The Pitt Is Bringing in a Breaking Bad Vet for Season 2

The medical drama, which premiered to baffling levels of fan enthusiasm, is heading into Season 2 with a new cast lineup. And headlining the additions is a face from one of TV's actual all-time greats: Breaking Bad.

According to a June 2025 report from Forbes, Charles Baker — best known as Skinny Pete — will join The Pitt in its second season. He'll be playing Troy, described as "an unhoused man forgotten by most, and a patient in the ED."

If that sounds like a prestige Emmy bait subplot, well, you're not alone.

Baker's name might not be household-level, but Breaking Bad fans will instantly recognize him as Jesse Pinkman's soft-spoken sidekick. He reprised the role in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie and told The Hollywood Reporter back in 2013 that getting upgraded from "random guy" to actual named character on that show was the biggest compliment of his career:

"That was when I went from being just a day player to being a character on the show."

Baker's post-Breaking Bad résumé includes a string of guest spots on shows like Prison Break, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Mandalorian, and 1883 — all respectable, if mostly low-profile. The Pitt might be the most prominent role he's had in a while, which tells you a lot about both him… and The Pitt.

In case you were wondering whether Season 2 is just going full stunt-cast mode, there are also several unknowns in the mix. According to the same Forbes piece:

• Laëtitia Hollard will play Emma, a nursing school grad "some may consider naive." She's acted in one short film and nothing else.
• Lucas Iverson — with literally zero IMDb credits — is playing James, a fourth-year med student.
• Irene Choi, a more seasoned addition, will play Joy, a third-year medical student described as having "strong boundaries" and a fascination with the macabre. She's previously appeared in Insatiable, Shameless, Grey's Anatomy, and Community, where she played Annie Kim.

Noah Wyle is still involved, presumably still saving lives and carrying the entire show on his shoulders.

As for the release date, TV Guide reports that The Pitt Season 2 is scheduled for January 2026, though no exact date has been confirmed.

So far, the show's casting strategy seems to be: one familiar face, a handful of rookies, and a few wildcard resumes. Whether that's enough to keep The Pitt in the cultural bloodstream past Season 2 remains to be seen — but hey, when all else fails, pull someone from Breaking Bad. It's worked before.