‘The Pitt’: Fiona Dourif Reflects on McKay’s Arc, Teases Season 3 (Exclusive)

“The Pitt is just unlike any other TV show I’ve ever worked on,” Fiona Dourif says.

It’s not just that the HBO Max medical drama has become must-see, appointment television — Dourif realized just how many people are watching The Pitt when she was recognized on a flight, including by the pilot — or because of the outstanding acting, writing, and directing that accompanies every episode of the award-winning series. It’s also not just that McKay is “really close” to Dourif’s own experiences. It’s also the work that goes into the show and that you don’t see on camera.

“It feels like the divide between the actors and the background and the crew is just so much smaller on our show than others. There’s nobody running to get you water. There’s no director’s chairs, there’s none of that. It’s just this organism that all comes in and works,” Dourif tells TV Insider. “What feels weird is dressing us all up and putting us out on stage because we’re just the visible aspect of the show. There’s 225 people that are there every day making it, and it really doesn’t feel like one person does more than another.”

Those people all worked together to produce two excellent seasons of television, during which, while the focus has been on the medicine, we’ve gotten tidbits about the hospital staff working tirelessly to save lives. The Pitt focuses on showing how that affects the doctors and nurses, and while it was rough on pretty much everyone in Season 2, Dourif admits that her character was in “a better place.”

Below, Fiona Dourif reflects on Dr. Cassie McKay’s Season 2 arc and hints at what’s ahead in Season 3.

McKay in Season 2 was so different from McKay in Season 1 because she didn’t have that ankle monitor weighing on her. How did that change her? Because it felt like she was a little lighter.

Fiona Dourif: Yeah. It’s funny, too, because I think a lot of the exploration of Season 2 was people dealing with the mass casualty. So, it was the effects of that kind of trauma and death on the hospital staff. But Cassie went to medical school later and had had a lot of twists and turns in her life, so I think she was a little bit better equipped to handle the self-care that’s needed. So in juxtaposition to every other doctor in the hospital, Cassie was just in a better place. Cassie was considering dating. Cassie was trying to get laid. Cassie was having a little more fun, a little more confidence. So, it was cool to play. Easier.

I was going to bring that up because there’s that date perhaps, but then also as she got towards the end of the shift, she mentioned to a patient that she was thinking the three Bs might be better — book, bath, and bed. When she was thinking about the date, that was before Roxie’s (Brittany Allen) death, which we saw really affected everyone. So, was that what played into her wondering, do I really feel like going out on a date at the end of this shift?

Sure. Yeah. And just the exhaustion. I shadowed an ER shift that was only eight hours at MGH in Boston last weekend, and I was exhausted. I mean, you are on your feet, and it’s like adrenaline and then nothing and then waiting, and the whole thing is just physically really tiring. I was shocked at how tired I was. I was talking to the actual doctors, and they get used to it, but it takes it out of you. So I think at the end of 15 hours, especially something that’s been that emotional, she was exhausted. And so it was a place where she was either going to fall into her own pattern or take the step, do the vulnerable, scary thing, and try to move your life forward. And I think she did the latter, heads up.

So, she went on that date?

I think she went on the date. Yeah, I think she went on the date.

We also got a couple of really nice moments between McKay and Langdon (Patrick Ball) this past season. First, she opened up about her nine years and counting of sobriety, and it feels like McKay is very particular about what she reveals about herself. So, what did she see in him, his first shift back, and what made her tell him about her own journey at that moment?

Well, I think part of what is helpful about AA and sobriety is the camaraderie and the caretaking. And I think that she really has that personality type anyway. So it was seeing somebody who she didn’t want to overstep a boundary but feels like she’s been there and can relate to and can help, should he want it. So I think that’s what was going on there. I mean, that was over a decade ago for Cassie, but that kind of thing stays with you. It becomes a cornerstone of how you see the world.

And then later she also opened up about Roxie dying to him and said that she’s not sure she can cry anymore and that she doesn’t know how to turn her feelings back on. Is that truly how she thinks her work in the hospital has changed her, or was it just this shift, and there was that emotional weight to it?

No, I think it’s a really common thing, actually. I mean, I’ve had a lot of doctors report that where you feel like you get so good at compartmentalizing so that you can move through things that you wonder if things affect you over time. I think it’s actually quite common. I mean, really, what the show is trying to do actually is to reflect the real-life thing. And often they say it’s like an entire career in one shift, and that’s how it’s adjusted for television. So it’s all these quite interesting cases, and every day in the ER isn’t like that, but the through line, the emotional aspect of it, what they’re up against, all of that, we’re trying to tell the real story, which is cool. I think that’s part of the reason why people are really responding to it is because we treat the audience like they’re smart. We’re like, this is the reality. And I think people really appreciate it.

