Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kaleena Rivera | TV | January 22, 2026
If you’ve been following Dustin’s coverage, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t, you know that The Pitt is back and so far it’s proving itself to be the same stress-inducing comfort watch as season one. The premiere brought back our (largely) stalwart crew of emergency medical professionals, including a brief catch up with the night crew, minus one Dr. Abbott (Shawn Hatosy). Only two hours into the shift and things are already getting chaotic, but with the team working together, the only villain here is time and the limited resources within the U.S. healthcare system.
Oh, and this guy.
Yes, James Ogilvie (Lucas Iverson), the fourth-year med student who can, at best, be described as “ambitious,” but seeing how he’s conducted himself thus far, I think “victim of a brick upside the head” would be much more satisfying. Since we’re not living in my fantasies, I’m going to have to settle on variations of “jerk,” instead.
He’s a prime example of a gifted student gone wrong, where relying on skill alone isn’t enough; his brand of toxic ambition necessitates putting down others. Showing up Javadi is bad enough—good thing Santos, who’s already occupying the role of cocky ambitious smart aleck, thank you very much, gave that naive lamb a head’s up—but purposefully trying to stunt on the resident tasked with seeing to your education is beyond bad form. But trying to embarrass sweet Dr. Whitaker, our Huckleberry, in front of the attending physician? Oh, he’s gotta go.
In terms of a follow up season of television, it’s a solid move; introducing a source of friction for the supporting cast keeps things lively. From a viewer perspective, it gives someone to solidly root against. While The Pitt will likely introduce some sort of sympathetic element to Ogilvie’s storyline, nothing short of saving Planet Earth can make me forget about him busting out some Farsi in a ridiculously over-the-top display of blatant ass-kissing for Dr. Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), another annoying newcomer but one who at least conducts herself with professionalism and displays empathy.
Do what you will, show, but if you’re establishing Ogilvie as the de facto show villain, I’m gonna need a side of retribution to go along with it. I wonder what Doug Driscoll’s doing these days?
Episode three of The Pitt airs tonight on HBO/HBO Max.
Kaleena Rivera is the TV Editor for Pajiba.
