[This story contains spoilers from Season 1 of "The Pitt."]

PITTSBURGH — It's been 10 months since our last shift at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, and a few changes have taken place in the hospital's emergency department.

Some of the interns, including Dr. Dennis Whittaker (Gerran Howell) and Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones), have changed how they approach situations and co-workers. There is a new attending physician, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), who is at odds with the traditions of the department.

Emergency room lead Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) is preparing for a monthslong sabbatical following the conclusion of the Fourth of July shift.

They've had to look internally, too. After taking time to process treating over 100 victims of a mass shooting (due to their efforts, only six of whom died), characters show their growth and change in the first episode of Season 2, set to release Thursday, Jan. 8, on HBO Max.

In a December media event, the Post-Gazette interviewed Wyle and several other actors and creators about what to expect this season in the drama partially filmed in Pittsburgh. Dr. Robby suffered from a panic attack when things came to a head at the climax of Season 1. As the show continues, Wyle said his approach to portraying the attending is evolving along with the character.

"The character last year was unaware of how broken he was," he said. "And then, over the course of that shift was made painfully aware of how broken he was to the point where he can't go home and lie about it any longer to himself."

Dr. Robby's path to help hasn't been linear. He's going through the motions of seeking help, or, more accurately, pretending he's been seeking help — a common situation among physicians who are often forced to focus outside of themselves while treating medical problems.

"Especially if you're in a leadership position, especially if you're supposed to be modeling confidence and competence all the time, admitting that you're scared, admitting that you feel like you're phoning it in as an imposter is almost impossible," Wyle said.

Dr. Robby's difficulties make sense for "The Pitt" as it aims to accurately portray the daily struggles faced by emergency health care workers in the United States. That's a main focus in Season 2 after the show won several Emmys at the 77th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in September.

Series creator and showrunner R. Scott Gemmill and executive producer John Wells said they are grateful for the accolades but are "trying to forget" so it doesn't affect their approach to the next installment.

"You can get a little frozen worrying about 'How am I going to match that?' or 'Are we going to be able to top it?'" Wells said. "And those are the wrong questions."

The crew wants to maintain focus on telling the stories of medical professionals in emergency medicine through the characters of "The Pitt."

"It's just trying to be really truthful and authentic with those characters and letting them determine where their natural life would progress to," Gemmill said.

Viewers might notice some personality changes in the first episode in Dr. Whittaker and Dr. Santos, two of the interns introduced in Season 1. They are now roommates, and their actors, Howell and Briones, noted that both exhibit a different type of confidence.

Considering the life and death stakes of their jobs, inner confidence is a must for Dr. Whitaker, Howell said.

"You have to be confident as a doctor in that environment, so there was a long way for Whitaker to go from Season 1 to where I am now," Howell said. "Maybe I'm not confident. I'm just not what I was in Season 1, but you absolutely have to have confidence in your ability."

Though Dr. Santos has always been an assertive person, Briones said she no longer needs to prove herself to her co-workers.

"She came in really hot in Season 1, and I think now she is allowing herself to have the more quiet confidence of 'I know what I'm doing,'" Briones said.

The characters have clearly spent time together outside of work. Dr. Santos now lives with Dr. Whitaker, who was revealed to be posted up in a hospital room. The two are much closer at the beginning of Season 2, but not in a "chummy way," Briones said.

"We know intimate things about each other that we didn't know before, and that's really scary. That's vulnerable for someone like Santos who keeps things very close to the vest and likes to be a lone wolf," Briones said. "All of a sudden there's someone who can tell if I'm having a bad day or if I'm not doing well, and suddenly you have to answer for that."

Dr. Samira Mohan has also grown, said actor Supriya Ganesh, who reprises the role in Season 2. Ganesh was able to make "fun" choices in her acting method to show the character's comfort within herself, her abilities and the people around her.

Similarly, Taylor Dearden's Dr. Melissa King now feels like she belongs at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, though that confidence is dampened by worry stemming from a situation that will be revealed in the first episode.

Dearden said portraying Dr. King involves recognizably representing neurodiversity — a trait that inspired her to take on the role.

"It's really frustrating. I tend to see people on the [autism] spectrum represented as kind of robotic and emotionless," Dearden said. "And it's so not true."

Although Dearden feels she's taken on a significant responsibility with the role, she relishes the challenge.

"It's just being able to show a little bit of what life is like with a brain like mine," she said.

Others are facing their own challenges when "The Pitt" returns this week. Dr. Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball) returns to work after completing rehab, and nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) now has a nursing intern to teach. Dr. Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez) continues to navigate a difficult relationship with her mother, and Dr. Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif) has to more to face as a result of her turbulent past.

Wyle, who also serves as a writer for the show, said sophomore seasons can be tricky.

"I feel myself compelled to tell audiences that I can't make you feel what we made you feel last year," he said. "You can only fall in love once."

As "The Pitt" continues airing through April, Wyle believes viewers' relationship with the series will continue to evolve.

"We were very conscious of not trying to outdo ourselves — just trying to be faithful to the intention of what got us there in Season 1," he said.

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