Thanks to star Fiona Dourif sharing the first teaser trailer for The Pitt season 2 on her Instagram stories, fans of the breakout show quickly posted copies around the internet. Thankfully, this means that if you missed the 24-hour viewing window (it’s only just been uploaded to the main HBO or HBO Max social media accounts), we’ve been able to watch and dissect it at our leisure. We know that season 2 began filming in April and is due to be released in January 2026, so HBO is running a pretty tight schedule.
While we’ve seen a few on-set interviews on YouTube and first-look photos of what’s to come, the teaser trailer (which you can catch up with below) is our first proper understanding of what’s to come. It picks up 10 months after season 1 ended, following another chaotic shift over the fourth of July weekend. Only Tracy Ifeachor’s Dr. Collins definitely isn’t returning for future episodes after it was revealed she was written out of the series.
However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t question marks over the other characters. Dr. Robbie (Noah Wyle) has essentially had a breakdown, Whitaker (Gerran Howell) has been revealed as homeless, and McKay (Dourif) was nearly arrested for tampering with her ankle monitor. Amazingly, none of these cliffhangers are the one I think has been ruined by the new trailer without anyone even realizing.
The Pitt season 2 teaser trailer shows Dana back at work after huge season 1 cliffhanger
Mild spoilers follow for season 1’s finale episode of The Pitt.
Within the first five seconds of the above trailer beginning, Dana (Katherine LaNasa) is seen manning her intake station like it’s another normal day. Brilliant news, the ER definitely couldn’t run as effectively without her. So why is this a spoiler? In the season 1 finale of The Pitt, she’s seen taking her photos down from her desk, confiding in Dr. Robbie that she is considering leaving the ER altogether. She can’t take it anymore, and we don’t blame her.
Even if this is going to be addressed relatively quickly, it’s pretty dissatisfying to know we’ve no longer got such a surprising twist waiting to be revealed next year. My best guess is that Dana’s reasons for staying will be answered in a throwaway comment, with The Pitt season 2 then moving forward as if nothing ever happened. We’ve got other pressing business to deal with, namely the outcome of Langdon’s (Patrick Ball) ongoing drug problem. With so much going on at all times, it’s unsurprising that The Pitt might have decided to kill some darlings… but don’t let us down months before episodes air.
Personally, I’m thrilled Dana is staying put (at least for now). She’s one of the only charge nurses that can stay grounded and organized during an onslaught of emergencies, and she’s a very good influence on Dr. Robbie. I’ve got high hopes that The Pitt season 2 is going to have us holding our breath from beginning to end, and we’re only just beginning to find out the new surprises HBO has in store.
