Jan. 7, 2026, 8:30 a.m. ET
The new star of “The Pitt,” Sepideh Moafi, is just like us when it comes to watching bloody ER operations on the hit HBO Max medical series.
It’s tough. Especially seeing them up close on the realistic Los Angeles set.
However, Moafi, 40, has to stay in character as the new attending physician, Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi, in Season 2 of the series (premieres Jan. 8). An organ-revealing operation on a patient − in reality, a strikingly realistic body prosthetic seen in Episode 1 − demanded real acting fortitude.
“Oh, my gosh, this was my Day 2,” Moafi tells USA TODAY. “It’s really hard with blood, I’m not a fan. Beyond that, it’s the level of detail. I was grappling with being Sepideh Moafi watching this outrageous prosthetic where somebody’s entire torso is split in half while still playing a doctor who’s seen much worse.”
The Iranian American actress, who starred as Gigi Ghorbani on “The L Word: Generation Q” and as the sex worker Loretta on HBO’s “The Deuce,” admits she never would have made it through “The Pitt” auditions if medical skills had been required.
“I’m completely useless there. I’m praying to the goddess that I know what I’m doing,” Moafi says. “But my character is more than competent.”
It’s the palpable competency, even while overseeing graphic medical procedures, that makes Moafi perfect as the new ER boss alongside the soon-to-be-departing Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle). In Season 2, overwhelmed attending physician Robby eyes a motorcycle sabbatical after the drama of a harrowing Season 1, and will hand the reins over to Al-Hashimi after one final shift.
“I wanted a character who could go toe-to-toe with Robby, someone competent and confident,” says executive producer R. Scott Gemmill. “You believe Sepideh as a doctor, as an attending [physician], and as someone who can give Robby a run for his money.”
With her new ideas, including the incorporation of AI, Al-Hashimi brings fresh ideas to the old-school ER. The often-competing ideologies create immediate “dissonance” between the two doctors, Moafi says.
This friction gives way to moments of flirtatious tension with Robby that are so clear that the question arises: Will the two doctors become a TV couple?
“I can assure there will be no broom closets involved,” Moafi says. “The way I pictured it when I read the scripts was that we’re two animals in the wild sort of circling and sniffing each other out. Sometimes they stop and stare, and they’re curious. That’s the dynamic. Something explosive, but all under the surface. She’s used to high stress and men undercutting her. There’s something about Dr. Robby that’s unique.”
During the audition process, Moafi flew to LA for a chemistry test reading with Wyle to secure casting approval. The duo worked so well together, so instantly, that Wyle suggested they just roll the cameras.
“It was so sweet, Noah was like, ‘Do we need to rehearse this?’ And I was like, ‘I prefer not to.’ So we just played on camera,” Moafi says. “It took four days before I found out that I got the role. Once I did, it’s been off like a bullet.”
Al-Hashimi’s compassion for “The Pitt” patients comes naturally to Moafi, who was born in a German refugee camp after her family fled Iran. Part of Al-Hashimi’s backstory involves working as a humanitarian doctor with Doctors Without Borders, a role inspired by Moafi’s own humanitarian work, which includes serving as an ambassador for the International Rescue Committee.
“I can’t separate that part of myself, my identity,” she says. “But as any American woman of color, it’s the different layers, the different textures that we bring to American culture.”
Will fans see Sepideh Moafi sing opera on ‘The Pitt’?
One notable personality trait that won’t likely be incorporated into the gritty medical series is Moafi’s opera singing, a passion that exploded in high school after performing Vivaldi’s choral masterpiece “Gloria.” The talented singer was on a path to an opera career and received a full scholarship to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music before acting took over.
Working on her first major acting gig, ABC’s 2014 psychological medical drama “Black Box,” the creators gave Moafi’s Dr. Farrah Mahmoud a showcase moment, singing Puccini’s “O mio babbino caro.” She recalls it as “random, but so fun.”
“I might be concerned if they start writing an opera moment in ‘The Pitt,’ ” she says. “It’d be weird, but I’m game.”
After immersing herself in the medical world (“It becomes part of your DNA, it infects you”), Moafi is also prepared if she’s mistaken for a true medical professional and asked to help in a real-life emergency. There are some caveats.
“Look, I could probably guide you through setting up an IV or a tracheostomy, but I’m not touching anyone,” Moafi says. “I’ll be the robot telling you what to do, but I won’t do it.”