'The Pitt' Cast Trained With Real Medical Professionals For Weeks Before Filming

One of this year’s hottest new TV shows is none other than The Pitt, an immediate hit from Max that follows a day in the lives of the doctors and nurses of Pittburgh’s Trauma Medical Center. The 15-episode season very cleverly follows the 15-hour shift of the staff, making you feel as if you’re following them in real time.

Though Season 1 has come to an end, it was already announced that Season 2 is well underway. More recently, it’s been revealed how the cast of the show underwent rigorous medical training to make sure that their scenes appeared authentic.

The Pitt's Brad Dourif and Noah Wyle looking upset together — Via: Max

The Pitt Cast Underwent A Medical Boot Camp For Two Weeks

One of the breakout stars of the show is Gerran Howell, an English actor who plays Dr. Whitaker, a nervous farmboy who’s just shown up for his first day on the shift. In a conversation with The Direct, Gerran opened up about the medical “boot camp” that he and the rest of the cast went through ahead of filming.

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When the outlet asked if it was challenging for Gerran to remember much of the specialized medical lingo that the scripts include, Gerran explained that their training served as a “crash course” to learning much of the terminology and procedures:

Well, luckily, we had a medical boot camp, two weeks prior, so we were sort of taken through, sort of a crash course on what most people would do. It’s kind of like medical school crammed into two weeks. But we were basically in one of the studios with about six medical professionals who come in, and we will do fake procedures on dummies, we will do presentations, we’ll watch videos of very graphic surgery.

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Gerran went on to explain that, while being thrown into production could feel overwhelming at times, having this training under their belt was helpful. “It was quite overwhelming, really, and it was just really hoping some of that stuff stuck. And it did, and then we were just sort of thrown into it,” he said. “So it was kind of a crash course, but those people who were teaching us were always on set also,” he added.

In the spirit of his character, Gerran added that, often, actors needed to compartmentalize on set and not get too bogged down in remembering all the little medical details in order to get through a scene. “A lot of it, I mean, you just kind of have to let it go,” he explained. “Because otherwise, it will turn your brain to mush, I think, If you have all these medical terms swimming around there,” he noted.

The Pitt Cast Will Be Back For An Intense Season 2

Though fans of the show may already be missing it, happily they won’t have to wait much longer for Season 2. The second season has been confirmed as returning to Max for an air date sometime in January 2026, with writing of the scripts already well underway. Audiences will also be happy to know that, as of now, all of the series regulars have been confirmed as returning for Season 2, including Gerran Howell’s Dr. Whitaker.

We also know that Season 2 will take place after a time jump—that is, instead of picking up the day after Season 1 takes place, we’ll instead get a time jump of several months. The creators behind the show have announced that Season 2 will drop us in over the weekend of the 4th of July. While the reason for this specific weekend hasn’t been noted, there’s a good chance that the holiday was chosen because, historically, it is an occasion ripe for ER room accidents.

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Season 2’s time jump will also provide a chance for the characters to have gotten some much-needed rest and to have done some growing in the meantime. This will be particularly important for lead character Dr. Robby, played by Noah Wyle, who had an emotional breakdown near the end of the season. He was only talked back into returning to his shift by an encouraging Dr. Whitaker, reversing their roles up until that point in the series.

As for what Gerran hopes for his character of Dr. Whitaker, he shared in the same conversation with The Direct about his wishes for the shy fellow. He elaborated that he’d like to see the guy better manage his stress and be able to build up his confidence from where it started out in Season 1:

I just want to see him flourish. I think that’s a natural thing. I think I’d like to see what problems he runs into when he loses this sort of being overwhelmed and has some confidence because there are still plenty of pitfalls there. So, I just want to see him evolve, but obviously still struggle.

Only time will tell if Dr. Whitaker actually rises to these hopes.