‘The Pitt’ Season 2 is Fixing TV’s Worst Trends

January 6, 2026

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One of 2025’s best series is finally returning this week with the premiere of The Pitt Season 2. When Season 1 premiered on HBO Max at the start of 2025, viewers quickly fell for the impressive and moving storytelling. The intelligent characters and premise – a 15-hour shift in a Pittsburgh emergency room – cemented The Pitt as one of the greatest 2025 shows. Apologies to all those other medical dramas out there, but this one manages to be as sweet and charming as it is shocking and thought-provoking.

While 2026 will be packed with new and returning shows, a lot of people have been counting down the days until The Pitt’s second season premiere. Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle), Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa), and the rest of our favorites are coming back. And there are several reasons why the second season will likely be as amazing as the first, especially as it continues to fix two of the worst problems with TV.

‘The Pitt’ Season 2 Is Fixing Two Frustrating TV Problems

HBO Max

The Pitt Season 2 already has two positive things going for it: it’s premiering one year after the first season began streaming on HBO Max, and it will feature a time jump. In the age of streaming, is anyone really on board with long gaps between seasons? Besides the rough decision to split Stranger Things Season 5 into three parts, fans also had to wait just over three years between the end of Season 4 and the beginning of Season 5. The Pitt Season 1 premiered on HBO Max on Jan. 9, 2025, and Season 2 is arriving on Jan. 8, 2026. That’s an incredible feat.

Instead of upsetting viewers who can’t wait to see their favorite doctors come back, and possibly making some lose interest, The Pitt is keeping its momentum. Sure, the medical drama isn’t bogged down by complex details, and there are no creatures or special effects. The writers, producers, and showrunner also didn’t have to craft a satisfying finale for a show that had entertained people for almost a decade.

Still, The Pitt should inspire others to shorten the gap between seasons. After all, a new season of network TV shows premieres every September or January. The short duration between both seasons of The Pitt is also interesting, considering that Season 2 has new characters and an ambitious new setting of the Fourth of July. Season 2 isn’t going to be a carbon copy of the first 15 episodes, and it sounds like the writers took some big story risks, too. If all that can be done in a calendar year, can’t more shows follow? The extra time doesn’t always pay off. Wednesday Season 2 had underwhelming character arcs, for instance, and the main mystery wasn’t as fun as Season 1.

The Pitt Season 2 is also fixing another TV trend: not using time jumps properly or in a way that helps the story. Most streaming and network shows use them these days, but they’re rarely compelling or necessary. The Rookie Season 7, for example, picked up several weeks after the Season 6 finale. That wasn’t enough time to mark huge changes in the characters’ lives. Instead of giving viewers a look at the day after Season 1’s 15-hour shift, The Pitt‘s second season will take place 10 months in the future. If a show is going to skip ahead, it should follow The Pitt‘s lead and really go for it. Continuing the story six months or a year in the future is the best way to go.

In this case, a time jump feels practical. Dr. Heather Collins’s (Tracey Ifeachor’s) exit makes more sense because, since almost an entire year has gone by, not everyone is still there. A time jump also allows for more character growth. Dr. Robby and Dana Evans, for instance, have had time to digest the trauma and emotions of that intense work day, and we can look forward to seeing where they are emotionally now.

Without this narrative device, a new season risks being dull or repeating the same story and character beats of the previous episodes. Since it’s hard to believe that every day is a wild one in the E.R., it wouldn’t be logical to pick up the day after Season 1. Now, when The Pitt Season 2 comes back, fans can enjoy a compelling ride instead of being annoyed about a long wait.