that gray area she lives in so well. That’s because, I think, when she directs that outside nastiness at the bad guys — like with her threat to the guy assaulting his daughter and, on a slightly lighter note her chomp on her candy bar when the a-hole reporter wants food but can’t have any — it’s very easy to support both her rights and her wrongs.
Gissane: It’s a solid tie between the moment she threatens the man who’s assaulting his daughter and the moment where she talks to the kid who tried to overdose. Santos is the biggest surprise for me as a character because I generally don’t like characters who are too sarcastic right off the bat, but how she grows throughout the season is one of my favorite things.
Lizzie: I’m very much a contrary person, so even though I didn’t love her right away, I decided I liked her pretty early, mostly because people didn’t like her. I also could really understand someone like her, trying to both play by the rules in some things and trying so hard to get ahead that she’s not thinking about other people’s feelings because she’s so focused. I dunno, she didn’t have to do too much to convince me, and by the time she was asking Whitaker to move in with her, I was already a fan.
Shelby: I agree with Gissane. I always think about Santos talking to Max in the season finale. She hasn’t had the easiest day, to say the least, and she’s understandably on the other side of an adrenaline high. Still, she takes the time to try to connect with Max and get him the help he needs. She sits by his bedside and offers empathy and medical advice. I love that scene.
MORE: If you’ve ever been like “but why is she like this” about Dr. Santos, our Isa Briones interview can help!
Dr. Mel King (Taylor Dearden)
Shana: The problem with The Pitt is every time I’m like, “this is my favorite out of all the The Pitt characters,” someone else comes along. Because, well, they’re all my favorite. Case in point: Mel is my favorite. (But so is everyone else I’ve gushed about above and below!)
If I had to pick a single favorite moment, it would be when she takes time with Bella and “Bear” the teddy bear in the family room. My heart just hurts, yet is somehow simultaneously healed — however that works??? — to even try to think about it. For someone so sensitive, who takes such care of her own sister no matter how exhausted she is at the end of her shift, to get on that little girl’s level and help her have whatever closure a child’s mind can…just…she is such special, loving soul.
PROTECT MEL. I’m going to scream it forever. PROTECT HER.
Gissane: I love her. I love her. I love her. I came to The Pitt for Dr. King, and I stayed because of her. As someone who’s also extremely sensitive and at times feels like it’s perceived as a weakness, seeing the way people approached her sensitivity was so healing. I know it sounds saccharine, but it’s the truth. She’s such a special character in every way where it matters, and it’s entirely because this sensitivity is her strength. So, I’m going to go with the moment where Dr. Robby tells her she’s awesome because it feels like he’s talking to so many of us in that moment.
Lizzie: Mel, to me, feels like the comfort character in a sea of other people whose personalities are much more forceful. Sometimes, the show moved so fast that it was a relief to go back to Mel and feel… maybe this will sound weird, but safe? Not even like, I’d feel safe with her as my doctor, though yes. It’s that I feel safe with her as a character on my screen, because she makes me feel safe. And she also makes me want to be nicer to people. Not that I think I’m not nice, but man, to be Mel King nice.
Shelby: Okay, this may sound so deeply silly. I like the beat where Mel takes off her surgical gown when she realizes that it scares Georgia in Episode 14. It’s also incredibly attentive that Mel holds Georgia’s hand as they follow her brother, Flynn, into the ED on a stretcher. Essentially, I like that Mel knows where to meet her patients, no matter how old they are. She’s such a good, sensitive doctor, and I like that The Pitt doesn’t try to stomp those qualities out of her.
MORE: Our interview with Taylor Dearden takes a deeper look at everything we love about Mel, as well as everything that makes her unique.
Student doctor Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez)
Shana: I have a lot of “yessss, go off!” moments for Victoria. There’s when she updates Tasha’s chart to make sure people stop misgendering her, getting adorably flustered over Mateo and rushing through telling Dana about him being “human Utah,” and even when kind of snaps on a young baseball prodigy’s father in Episode 10. But it’s when she comes up with a creative solution in the middle of the mass casualty event and impresses everyone, including her mom — who she totally stands up to in the moment, — that brings all of those pieces together. Victoria is a genius, not just some nepo baby. She’s also not solely that person, who hasn’t had many friends or much of a life, whose (lack of people) skills can be hilarious at times.
As someone who is by no means on her level, but who was always kind of picked on for being “smart girl” in school, there’s something about her — eye rolls and occasional explosions included — that gets me. Maybe it’s a some wish fulfillment when she finally proves herself and starts to fit in a little better by the end.
Gissane: I just adore the fact that we have a prodigy working in this ER. Like to see someone with her brain and her capabilities, but she’s also such a delightful little dork with no filter? Protect her at all costs.
Lizzie: Absolutely when she goes out of her way to make sure people stop misgendering Tasha. It’s just a little moment that says so much about the kind of person she is. There’s so much empathy in her, that even when she doesn’t have all the answers, which in her position is a lot of the time, she keeps trying.
