‘The Pitt’ Star Supriya Ganesh Unpacks Challenging Panic Attack Episode and That ‘Deeply Humiliating’ Talk With Robby

Note: This story contains spoilers from “The Pitt” Season 2, Episode 10.

As pressure mounts on Supriya Ganesh’s Dr. Samira Mohan in “The Pitt” Season 2 amid uncertainty regarding her future and frustration with her mother, the young doctor’s stress takes a turn for the worse, with a panic attack occurring during Episode 10.

The panic attack, which hits Mohan as she’s with a patient, wasn’t a storyline Ganesh was privy to prior to filming Episode 9, with Ganesh revealing “I actually don’t think the writing team knew even [it was happening] … it was something that came to them in the moment.”

“It makes sense, because you’re seeing a very irritable version of her that day,” Ganesh also told TheWrap, “because of what’s happening with her mom … she usually isn’t like that, even with her patients.”

With Mohan reading the panic attack initially as a heart attack, much of the hospital staff rallies around her, including Dr. Robby (Noah Wyle), who eventually scolds her in front of her peers for bringing her personal life into the ER in a moment Ganesh calls “deeply humiliating.”

“What made me emotional was not even like how Dr. Robby spoke to Samira, but it was more so seeing Dr. Al-Hashimi’s character in the room watching it — there’s something so deeply humiliating to her about that, because that’s someone she wants to impress,” Ganesh said. “It’s also just everyone watching it. I think that really is what got to me as the character in that moment — just the eyes on you and watching someone who you think is just such a mentor to you … just being torn down in front of them like that.”

Ganesh noted it’s particularly meaningful to represent mental health struggles for the South Asian community, revealing she’s had to convince her family members to go to therapy, saying “at least up until I’ve spoken to them, they don’t really like, see the value in it or didn’t really think it was important.”

“It feels really empowering to be able to show a South Asian person having essentially a mental health crisis, and show how important it is that we are in tune with our body and be aware of what it needs,” she said.

Ganesh unpacks it all below.

TheWrap: Congrats on all the awards love! What has it been like to feel all the love while Season 2 is rolling out?

Ganesh: We made the show really for healthcare workers — that was always who we wanted to impress the most with the show. So for all of this to come — it’s like the cherry on the top. We never thought this would be where we ended up.

The Abbott/Samira shirtless scene had the Internet thirsting for their conversation about Abbott offering to pay for Samira’s uber to get her patient his meds. Why do you think that moment works so well?

That moment’s really special for Samira, because I think it’s one of the few times someone in a senior position really sees her and supports her in the way she practices medicine and the way that she supports her patients. She gets that from Dr. Al-Hashimi at different times, but not necessarily on that shift, because I think they’re on two separate cases a lot, so to get that from someone who’s in a senior position, I think is really special to her.

What do you make of the fan reaction to their dynamic, do you think there’s something there beyond their professional relationship?

It’s whatever the writers want, honestly, wherever they want to take her and him. It’s something that one of the writers floated once in Season 1, before we filmed Episode 14, and then we got that scene, and we just kind of leaned in. We definitely have fun with it.

Samira’s panic attack is severe enough that she thinks its a heart attack and wanders into the waiting room. What was it like filming and portraying that?

The thing that kept going through my head was her father, because her father passed away from a heart attack when she was pretty young, and he passed away because of medical mismanagement and they came into the E.R. thinking he was having a heart attack. They sent him back, and then he passed up at home. So in those moments, what was going through my head was like, “Is this what my dad felt like when he was in an E.R.?” I mean, a panic attack, at times, can feel [like a heart attack] … I’ve had an experience with one once, and I would not wish it on anyone. Her head immediately goes down, and she’s thinking about her dad a lot, and I don’t know she even knows it’s a panic attack, until Dr. Robby says it to her.

How does Robby’s tirade hit her? Do you imagine Samira had seen Robby like that before?

She has definitely seen him like that before — it’s not like all the time, but she’s definitely seen him react that way to people doing something really egregious … but I don’t think it’s ever been directed at her quite this much and with such intensity. I just don’t think she’s ever felt like she’s messed up that bad. It’s not a surprise, but it’s definitely a new side of him.

