The Pitt Doesn’t Know What it Lost in Dr. Mohan
Breaking down the announcement that Supriya Ganesh will not be returning in season 3 of The Pitt + why the decision is about more than just a character departure.
Hey divas, thanks as always for reading and reaching out! I’ll continue to be in your inboxes every Thursday talking about whatever I find interesting in entertainment, politics, and pop culture.
This week, I’m talking about the announcement that Supriya Ganesh (Dr. Mohan) will not be returning in season three of The Pitt, and why the decision is about more than just one character departure.
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The Pitt Doesn’t Know What it Lost in Dr. Mohan
Last week, a Variety article announced that Supriya Ganesh, who plays Dr. Samira Mohan on The Pitt, would not be returning for season three. According to Variety, this was a “story-driven decision” as residents typically cycle in and out of teaching hospitals. The announcement sparked a ton of outrage amongst fans of the show that’s still ongoing, and it’s more than I’ve seen around an actor/character departure in a while. The reaction isn’t surprising to me. Dr. Mohan has been a fan favorite, and Ganesh is a great actor. However, there are other layers to this departure that I think are really sparking fans’ disappointment and frustration — and my own.
Ahead of season two, it was announced that Tracy Ifeachor, who played Dr. Collins, was departing the show. John Wells, an executive producer on The Pitt, said that fourth-year residents (R4s) in teaching hospitals are done at the end of that year, and the show can’t claim to be authentic to medicine and teaching hospitals if they maintain the same cast the entire show.
It’s true that Dr. Collins was an R4 ahead of her departure from the show, and there was almost a year's time jump between the first season and the second. Dr. Mohan is in her first few days of her fourth-year in season two, though Noah Wyle said he didn’t think season three would have as large a time jump from season two. If it doesn’t, the show could have easily had Dr. Mohan in season three and finalized a meaningful arc for her character that led to a departure.
Additionally, both Ifeachor and Ganesh are women of color, and the show’s other R4, Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball), who gets to stick around, is not. When season one ended, the narrative made audiences uncertain about whether or not Charge Nurse Dana (Katherine LaNasa) and Dr. Langdon would appear in season two, as the former repeatedly said she was done with the job, and the latter was confronted for stealing medication from the hospital. While it would have been realistic to not have them appear in season two for those reasons or because the show’s format is one day/one shift, I assumed the writers would find ways to bring both back to not end their arcs without a narrative conclusion.
Even though Dr. Langdon is repeating his R4 year this season after spending time in rehab, explaining why he’s back when Dr. Collins left, he and Dr. Mohan are both R4s now. Langdon is a compelling character, Ball is a great actor, and there is absolutely more to do with his storyline. However, you could say the same about Dr. Collins and Dr. Mohan, so if the logic behind removing them is that R4s leave, why has the creative team decided that Dr. Langdon is worth keeping around, and they aren’t?
Especially since Dr. Mohan has been sidelined for much of the season, and with only two episodes left, it’s hard to see how they can wrap up her entire arc in a satisfying way for the audience. There have been multiple threads and glimpses of storylines for her this season, but the show is lumping them together without properly following through on any of them. Her mom blowing up her fellowship plans, fighting for her patient Mr. Diaz to get care within the difficulties of healthcare and insurance systems, her panic attack, and recommendations from Dr. Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi, who has been a delightful addition to the show this season) and Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle) that she specialize in geriatrics.
Though, of course, Dr. Al-Hashimi made the geriatrics specialization recommendation to Dr. Mohan in a far kinder way than Dr. Robby did. The way that Dr. Robby speaks to Dr. Mohan has always been gross and obnoxious. I assumed the show had him treat her that way because he saw potential in her to be a great doctor, and was going about his “mentorship” in a misguided way (because he is clearly unwell), or that it was done to show implicit biases and his own misogyny and racism, or all of the above.
