Fans of The Pitt finally have their answer as to why Bryan Cranston has not been cast alongside his daughter, Taylor Dearden, on HBO Max’s hit medical drama.
Speculation previously swirled about Cranston joining Dearden, 32, on the popular series after the Breaking Bad actor, 69, publicly praised his daughter’s performance in season one of the show. But now, TV executives have laid the fancasting theories to rest.
“It’s a temptation that we want to avoid,” director and executive producer John Wells told Rotten Tomatoes about the idea of casting Cranston. “We don’t want to pull the attention away from the medicine and the wonderful actors that we have. And we have any number of really fantastic people who come in to guest star who have extraordinary careers, but they are working actors who are just fantastic actors, great with their craft.”
Dearden plays fan-favorite character Dr. Melissa "Mel" King, who works as a second-year resident in the show’s fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. The actor is Cranston’s only child with his wife since 1989, Robin Dearden.
Cranston spoke about his pride for his daughter in an interview with the Associated Press in June 2024, saying: “There’s nothing more gratifying than when your kid receives praise. Nothing. No one can say anything to me that’s better than that. So, her mom and I are just over the moon for her work on [The Pitt]. She’s a very hardworking person. She grew up in it. So it’s in her bones. She’s in it for the right reasons, and she loves it.”
Although Cranston will not appear on the show, another actor was allowed to bring her father to work. Fiona Dourif, who plays Dr. Cassie McKay on the show, is the daughter of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest actor Brad Dourif, who guest-starred during season one.
Wells told Rotten Tomatoes about the casting decision: “But one of the things about Fiona’s dad is that he was not recognizable in the part, you know? So, it didn’t distract from the reality of it.”
Dearden and Dourif star on the show alongside series lead Noah Wyle, who plays Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch. The Emmy-winning cast also includes Katherina LaNasa and Shawn Hatosy. Nearly all of the stars from season one are returning for the new episodes, with the exception of actor Tracy Ifeachor, who played Dr. Heather Collins.
The second season of the show premieres January 8 on HBO Max. The new weekly episodes, released Thursdays, are expected to again chronicle of a 15-hour day in the hospital’s emergency department.
