The Pitt fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Because Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) returns to the Emergency Room safe and sound (seemingly, anyway) following his ominous sabbatical in the first teaser for the HBO Max drama’s upcoming season three.

Beyond also confirming the series’ January 2027 return, the Aug. 21 sneak peek also gives viewers their first taste of the night crew taking over duty for another intense 12-hour shift led by Shawn Hatosy‘s Dr. Jack Abbot.

As Abbot announces to his E.R. staff in the first look, “Nightcrawlers, let’s clear up this board and show day shift how it’s done.”

But before treating the first patient, Dr. Shen (Ken Kirby) points out, “Robby’s name’s on the schedule. Is he finally back?”

To which Abbot responds, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Cut to Robby—dressed in his signature gray hoodie—riding the elevator inside Pittsburgh’s Trauma Medical Hospital after his months-long motorcycle ride across the USA and Canada.

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And while most of the physicians and nurses will surely be relieved to learn the tortured medical professional hasn’t driven off the deep end (quite literally) and buckled under the stress of the job, Robby’s faithful ribbing partner charge nurse Dana Evans (Katherine LaNasa) wastes no time giving him a warm welcome home.

“Thought you ran away and joined the circus,” she quips in the teaser, to which he playfully retorts, “They haven’t fired you yet?”

Jokes aside, Dr. Robby struggles to reacclimate to the heart-pounding pace of the stressful E.R. environment after his break.

“I knew my first day back was going to be hard dealing with what we go through here,” Wyle’s character says in a voiceover as bloodied patients present new and gruesome injuries to be treated. “And I knew that it could get a little bit crazy, but it’s time to get back to it.”

Also returning for season three are Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi (Sepideh Moafi), Dr. Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif), Dr. Frank Langdon (Patrick Ball), Dr. Melissa King (Taylor Deardon), Dr. Trinity Santos (Isa Briones), Dr. Dennis Whitaker (Gerran Howell) and Dr. Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez).

Of course, noticeably absent is Supriya Ganesh, whose character Dr. Samira Mohan won’t appear in the forthcoming season. While Mohan’s presence will certainly be missed, Wyle previously explained that senior residents often change hospitals as part of their medical training.

“It’s an inevitability that’s going to happen every season with this show because as writers we’re hard pressed to figure out what a lapse of time we can have and keep most of the ensemble together realistically,” the ER alum told Variety in April. “Emergency rooms have a high revolving door. As always, we try to bring in new characters or promote from within as we go through these cast changes and try to keep the storylines fresh.”

However, with Mohan’s absence comes night shift staple Dr. Parker Ellis’ (Ayesha Harris) upgrade to a series regular for season three.

While fans wait for more updates ahead of The Pitt‘s season three premiere in January 2027, keep reading to learn the fates of more of your favorite TV shows.