To me, all of this (pivoting to a new fellowship, feeling like she might not belong in the Pitt because of Dr. Robby) was setting up a way to keep Dr. Mohan in Pittsburgh. Now that it seems that’s not the case, her storyline this season just feels like throwing spaghetti at the wall, which isn’t how a beloved character should depart an award-winning show. It’s not fair to Ganesh, the character, or the fans, and it’s part of the season’s overarching issues.
This season overall has felt very disjointed compared to season one, like the creative team lost the plot. Storylines are started and then abruptly dropped, instead of one event causing the hospital’s staff to stay beyond their shift, the show shoved in multiple (shutting down their computer systems, the waterslide collapse) and didn’t fully flesh out either, very few characters feel like they’ve had a lot to do this season (and every scene between Dana and Dr. Robby feels like an obvious Emmy campaign for LaNasa and Wyle), and it’s focused less on compelling patient narratives. It felt more like season one was a love letter to healthcare workers, but as we get closer and closer to season two’s finale, the show has lost that purpose.
If the conclusion of Dr. Mohan’s story is her leaving the hospital, and we have to find out what she’s doing next from a throwaway line in season three, like we did with Dr. Collins, is our takeaway supposed to be that Dr. Robby is right and Dr. Mohan wasn’t suited for the Pitt despite the show repeatedly showing us evidence to the contrary? Or is it supposed to be that Dr. Robby is a menace who chases competent women of color from the emergency department with his deranged behavior?
Dr. Collins had a role to play in Dr. Robby’s storyline, but when that was done, she was gone. Dr. Mohan has been a part of showing how far Dr. Robby has fallen this season; her storyline has not been set up neatly to have her leave, yet she is leaving, so the takeaway is the same — he matters to the show more than she does. It feels like the show makes narrative choices solely based on servicing certain actors’ Emmy campaigns and not out of an interest in servicing the storylines of all of its characters.
Particularly given that they chose to announce Ganesh’s departure in conjunction with Ayesha Harris (Dr. Ellis) becoming a series regular. HBO and The Pitt faced criticism for getting rid of Dr. Collins, and it felt like they were trying to get ahead of that this time by announcing the departure of a woman of color at the same time as they were elevating another. Women of color are not interchangeable tokens. I’m thrilled to see more of Dr. Ellis next season, but that doesn’t make me any less sad to know that we won’t get to see Dr. Mohan.
I’m particularly disappointed because while South Asian representation might be increasing, it’s still rare to see South Asian main characters — particularly in prestige, award-winning shows. And as rare as it is to see one major South Asian woman in a show like The Pitt, getting multiple, especially ones who aren’t related, is even more surprising. Sure, it’s authentic to the demographics of the medical industry, but even Ganesh and Shabana Azeez (who plays Victoria Javadi) have expressed their surprise and gratitude that they both were cast. It was meaningful both to them and to South Asian fans of the show, and it’s disappointing that the show will lose that.
As important as having both Dr. Mohan and Javadi on the show is, The Pitt was already getting some things wrong before the decision to have Ganesh leave the show. No one on The Pitt pronounces “Mohan” correctly, and I originally assumed the show could be trying to make a point about how many Americans never learn how to say ethnic names correctly. However, the mispronunciation is present amongst the non-South Asian cast members in interviews as well, making it seem less intentional.
Overall, there’s a fundamental lack of research and care when it comes to South Asian names and pronunciations for a show that prides itself on its accuracy. Why are the Javadi family named Eileen, Raymond, and Victoria, respectively, when Victoria Javadi revealed this season that the family is Hindu? For that matter, why is their last name Javadi, which is a Persian name? I know the character was originally written to be Persian, but when Shabana Azeez was cast, why was no research done for alternative names, if realism and authenticity are so crucial to the show?
Regardless, I appreciate that the show doesn’t make being Indian the only thing about Dr. Mohan, Javadi, or the show’s minor South Asian characters, while still weaving in elements of their identities. Dr. Mohan speaking Tamil this season on the phone to her mom was a nice and authentic touch, and both her and Javadi having mommy issues is classic. It’s just a shame that we won’t get to see Dr. Mohan again, and the show will have the Javadi family as its only prominent South Asians.