Robby is much harder on Samira for the panic attack, and even back in Season 1, than he ever really is with much of the younger staff. What’s your read on why Robby might be harder on her than others when making mistakes?

I think he sees a lot of himself in her. He sees her potential, and I think that’s why he is that hard on her. And I think there’s also a lot of just projection going on, like Dr. Robby had a panic attack in Season 1. He’s probably embarrassed about it. He probably doesn’t want to have empathy for me in this moment, because it would mean having empathy for himself. There’s a lot of stuff going on with his mom that day, or his history with her, and seeing someone have issues with their mom [might] bring up some things for him. It’s really just, I think, projection and self-protection in a way.

I’m glad for Samira that Dr. Al-Hashimi stuck up for her outside of it. I’m sad she doesn’t know. I don’t think she ever will know, but I’m glad that she did, because I agree. I really wish Dr. Robby had had a little bit more empathy for Dr. Mohan in that moment.

Samira eventually gets an apology from Robby, which is short and sweet. Is all forgiven on her end?

I don’t think so. But I think she’s kind of used to it — I don’t think they have the best relationship, even though there’s more respect there at the beginning of the shift. I think it’s just like an easy truce — they’re just sort of like, “Great, cool, you’re not mad at me — let’s just do our jobs.” And I definitely think he trusted her more at the start of the shift and that just tends to devolve as the shift goes on.

What does Samira need to get back on track?

I don’t think she gets it. In a weird way, I almost wish she’d have gone home — it’s just such an intense thing to go through, and especially, what this means in her life, how much of the day is about her dad, in so many ways. So much of what I want for this character is to just leave the E.R.. I know that means you’re gonna get a few hours less on the show, but just leave the E.R. for a bit. Take a breather, go on a walk, go to a park. When was the last time you were in a park that wasn’t with your colleagues? I think she’s tried to be better about that this season. And I think at the end of the shift, she is trying to make an effort with it, but I wish she’d lean into it a bit more.

Do you think she ever healed from Pitt Fest?

I don’t think so. I know everyone’s been meeting trauma counselors since Pitt Fest, but I don’t think she’s really leaning into community for help with processing that. I think there’s many ways in which she just feels very alone.

Does having Dr. Al-Hashimi help with that community?

A bit, yeah. I mean, it’s only been a day, so it’s hard, but I definitely think that she’s excited for her to be in the E.R. Even that little conversation we had in hour eight, I believe, where she recommends her geriatrics — it’s not the best moment for Samira, but it’s still more guidance than she’s received in a lot of ways. I just think she is looking forward to having someone with a gentler hand, take control of the E.R.

What does Samira make of the suggestion for geriatrics?

It’s not the most glamorous. It’s not something she’s ever considered, she really thought ultrasound or something like that’s super competitive and she could be the best at and show that she’s a good doctor through this achievement. I don’t think it’s a bad specialty for her, I just think she’s kind of like, “Oh, this where my life is going.” It’s not a very sexy thing to tell people — not that she cares about that necessarily, but I think she takes a lot of pride in her work as a doctor, and I think she maybe thought she’d land somewhere else. It’s just so misaligned from her work with racial disparities. The funding has gotten cut because of governmental changes, like in real life, and I just think because of all of those things, she’s just feeling very unmoored.

With Samira’s plans changing, does that pave the way for her to still be in the Pitt for potentially another shift?

I think it’s kind of up in the air. She’s really at such a fork in the road, and she doesn’t really know where she’s gonna go, and she’s an R4 — a lot of people rotate out at the end of their R4 years. We don’t really know what happens with her, I think, by the end of that shift.

You also have an episode coming up that centers on ICE. What was it like shooting that and engaging with those themes amid everything happening?

Samira doesn’t really have much to do with that storyline. She does lose a patient because of it, which is something that happens quite often in hospitals — people leave because they’re scared, which is just sad because I would hate for people to risk their health and lose out on life-saving treatment and care because of fear.

The episode really only shows the tip of the iceberg. There’s only so much we’re able to show. I hope it sparks conversation, and I hope it makes people delve deeper into what the problem is.

“The Pitt” releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max.

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