The Pitt’s Supriya Ganesh On Why Robby Is ‘Father Figure’ to Mohan

In an interview with TooFab, the actress opened up about the relationship between her character, Dr. Samira Mohan, and Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle), sharing why she believes Mohan sees Robby as a father figure, rather than just a normal relationship between a third-year resident and a senior attending.

As fans of the medical drama know, Mohan — who shares early on that her own father died when she was young — regularly receives critical reminders from Robby to be faster with her patients as she noticeably spends more time with them than other doctors at the ER.

Despite Robby being her senior attending, Mohan stands by her approach — although that doesn’t mean that being reprimanded doesn’t hurt.

When asked if she believes her character looks to Robby as a “father figure” in her life, Ganesh said, “Oh, absolutely.”

“I definitely think that’s why the relationship is … I don’t want to use the word tense, but I think it’s layered,” she told TooFab. “I think getting feedback from him hurts the most, more so than anyone else, because she views him as this figure in her life.”

“I think sometimes people confuse the reaction of being, like, defensive. And I don’t necessarily think that’s it,” Ganesh explained. “I think she kind of feels like, ‘That’s my dad, and why doesn’t he like me? And why doesn’t he support me?'”

“I think there is definitely some transference happening there for her with him,” she added.

Ganesh said it’s “very interesting” to see the reactions to Mohah’s relationship with Robby, noting that she loves that fans are “picking up on it.” However, she joked that the thirst traps of Wyle make her cringe a bit — likely as a daughter would respond to seeing fan edits of her father.

“[It’s] so weird to see there’s thirst traps of Noah because, in my head, I’m like, ‘That is my dad! Please stop making thirst traps of my dad!'” she said, laughing.

Meanwhile, The Pitt stands out from other medical dramas in multiple ways, including its diverse cast. Ganesh is one of several South Asian actresses who star on the series, alongside Shabana Azeez, who stars as a third-year medical student, Victoria Javadi, Deepti Gupta, who plays Javadi’s mother, Dr. Eileen Shamsi, and Sasha Bhasin, who portrays a beauty influencer named Nandi in multiple episodes.

Ganesh reflected on the significance of the show’s diverse cast and South Asian representation in particular.

“Oh my gosh. I’m gonna cry,” she said with a soft laugh.

“I think it’s been really healing because I’ve lost roles before because they wanted another brown person in there, and they just didn’t want two, and that was really the main reason why,” she explained.

“And so I still remember getting the first call sheet when we were doing the medical boot camp and seeing Shabana’s name on there and just thinking, ‘Oh my God. Wait.’ … I remember I looked her up and I was like, ‘Oh my God. Oh my God,'” Ganesha recalled. “I just remember feeling so happy. And it’s been so healing going through this experience, having us just be separate characters that don’t really know each other, that have our own personalities.”

Ganesh said the “cherry on top” was when Bhasin was cast as Nandi, and she, Azeez, and Bhasin shot scenes together.

“I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? This is so great!’ And I just love how unsaid it was,” she shared. “But it also just, it speaks volumes that we’re all in a room together. And it’s not about us being South Asian. That’s just, I mean, that’s brilliant writing for you.”

The Pitt’s success has been nothing short of amazing, with the fanbase growing each week and mostly by word of mouth and social media rather than marketing. The medical drama has also already received Emmy buzz, particularly for Wyle. In addition to being praised for its medical accuracy, one of the many things the show has done right is release episodes the old-school way — weekly during primetime — despite it being a Max show.

“It feels special, but I’m also not really surprised. I remember getting the script and just thinking this was going to be really brilliant,” Ganesh told TooFab of the show’s positive reception. “And so I’m just glad that everyone is catching on to, I guess what I knew when I read it. That’s really awesome. And I think the show is just doing a lot of things right.”

“We’re prestige TV, absolutely,” she continued. “We’re being called one of the most accurate medical shows in history, if not ever. But I think we’re also leading into the comfort food of good old network TV, like, it’s appointment viewing, it’s characters you can latch onto. It’s something you can talk to people about week by week. It’s not really … something that you want to necessarily binge. It’s that build that I think people are really latching onto. So I just think that’s so great.”

Ganesh added, “I’m just so happy that it’s a show that is spreading more so by word of mouth because people are like, ‘Oh. I really love this. You need to watch it.’ And I just love that it’s become this cultural phenomenon. It’s just so cool.”

The Pitt premiered in January and was renewed for a second season a month later. The second season begins shooting this summer, and will premiere a year after Season 1, which is yet another way it stands out from other streaming shows — as they often take years to release just a small handful of episodes.

As for what she hopes Season 2 will bring, Ganesh told TooFab, “I mean, I’m so happy that they’re renewing it so quickly. I think that’s great for the fans. It’s great for all of us, ’cause we’re so excited to hear about what’s gonna happen.”

“I’m very hopeful they dig into her character more, and I’m excited to explore more of her,” she added. “I think it would just be such a great experience. And yeah, I’m really looking forward to it.”

The Pitt season finale drops at 9 p.m. ET on Max.