I’ve seen a lot of people online saying that Ganesh departing The Pitt doesn’t matter because she’s so talented, she’s going to be huge now that she’s no longer on a show that takes up so much of her time. She is incredibly talented, but based on what we’ve seen with other talented South Asian actresses in the industry, I don’t know if that assumption can be taken for granted.
Never Have I Ever and season two of Bridgerton were both huge, but Simone Ashley, Charithra Chandran, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan haven’t led a show or film since. When Sex Lives of College Girls was canceled, Amrit Kaur’s career didn’t blow up either. One Day on Netflix was massively popular, but Ambika Mod hasn’t had the same level of success as her co-star, Leo Woodall. Hell, just the rumor of Avantika being cast in the live-action Tangled sparked a ridiculous amount of racist backlash.
The Pitt differs from these other shows as it isn’t just popular, it’s also prestigious and award-winning. I was hoping that as the show continued, Ganesh and Azeez could further establish themselves in the industry and break more barriers, but with Ganesh leaving, who knows if that will be the case. I hope she does have a massive career in projects that are fulfilling, but regardless, it’s still a huge loss for the show.
Dr. Mohan is a great character who highlights the importance of doctors caring about their patients and recognizing racial and gender disparities in healthcare. Ganesh is a great actor, and I really do hope this is just the beginning of an incredible career for her, even though this industry is hard on South Asian actors. Dr. Mohan has been one of my favorite characters from the beginning, and episodes where she has more to do are often standouts for me. It’s really sad to lose her from the show, especially without a strong conclusion to her character arc.
I hope that as The Pitt goes into season three, even without Dr. Mohan, they remember what was so strong about the show in season one — investing in the development of all of its main characters, patient storylines that resonate with the audience, and highlighting the importance of healthcare workers and the challenges of the healthcare industry. Here’s hoping the show remembers what they lost in Dr. Mohan.
The Silly Little Fun Shit
Things that brought me joy + entertainment this week. Would love to hear about the things that are bringing y’all joy and keeping you engaged as well!
New U2 music. Coming out as the only Gen Z U2 fan (didn’t have a choice, I was indoctrinated since birth, my parents got engaged at a U2 concert, which is maybe the whitest sentence I’ve ever said, but they’re right about U2). They surprise dropped a new EP last week, which felt very reminiscent of the U2 music (from before I was born) that I love. My favorite songs off the EP are “In a Life” and “Scars.” Last month, they also surprise-dropped another EP, Days of Ash, which was very political (slay) and also had some bops. I know a lot of you are my age and still hate U2 for putting that album on our phones years ago (free them from that hate, btw, it was Apple’s idea to forcibly add it!), but U2 is the only band of its peers that made interesting, good music back then, and can still do the same now. If you enjoy rock at all, I’d recommend listening to some U2 with an open mind — and if you need someone to make you a starter playlist, you can always reach out!
SNL UK. It continues to be very good! I have been wildly disappointed with this season of SNL, but I do usually still try to watch it at some point during the week. This week, I was much more eager to catch SNL UK, given how much I enjoyed the first two episodes, and because Riz Ahmed hosted — and it did not disappoint. I am really enjoying Weekend Update as well; hosts Paddy Young and Ania Magliano are great, and SNL UK pushes boundaries more with their political humor than SNL does. Still, they need to learn to upload all of the sketches to YouTube after a show airs; not everyone is going to sit and watch the whole thing on Peacock (though it is worth your time if you’re looking for something).
Thanks for reading! If you made it down here to the bottom, I hope you’ll like/subscribe and continue to follow along. Comment or drop me a line if there’s anything specific you want me to talk about in the coming weeks, or if you have thoughts about this week’s topic or anything else!