How to Get Cast on HBO Max’s ‘The Pitt’

Set in the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital, “The Pitt” follows Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Wyle) and his fellow emergency room staffers as they grapple with the fast-paced nature of their department in real-time. Each of the series’ hour-long episodes chronicles one hour in a single 15-hour shift. 

Season 1 follows Dr. Robby as he leads his talented team while also dealing with the emotional anniversary of his mentor’s death from COVID-19 and the fallout from the pandemic.

Season 2 cranks up the pressure, unfolding over the course of an explosive July 4th shift, when the city’s celebrations collide with one of the hospital’s most intense days of the year.

Season 1 of “The Pitt” featured:

• Noah Wyle as Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch
• Tracy Ifeachor as Dr. Heather Collins
• Patrick Ball as Dr. Frank Langdon
• Katherine LaNasa as Dana Evans
• Supriya Ganesh as Dr. Samira Mohan
• Fiona Dourif as Dr. Cassie McKay
• Taylor Dearden as Dr. Melissa King
• Isa Briones as Dr. Trinity Santos
• Gerran Howell as Dr. Dennis Whitaker
• Shabana Azeez as Dr. Victoria Javadi
• Amielynn Abellera as Perlah Alawi
• Jalen Thomas Brooks as Mateo Diaz
• Kristin Villanueva as Princess Dela Cruz
• Ned Brower as Nurse Jesse Van Horn
• Shawn Hatosy as Dr. Jack Abbot
• Michael Hyatt as Gloria Underwood
• Brandon Mendez Homer as Donnie Donahue
• Alexandra Metz as Dr. Yolanda Garcia
• Krystel V. McNeil as Kiara Alfaro
• Deepti Gupta as Dr. Eileen Shamsi
• Tracy Vilar as Lupe Perez

While Ifeachor announced her exit ahead of Season 2, the next installment will welcome:

• Sepideh Moafi as Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi
• Meta Golding as Nurse Noelle Hastings
• Luke Tennie as Dr. Crus Henderson
• Christopher Thornton as Dr. Caleb Jefferson

In an interview with TVLine, Wyle described what it was like working with the rest of the cast of “The Pitt.” “This is one of the most talented ensembles I’ve ever worked with in my life, and I feel very much like a Trojan horse who’s going to be delivering this army into people’s living rooms that they aren’t expecting. I’m so proud of them, and I’m so pleased and grateful to be working alongside them,” he said. “They really deserve a major shout-out for how quickly they pick this stuff up, and how totally they immerse themselves in these parts. They really are dedicated, talented, facile performers. That’s exactly what we were looking for, and they all delivered. I’m so happy that the world is going to get to see what they can do.”

Erica Berger and Cathy Sandrich Gelfond (“Mayor of Kingstown,” “Love & Death”) are the primary casting directors on “The Pitt.”

While Gelfond believes actors should do whatever they must to get in character for an audition, going to extremes might not always be the best approach. As Gelfond told us, she and fellow CD Amanda Mackey were in the audition room with a relatively new actor when he pulled out a weapon. “The scene called for a knife, and he pulled a knife out on me,” she explained. “And Amanda had to leap up and say, ‘Please stop, just stop!’ The guy was shaking with this knife, shaking as I’m reading with him. As long as you don’t inflict harm—whatever you need to do other than inflicting harm upon the casting directors.” In other words, if you hope to stand out from the crowd, try to avoid scaring those who’ll get you the job.

In an interview with Deadline, Gelfond and Berger shared they had more than 300 roles to cast for Season 1, and demand was high. “We get up to 6,000 submissions per role, and then we’ll go through and see around…on a regular episode, 40 per role,” Berger said. “And then get between five and eight of our favorites.”

Gelfond added that Gemmill, the show’s creator and showrunner, specifically wanted to hire unknown actors—a “casting director’s dream,” she said. “We could actually go and discover these people,” Gelfond continued. “It was very much like casting a play and making sure that everybody, all the series regulars, understood that there’d be days when they’d have great stuff to do, and there would be other days when they’d be walking down a hall and not saying a word.”

“The team was just as excited as we were about filling it out with new people that maybe we haven’t seen before,” Berger told Variety. “That’s always incredibly exciting to get to do. It’s exciting for us, as well, because it means we’re going to see a lot of people that maybe we don’t even know yet.” 

Wyle was there for many of the auditions, as well, Gelfond shared. “Noah was in the room all the time, for almost all of the auditions, and he was so kind and wonderful and respectful with the actors,” the CD said. “Noah’s a remarkable leader,” she added in an interview with the Credits. “Just as Dr. Robby in ‘The Pitt’ welcomes all the young doctors in the pilot episode, he did that for every member of the cast, showing them tricks he learned along the way and shepherding them through the process.”

Yet when it came to casting one of the series’ few veteran performers, Katherine LaNasa, who plays charge nurse Dana Evans, Wyle didn’t officially meet her until the first table read. But they had instant chemistry—and it’s no wonder why.

“Katherine’s audition scene was mainly about being this powerful, confident person in charge of the nurses. But then, as we were narrowing down, [Gemmill] added this scene where Dana gets punched by an angry patient, so we reached back out to Katherine’s team: ‘Would you mind maybe doing one more?’ And when we saw her do that scene, we all cried,” Berger explained. “If I’m being honest, that one really got me.”

