Why Tracy Ifeachor's Dr. Collins Left The Pitt Before Season 2

This article contains spoilers for "The Pitt" season 1.

It seems Dr. Collins has worked her last shift in Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital's emergency room.

Tracy Ifeachor, who played Heather Collins on the HBO Max original hospital drama series "The Pitt," will not return to reprise her role in the upcoming second season. The last time we saw Dr. Collins, she had been encouraged to leave the emergency room and return home after a mentally and physically exhausting day that involved her character experiencing a miscarriage at work. Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch (Noah Wyle), the ER's attending physician, even went as far as to tell Collins to turn off her phone, avoid watching TV, and get some sleep — a kind-hearted piece of advice but one Robby likely regretted. Shortly after he sent Collins home, the ER (affectionately known as "The Pitt") was overwhelmed by an onslaught of victims of a mass shooting at a local concert. Someone tried to reach out to Collins to call her back into work to help, but it seemed like she took Robby's advice, and it turns out that may be the last we ever see of her.

Actors leave shows all the time for a myriad number of reasons, but the interesting aspect here is that it was not Ifeachor's decision to leave.

According to Variety, "the decision was made by the show's creative team; Ifeachor is not leaving 'The Pitt' of her own accord." There's no word yet about why that decision was made, but the series will certainly be losing some of its heart and soul with Dr. Collins out of the picture. That character's tragic trials in the 15-episode first season of "The Pitt" helped illustrate the idea that even medical professionals aren't immune from disaster, and the humanity she brought to her experiences gave the show an opportunity to slow down a little amid its non-stop barrage of patients.

Collins' absence also means that season 2 will not have a key player with the ability to give the audience insight into Dr. Robby, the project's lead character. Since Collins and Robby were previously romantically involved, Collins — from a purely expositional point of view — could have provided some more information about Robby's backstory, which has so far been doled out in very small doses. The good news is that the show is full of empathetic, passionate characters (many of whom are played by largely unknown actors) who should be able to pick up the slack in other areas, so, hopefully, Ifeachor won't leave too big a hole in the fast-paced series when it returns early next year.

The first season of "The Pitt" is streaming on HBO Max, and season 2 is currently in production.