There’s only so much you’re going to share with someone during a shift, but we do get bits and pieces like we have about McKay’s life. So, is there anything you know about her backstory that we don’t that you keep in mind while playing her that you can share?

1000%, and I can’t share it. Also, I remember getting the original audition and reading the breakdown of the character and being like, “I’m a full-on—” I just knew immediately I was a version of it. I didn’t know if they were going to go with somebody who looked like me, but I was like, “I’m going to be in the running for this.” And then I ended up being the version of the character that they picked, but it’s really, really close to my actual experiences. It’s very close to it, and that’s both rewarding and terrifying. And part of the reason why I don’t go online and look at a lot of the stuff that they write, where they’re rating us and they’re saying they like this person and not that person, whatever, is because it feels like people are talking about Fiona. In no way do I think I’m an emergency medicine doctor; to be clear, I am absolutely not. But the basic cornerstones of McKay are pretty close to me. Yeah, I answered that question in a lot of ways. I took some left turns there, but I think I took it right around.

And without revealing anything, which is impressive.

[Laughs] I know, I got slowly media trained. No, I can’t. And also, they give us a basic understanding of these gestalt events of my life. All of that is quite close to the things that shaped my perspective, Fiona’s perspective in the world; those things can change. They’re malleable, actually. And we don’t often know where the shift is going, what’s going to happen next episode, until four days before we start shooting the episode. Sometimes we get the script at the table read, which is the second to last day of the previous episode that we’re shooting. So, we’re trusting in where they’re going to take us. And as Katherine LaNasa says, we’re sort of falling back into the trust of the writing and the show, and everyone’s smart. I trust them completely.

Because of McKay’s experience, I feel like she has a different perspective of her coworkers and she sees things that other people may not necessarily. There’s a moment when it looks like Robby’s (Noah Wyle) going to be heading out, and she talks about friends who like to see how close the edge was. What was she seeing in him throughout the shift because of her experience?

I think that there is a point that people can come to that they might not even be aware that they’re at, that is reflexively self-destructive. It’s like a, “I don’t give a f**k anymore.” And I think that that’s something that McKay has seen in herself when she was younger and is something that she’s seen played out with her friends who made decisions that they didn’t come back from, and is something that I also as Fiona have seen and experienced. I understood exactly what she meant.

She’s had a great journey through these two seasons.

It’s a delight to be able to play a character over so many years that they explore different sides. We’re not these tropes. We’re not like, well, this is the intuitive one. And then I just walk in and be intuitive. They’re trying to show us as complete people, which is very cool. It’s a testament to the writing in the show and that they can make these small moments feel really significant, even though they’re just one small moment in one day. It’s a testament to the writing.

Warrick Page/HBO Max

We know Season 3 is going to take place in November. Is there anything you can say about it, and what’s going on with McKay?

McKay is going to be dealing with a new type of patient. How do you like that for vague? Did you like that?

I do. What can you say about how she handles that?

I mean, we’ll see. I have very few scripts in front of me. I have one scene. I just don’t know yet, but I’m excited for this journey. The little that I know about it, I’m excited for it. And I also just, as the years go on, I just trust the process more and more. You play scenes in this very 360-world in the way that we shoot it. It’s shot very fast. Everybody’s in it and you just trust in the environment and in the basic reality of the scene. And then we’re just there to play. Yeah. It’s very cool. It’s a very special job.

What are your hopes for McKay going forward? Are there any characters that you just want to see her interacting with more?

I wouldn’t mind seeing McKay and Mel King [Taylor Dearden]. At least one case together. I think her performance is really interesting and surprising, and I like being around it.

… I feel like Langdon, and I have … I think there’s a lot to discover there in that relationship. Yeah, I think that me and him could be friends if there’s ever time in a busy day.

Well, just like McKay and Mateo (Jalen Thomas Brooks), because I like what we heard about their dynamic off work, too.

Yeah, he helps me out. He helps me out. I mean, it’s very intense to be a resident with that kind of schedule, and that kind of overwhelming workload and stress, and then also a single mother, and people do it all the time, but it’s a lot, and I think people need help.

What are the chances of seeing McKay’s father (Brad Dourif, Fiona’s father) again?

I mean, here’s hoping. McKay’s father and Fiona’s father is very cool. Very cool guy and actor. [Laughs]

The Pitt, Season 3, 2027, HBO Max