Shelby: I freaking love when Javadi stands up to her mom, Dr. Shamsi, in Episode 12. It’s such a rewarding beat for the character after struggling to find her place and voice in the ED — and maybe even in medicine, given that her parents work in it, too. She’s quick on her feet and innovative when she needs to be to help as many people as she can. She doesn’t sink under the pressure; she swims.
MORE: See why Shabana Azeez hopes Season 1 “stays with you.”
Student doctor Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell)
Shana: I’m never going to get over his moments with Dr. Robby in Episode 14. There’s the PEDS room where he sits quietly beside this authority figure, who he didn’t at all expect to see in that state and doesn’t quite know how to help, before reminding Robby how much we need him out there. And later, he tries to relate to his boss by opening up about his Theology studies and quoting Isaiah 40. He’s so sweetly unsure of himself when he admits he doesn’t even know why he said that. Although it’s only his first day and he’s just a student, Robby even sees him as someone he can trust. Not just by admitting he felt like he was drowning in that room, but by opening up about living with his grandmother and reciting Shema every morning, too.
Throughout all of it, he doesn’t take advantage, or judge, or otherwise think any less of Robby. He just sees a person standing there, not the giant his ER attending must seem to him at other times — but another soul. Whenever Whitaker finds a way to make a human connection, it’s great TV. And it’s kind of impossible not to adore him.
Gissane: The rat scene is so wild. Truly, so very wild. But I think more than anything you can just tell he’s a solid dude who’s trying his best in every area, and that’s something I’ll always appreciate with characters who are comedic relief. People don’t realize how many layers are really inside of them. And Whitaker is that character.
Lizzie: I admit maybe he took me a while longer than others, not because I didn’t like him, but because I liked so many characters so much more, and her flew under the radar. But his moment with Robby really gutted me, because it felt honest. And by the end, when he said he’d move in with Santos, I was all in.
Shelby: I’m such a fan of Dennis’s scene with Michael Krakozhia in Episode 9, especially in retrospect. The words on the page are a compelling deconstruction of various biases. I also like that there’s a call to action with the Street Team. That scene informs so much about Dennis and his generosity.
MORE: Gerran Howell chatted with us about Whitaker’s first day, which might have been the messiest for just about any The Pitt character.
And finally, our hopes (and some teases) for our The Pitt characters in Season 2
As we look ahead to The Pitt Season 2, what are you hoping to see for some of your favorite characters? And/or what are you looking forward to finding out about the new attending and other new characters?
Shana: I’d say I want them all to find some peace, but that’s pretty much out of the question for any and all The Pitt characters. So, let’s see…
Since I’ve seen some of the new episodes, I’ll say I’m very excited for people to follow Dana as she shows recent nursing school graduate Emma, who is basically now a student of the Dana School of Nursing, how it’s done. There’s one patient whose case is particularly difficult to watch, and both Katherine LaNasa and Laetitia Hollard are phenomenal throughout those scenes. It’s classic Dana, in terms of how she cares so much. And of the new characters, Emma is probably my favorite. (For now?)
Looking past what I have seen and purely speculating/wishing here, I want Dr. Robby to reconsider his vacation plans. Yes, he should still take time off — we all know he needs it! — but the specific plan that’s in place is, uh, not great. I also hope that he can pass the torch to Dr. Al-Hashimi in as smooth a way as possible. Hopefully, she’ll learn enough from PTMC’s latest day from Hades to understand why he does things the way he does. But I also just want to get a good feel for who she really is when times get tough because that’s what tells us the most about a character.
Oh! And honestly? I just want them all to grow and develop without losing a single thing we love about them. (Also, I agree with Gissane. No losing characters!)
Gissane: I just want more development, in any way. I’m such a hypochondriac, so I’m watching this show solely for the characters. As much as I love the significant conversations we’re having about medicine, it’s not always good for my anxious brain, but these characters keep me invested, so I just want little moments with each of them and to see how they’re holding up. Is that silly? Maybe, but it’s true. As for the new The Pitt characters, I just hope I can care about them the same way I care about the original characters. And more importantly, I don’t want to lose a single character.
Lizzie: I want character moments for the doctors in between caring for the patients. I know it’s complicated to really see growth, because this is just a shift, but I want to get a good sense of where these characters are now, what has changed, and how their relationships have evolved. I don’t want their relationships to feel like no time has passed. People change, and I really want to see that.
And hey, as for the new characters, I wouldn’t mind someone to dislike. I like all the original characters too much; give me someone I can be mad at!
MORE: Here’s everything we know about The Pitt Season 2.
Who are your favorite The Pitt characters? Share with us in the comments!
The Pitt Season 1 is now streaming on HBO Max. Season 2 premieres Thursday, January 8 at 9/8c.
