The instant-hit medical drama, starring Noah Wyle, Katherine LaNasa, and Shawn Hatosy, among others, returns to HBO Max on Thursday January 8

Fiona Dourif in a still from The Pitt© Warrick Page/MAX

The Pitt fans have a double dose of good news to celebrate.

One year after the drama became an instant hit when it premiered on HBO Max, the beloved series has returned for a second season, premiering on the streamer on Thursday, January 8 at 9pm EST.

The series’ stars, including Emmy winners Noah Wyle and Katherine LaNasa, celebrated the sophomore season with a Los Angeles premiere the night prior, and now, both them and fans are celebrating a renewal.

Katherine LaNasa taylor dearden shabana azeez split image the pitt© Getty Images
Some of the stars of The Pitt celebrating its season 2 premiere

With 24 hours to go before season two premiered, HBO CEO Casey Bloys confirmed, at the very premiere celebrating season two, that The Pitt would be returning for a third season.

The Pitt stars and is produced by E.R. alum Noah, and depicts the lives of ER doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals in a hospital in Pittsburgh, each hour episode representing an hour of their chaos-filled 15-hour shift.

“The success of the first season of The Pitt places a lot of pressure on the writers for season two, and it takes a second to warm back up. But by the second or third episode, the show has settled back into itself, with even gorier procedures, laugh-out-loud moments, and surprisingly tender friendships being formed between the staff,” says Rebecca Lewis, HELLO!’s resident The Pitt expert, of the new season.

Gerran Howell, who stars as Dr. Dennis Whitaker, also told us that season two will “drop you straight back into it as if nothing had happened and you’re really working out as an audience what’s going on between [everyone],” admitting “nobody’s holding your hand in season two and going, ‘This is where the characters are, let’s give an expositional monologue to remind everyone.’”

Robby walks down the ramp to the Emergency Department past Nurse Jesse in a still from The Pitt© Warrick Page/MAX
Noah won an Emmy for his role as Robby

In addition to Noah and Katherine, The Pitt also stars Taylor Dearden, Patrick Ball, Shawn Hatosy, Isa Briones, Fiona Dourif, Shabana Azeez, and Supriya Ganesh, among others. Season two is set on one injury-prone day: the Fourth of July.

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It also welcomed some new faces into the emergency room for season two, Luke Tennie, Travis Van Winkle, Meta Golding, Christopher Thornton, and Lawrence Robinson.

Luke, who recently had roles in fellow hits Shrinking and Abbott Elementary, is playing Dr. Crus Henderson, a fourth-year resident who works the night shift at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center.

Travis, who has previous appearances in You and Fubar, is playing Curtis Larson, an aggressive patient of the ER; Meta, whose recent credits include Rabbit Hole and Netflix newcomer Ransom Canyon, is playing Noelle Hastings, a nurse; Christopher, who previously appeared on Magnum P.I. and The Lincoln Lawyer, is playing Dr. Caleb Jefferson, a psychiatric attending physician.

Noah Wyle and Tracy Ifeachor in The PittTracy Ifeachor exited the series ahead of season two

Last but not least, Lawrence, known for Three Ways, also joined the cast in a recurring role, as Brian Hancock, a sweet, charming, and kind-hearted patient who turns a soccer injury into a possible meet-cute with one of the doctors.

Also recurring in season two are Charles Baker, Irene Choi, Laëtitia Hollard and Lucas Iverson.