The Pitt Showrunner Reveals How Many Seasons The HBO Max Series Will Have

With a hectic approach to emergency room work, HBO's "The Pitt" is a relentless, one-hour-per-episode barrage of incoming patients and zero breathing room. The end result depicts the grueling reality of healthcare professionals so well that star Noah Wyle's nurse mom thinks "The Pitt" is better than "ER," which is saying something considering Wyle — who stars in "The Pitt" as Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch — cut his medical drama teeth in the latter show as Dr. John Carter.

Whether they had first-hand knowledge of healthcare or not, the best scenes on "The Pitt" hit the viewer like a ton of bricks. With such impact, it's no wonder that "The Pitt" season 2 is on the way ... but can the show stretch its intensity much longer than that?

If you ask showrunner R. Scott Gemmill, it certainly can. In fact, if he gets to choose, the exact date the show will come go a halt is precisely never. As he told The Hollywood Reporter, Gemmill's absolutely prepared to stick with "The Pitt" for as long as he can:

"I think a very important part of my job is to keep a show on the air as long as possible. Because this is still a business. The business has been hit pretty hard between COVID and the strikes, and I get calls. I even had a call today with someone who I'd worked with, and was looking, just trying to see where the next gig was. So, I will always, I tend to, will work on a show until they take my chair away and shut the lights out, because I think that's really important to give people the opportunity to work, and to work in Los Angeles and to work the sensible hours that we do. It's really important."

Gemmill's comments on "The Pitt" and its potential longevity are great news for fans (and bittersweet news to the show's characters and their steadily fraying stamina). That being said, it should be noted that this is his general approach regardless of the series he's working on and not exclusive to "The Pitt." As he put it in the Hollywood Reporter interview:

"I don't look to the next best, next big thing. I'm really dedicated to whatever show I'm on at the time and trying to make it last until people either don't want to work on it anymore or people don't want to watch it anymore, and then we move on and do the next thing."

Seeing as Gemmill has a history of producing long-running shows like "ER" and "NCIS: Los Angeles," this should bode well for the "Pitt" fans who wouldn't mind keeping the show around for many years to come. Another positive sign is his keen understanding of the series' essence. For instance, Gemmill has already stated his opinion that "The Pitt" season 2 won't use any flashbacks to relay any information about what happened between it and season 1. As he told TV Line, that's simply not in the show's DNA, and he feels that "The Pitt" should stay committed to the shift-themed real time approach the first season uses so well:

"We start at 7 am and end at 10 pm, and I think that's what worked for us. It comes with its challenges, but that's also what makes it fun, because you're playing in this tight little box."

"The Pitt" is currently streaming on HBO Max.