Sepideh Moafi played Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi in season 2 of HBO’s highly popular medical drama.

Why you won’t see Sepideh Moafi in *The Pitt’*s season 3 premiere

Sepideh Moafi played Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi in season 2 of HBO's highly popular medical drama.

By Sharareh Drury

June 12, 2026 2:14 p.m. ET

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Sepideh Moafi on 'The Pitt'. Credit:

Warrick Page/MAX

- *The Pitt *star Sepideh Moafi revealed her character Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi will return for season 3, but not in the first episode.

- "Like a phoenix in the fire, she'll rise," Moafi said of her character's fate.

- HBO's medical drama is expected to return January 2027.

Sepideh Moafi is assuring *The Pitt** *fans she will return for the medical drama's third season — just not for the first episode.

Speaking with Gold Derby about her role as Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi on HBO's popular medical drama, Moafi explained her character will be one of several "staggered entrances" for the upcoming season.

Al-Hashimi's fate at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center seemed in limbo at the end of season 3, as she had just confessed to Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) that she suffers from a hidden seizure disorder. Robby demanded Al-Hashimi report her condition to hospital administration. We last see Al-Hashimi crying in her car while processing her unknown fate, not just with the hospital but her career as well.

While Moafi admitted she can't tease too much for her character, telling the outlet, "I don't know anything yet," she believed Al-Hashimi will find her footing again.

"I have no doubt that like a phoenix in the fire, she'll rise," Moafi said.

Sepideh Moafi as Dr. Al-Hashimi and Noah Wyle as Dr. Robby on 'The Pitt'.

Warrick Page/HBO Max

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Moafi also shared how "proud" she is of playing the character, saying she's received messages from "not just the healthcare community, but so many people with disabilities or so many people who carry mixed identities or from marginalized communities who feel like they've been underrepresented.

"I think this character has given visibility to a lot of different types of people," she continued. "I'm so grateful that she exists. I'm so proud that I got to live inside of her and bring her to life. I think the thing that struck me most is the number of people with health conditions, whether it's chronic illness or disease or disability who have reached out and said how much seeing her experience and seeing not just her condition, but also the way in which she manages it and has struggled with it and the vulnerability that she's expressed through it has made them feel very seen."

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*The Pitt*'s third season will be set during Thanksgiving, taking place our months after the events of season 2.

"I know that we're stepping into another wild day," Moafi said of what audiences can expect when the series returns. "I'm as excited and enthusiastic as everyone else is to find out what's going to happen next."

Ahead of the series' return, *The Pitt* has faced a few surprising cast shakeups and character shifts. In April, * *learned that Supriya Ganesh's Dr. Samira Mohan would be exiting the show as part of a creative decision regarding her character's storyline. Last week, Shabana Azeez confirmed her character, student doctor Victoria Javadi, would return but in a different capacity.

Sepideh Moafi in 'The Pitt'.

Warrick Page/HBO Max

"I’m not in the ER this season," Azeez revealed. "I’ve done my ER rotation, so I’m doing my psychiatry rotation."

Shawn Hatosy, who plays Dr. Jack Abbot, has also recently offered another teaser for season 3. While appearing on *The Tonight Show*, Hatosy told Jimmy Fallon that "people will be surprised how we begin."

*The Pitt *Season 3 is scheduled to premiere in January 2027 on HBO Max.

- Medical Dramas

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Source: “EW Medical”