Just one day before Season 2 premiered, HBO CEO Casey Bloys confirmed that “The Pitt” has been renewed for a third installment. Season 3 remains in the earliest stages of development, though it’s estimated that production will begin in spring or summer 2026, with a projected January 2027 debut date. 

While we don’t know much about Season 3 as of yet, Wyle did note that it’ll probably have a shorter time jump than the 10-month gap between Seasons 1 and 2. “I don’t think we need to make that long of a jump next time,” he told Variety.

According to Deadline, Warner Bros. Discovery is currently in a breach-of-contract lawsuit. Sherri Crichton, the widow of the late screenwriter and filmmaker who created “ER,” filed the lawsuit against Warner Bros., as well as the show’s creator and production team. She claims the concept of “The Pitt” initially started with Gemmill, Wells, and Wyle exploring an “ER” reboot, but they pivoted, allegedly transforming the show into an unauthorized sequel to NBC’s medical drama. Gemmill is credited as the creator of “The Pitt,” while Wells and Wyle serve as executive producers.

“‘The Pitt’ is ‘ER,’ ” the lawsuit states. “It’s not like ‘ER.’ It’s not kind of ‘ER.’ It’s not sort of ‘ER.’ It is ‘ER’ with the exact same executive producer, writer, star, production companies, studio, and network as the planned ‘ER’ reboot.” 

The lawsuit claims the concept for “The Pitt” came to life after the Crichton estate blocked plans to reboot “ER.” 

“Rather than afford Crichton the ‘created by’ credit he deserved, defendants would pretend their reboot was not his creation at all, thereby enriching themselves to the tune of millions of dollars—potentially hundreds of millions or several billion dollars in success—and depriving Crichton’s heirs of their rightful share,” the lawsuit continues.

Warner Bros. attempted to get the case thrown out in August 2024, according to Variety. “The lawsuit filed by the Crichton estate is baseless, as ‘The Pitt’ is a new and original show,” the studio said in a statement. “Any suggestion otherwise is false, and Warner Bros. Television intends to vigorously defend against these meritless claims.”

In February 2025, an L.A. judge refused to honor the studio’s request, noting the suit had merit and denying Warner Bros. anti-SLAPP motion. “Constrained by the procedural rules under the anti-SLAPP statute, the Court finds that the evidence submitted by Plaintiffs meet the minimal merit standard to demonstrate at least a prima facie case that ‘The Pitt’ is derived from ‘ER,’ ” Superior Court judge Wendy Chang wrote, according to Deadline. “Under anti-SLAPP standards, the Court cannot find Plaintiffs’ claims to be totally meritless.” 

As of January 2026, the case remains ongoing.

While the legal system doesn’t necessarily control the show’s future, ongoing suits could have the potential to cause production problems. Stay tuned for more updates as the legal proceedings unfold.

Although “The Pitt” has been renewed for Season 3, it will take some time for casting notices to trickle in. As you wait, you might want to check out our roundup of Los Angeles–based gigs that are casting right now, as these opportunities will serve as the salve that sustains you until HBO Max’s hit drama returns for round 3. And don’t forget our guide on how to audition for HBO Max!

Listen to those who love you. Briones was raised within the entertainment industry, so she’s learned from both her parents’ acting experience. “They’ve seen every side of the business, highs as well as very lows, so watching what they’ve been through makes me know exactly how I have to behave in every situation and everything that I go through in this business,” she told VC On Stage. “I know that I can’t get a big head when things start to go well, because you never know what’s around the corner. It’s the life of an actor.”

She added, “The thing that I mostly get from my parents is ‘Trust your stuff.’ That’s what my dad always says. Trust your stuff. I tend to get very insecure and doubt myself, but then I think of that and I say to myself, OK, you can do this. You know your material; you know what you have to do. You just have to trust it and have fun.”

Love the journey, not the destination. Having been bullied by her schoolmates during her youth, Ifeachor wants every actor—every person—to know that they matter. “When I walk into an audition now, I try to remember all the things I have done to be there. I used to walk into rooms and just be grateful I was there and hoped they liked what I was offering. Now, I realize that, as actors, we can walk in still grateful but also appreciating and knowing our collective value,” she wrote for us.

Ifeachor shared she’s learned that the journey is just as important as the destination—maybe even more so. “If I could give my younger self some advice, I would say: Nobody starts at the finish line. And don’t seek to control everything. After all, something better might come around the corner right after your ‘amazing plan’ doesn’t work out,” she said. “My biggest disappointments have always been directly linked to my biggest blessings. I’ve traveled the world, lived and worked in 22 different countries and cities, and seen amazing things I never even dreamed of. If I had known all this years ago, I would have spent more time enjoying the journey and less time worrying about where I was going. I’m still working on that last part.

Lay the groundwork for future development. Like many actors, Hatosy’s experience in front of the camera inspired him to try his hand at directing. But as he told us, if an actor aspires to grow beyond their current job description, they must begin laying that foundation early on. “I hate to break the news to you, but actors have terrible reputations,” he said. “Years of on-set temper tantrums, too many discussions about ‘My character wouldn’t do that,’ and countless early morning hangovers are just a few reasons producers think we can’t be trusted…. You want to direct? Start by being the best actor. Be professional, on time and off book. Come ready to perform the scene. When a director gives you a note, be available and give it your best shot. Long discussions about how to achieve the scene only slows the day down. How does being the best actor get you a directing job, you ask? Your reputation is everything in this town. All decisions are made by a committee, and you never know who will end up hiring you as a director.”