The Pitt Episode 14 “8 PM” ends with Dr. Cassie McKay (Fiona Dourif) in handcuffs. The single mom and 42-year-old second year resident has to wear an ankle monitor at all times after getting in a heated altercation with her ex’s odious new girlfriend. When the monitor malfunctions in the middle of a mass casualty event affecting the MAX show, McKay does what she has to do: she tampers with it.
While fans of MAX’s The Pitt will have to wait until next Thursday’s Season 1 finale to learn what happens next with Dr. McKay, DECIDER can confirm that actress Fiona Dourif is already thinking about Season 2. Specifically what her character’s iconic bangs might look like.
“I actually just cut my hair yesterday. I was like, ‘I have to have bangs in June, but what if I like switch up the bangs?’” she told DECIDER. “Because I got so sick of it. So now they’re really short. But maybe they’re too short.”
Later, though, she joked maybe McKay would have shorter bangs, too, in Season 2. “I don’t know. I’m testing it.”
Besides breaking down hairstyles, Fiona Dourif chatted with us about what exactly drove Dr. McKay to medicine so late in life, and how it not only lines up with her own life story, but is what explains her character’s need to intervene with troubled teen David (Jackson Kelly). We delved into what McKay makes of new med student Victoria Javadi (Shabana Azeez), who McKay’s actually tight with in the ED, and much more…
DECIDER: My first question is about the bangs. They are great bangs. Can you talk about the conversations that went into McKay’s look and what you think it says about her character?
FIONA DOURIF: What we really wanted to do, because we’re all in exactly the same outfit, was differentiate each look so that it was very clear who was who when you follow it. Because especially in Episode 1, you’re introduced to so many people at the same time. So that was the choice to make my hair red. They also wanted a very simple realistic hairdo. You know, the goal of the show was to portray [the characters] as real people, as real as we could get. So I have had bangs. Bangs made me look different than everybody else. I also think that McKay’s a little cool, you know? Maybe she, like, listens to Joy Division once in a while. We got the bangs and the ponytail. I actually just cut my hair yesterday. I was like, “I have to have bangs in June, but what if I like switch up the bangs?” Because I got so sick of it. So now they’re really short. But maybe they’re too short.
We first get to know McKay through the eyes of Javadi. I’m curious what it was like working with Shabana Azeez on those early episodes and what does it mean to McKay to watch Javadi slowly start to gain confidence?
In real life, Shabana is like a standup comedian — which I don’t know if that comes across in the show — but she is really, really funny. So that was like a surprise and kind of delightful. How I looked at Javadi was she is exactly opposite to McKay. So what we bring to the table is going to be, she’s gonna be a very different type of doctor, but probably, maybe a little bit more brilliant. What I bring is life experience and connection and maybe like a little wisdom. I mean, she’s like a child genius and surprises me at the amount that she can do. Especially towards the end, she finds her feet, stands up to her mother, and, yeah, has the longest day of her life. The longest first shift that’s ever been.
What little we know about McKay is that she is a 42-year-old R2. She’s a single mom, she’s got the ankle bracelet. I’m just curious, where did you see her backstory taking her into medicine? Like how do you think she got into it later in life, per se? Was it on pause for Harrison? Was it something she came to after being a mother? I’m curious what you know about that journey.
Yeah, well, when we got cast and then made it through the table read, they brought us in to find out our backstories. And it was like oddly close to mine, to Fiona Dourif’s. Which was cool. I felt like I was born to play it. It gave me some feeling of authority. But she was like into like partying and substances and made a lot of bad decisions and kind of couldn’t find herself until she was in her early 30s. It was around the time of her son. There was a point, yeah, where her bad decisions caught up with her. She lost her kid. I mean, all of those all of these experiences also can help you become more compassionate to people who are at their lowest point, which I think was my connection to Sherry, the homeless woman, and is ultimately a strength.
Having seen the whole season, there’s some really interesting conversations that McKay has with David later on. In Episode 14, you have this young man who’s just crying for his mother. Given that we have Harrison in another room in these episodes, I’m curious, is any part of her feeling that maternal instinct? Like does she see David in a new light? Does she see Harrison in a new light?
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. That was also an incredibly emotional moment on set. You could really feel it. When Jackson Kelly was screaming for his mother, I was brought to tears, for sure. Though I don’t even think it made it on camera — though I haven’t seen it. Yeah, I think in a way, David is a representation of McKay’s history and what could possibly happen with my son, you know? I think I made a series of bad decisions. There was this point when you’re around that age where you feel invincible and you don’t understand the repercussions of your actions. It was trying to do my best to guide him to not ruin his life. You know, and having a second chance that I had. I certainly have known and been very close to people in my life who made bad decisions in their early 20s and never recovered. And that’s 20 years ago. So it can happen. I felt like it was a storyline quite close to some of my experiences as a person.
Early on in the season, Langdon tells Javadi that your character keeps to herself mostly. I’m curious if there is someone in The Pitt that you think Cassie has a rapport with, is close with, that maybe isn’t quite so obvious?
Well, I mean, clearly Mateo. I think Mateo is a great kid and smart and fun. In real life, Jalen [Thomas Brooks] — my joke is like, “Jalen for President,” because he’s just the most impressive 22-year old-that exists. He’s like had five careers and graduated high school at like 15 or something. He’s an impressive guy. I think Mateo for sure. And I think she really looks up to Robby, which most of the doctors do. Also on set, I think that that feeling was there with Noah Wyle. It really felt at times like we were — [chuckling] — in one long shift in a hospital, just because it’s not shot like a regular TV show. There’s very little time between scenes. There’s usually lighting setups and you can tell it’s a set. And on The Pitt, you just walk into a hospital and you’re just there all day. And Noah Wyle, he’s like an experienced genius ice skater, like doing tricks. There is so much grace in that performance. And, with him on set, it sometimes felt like we were actually on The Pitt. [Laughing] Everybody could sort of felt like their character. It was a really interesting experience. I’ve never had anything like it.
The show’s been picked up for another season. I think you mentioned you need your bangs back in June, so I don’t know if that means that’s when you’re back on set. But what are you most excited to delve into? Are you hoping that maybe like Sherry or another patient comes back when we get some more closure? Is there aspect to McKay’s backstory where you wanna delve into more? I’m just curious what your hungriest to tear into.
Yeah, I mean, I wanna see McKay succeed a little bit more in her connections with the characters. I think there was a lot of kicks in Season 1 and she could use a couple more wins. Her work-life balance isn’t great, which is maybe a theme with a lot of the characters, but I would like to see her figure that out a little bit.
And maybe shorter bangs. I don’t know. I’m testing it.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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