‘The Pitt’s Shawn Hatosy Breaks Silence on Dr. Robby’s Season 2 Struggles

2 weeks ago 15

Noah Wyle and Shawn Hatosy in The Pitt Season 2

Published Mar 9, 2026, 7:40 PM EDT

Adam Blevins began working in the entertainment industry in 2022 as a Staff Writer for Agents of Fandom, where he progressed to Senior Editor and interviewed talent from Marvel Studios, House of the Dragon, and Planet of the Apes. He joined Collider as a News Author in April 2024, was promoted to a Senior position in December 2024, and has written over 3,000 articles for the site, including exclusives relating to Avengers: Doomsday, The Penguin, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and more. He primarily writes about the latest box office numbers and the hottest movies and TV shows on streaming, while also covering superhero and sci-fi news. He has completed a set visit for The Chosen and even has several months of experience writing Gaming Features at ScreenRant. You can find him on X, LinkedIn, and Muckrack.

The Pitt is more than halfway through its sophomore season, and while many fans and critics felt it would be impossible to live up to the acclaim in Season 2, it's clear the show has found a way to just keep getting better. The medical drama stars Noah Wyle as Dr. Michael Robinavitch, known around the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center ER as Dr. Robby, along with a team of talented stars as doctors and nurses, including Sepideh Moafi as Dr. Al-Hashimi and Shawn Hatosy as Dr. Jack Abbot. Wyle has maintained his role as the star in Season 2, but the other attendings have had plenty of time to share in the spotlight.

One of the biggest storylines so far has been Dr. Robby’s impending sabbatical, but little is known about what’s really going on, other than he’s leaving for three months following the Season 2 shift. Some fans have begun to speculate that Robby plans to take his own life during his sabbatical, citing his disturbing conversation with Dr. Abbot, while also telling Whitaker he may not return. Others think that a horrible motorcycle accident may befall Robby, or that someone like Dana (Katherine LaNasa) will check him into somewhere to keep him from harming himself.

During a recent interview with Gold Derby, Hatosy compared Abbot’s lifestyle and current mental state to that of Dr. Robby’s, saying that both of them are “dodging bullets,” even though they think they’re doing great for themselves. Cynthia Adarkwa, one of the lead writers on The Pitt, said that “Abbot is one of the only people that can step up to Dr. Robby,” citing that both have been open with each other about their mental health struggles. In a separate interview with Collider's Carly Lane, Hatosy explained that Abbot may be the first one to realize Robby may not intend to come back, saying:

"Noah's instincts about Robby and the character and the emotional arc are so spot-on, and you really have to, as an actor on the other side of it, as a director, listen to what those instincts are and shape the show essentially around that. Everything that's happening is really happening through his eyes, and Noah had some pretty convincing and great ideas about this particular scene with Abbot. It's coming at the end of the 3:00 p.m. shift, so we're looking at maybe 3:45, him seeing Abbot and Abbot saying, “If I don't see you before, take care,” and the beginning of his goodbye parades. This is sort of the beginning of that.

So, as we're checking in with Robby, what we know up to this point is he's going on this thing, and people are kind of talking about it, but once Robby decides to start saying goodbye to people, the question is, "Is this goodbye a bigger thing than just goodbye? Is this the last time I'm going to see you?" kind of thing, which was what we were talking about. The Abbot goodbye is the first moment where Abbot really understands, for the first time, that there's something bigger happening here, and it's because of the way Robby is seemingly emotional in that moment."

When Does ‘The Pitt’ Season 3 Come Out?

HBO renewed The Pitt for a third season in the days leading up to Season 2, showing that the studio had immense faith in the show to continue being one of its most effective performers. While an official release date for the series has yet to be announced, creators and stars have said that HBO plans for new seasons of the show to premiere around the same time each year. Season 3 casting information and filming timeline have yet to be announced, but Wyle confirmed to Collider not long ago that they’re in the process of writing the new season.

Check out new episodes of The Pitt every Thursday at 9 on HBO Max and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of Season 2.