2026 Emmy Nominations: Biggest Snubs & Surprises

In just two seasons alone, “The Pitt” has been making Emmy-nominated stars out of its beloved cast members, and Fiona Dourif is officially one of them!

With so many names from the show up for nominations at this year’s Emmys, I was pleasantly surprised and very happy to see Dourif’s pop up on Wednesday, especially since this is her first acting nomination.

Although Dourif, who plays the empathetic Dr. Cassie McKay, didn’t have as much screen time in Season 2 as she did in the medical drama’s debut, she clearly still made a strong impression on voters with her quietly powerful performance this year.

McKay’s Season 2 storyline was much less hectic than the personal chaos viewers witnessed in Season 1, where she juggled a pesky ankle monitor and single mom duties on the clock while the ER dealt with the traumatic aftermath of a mass shooting. Even so, she still had some memorable moments that earned her this recognition from the TV Academy.

Like all the time she spends with Roxie (powerfully played by fellow Emmy nominee Brittany Allen), the terminally ill cancer patient she helps in her final moments. “The Pitt” has tackled a lot of sensitive, heavy subjects in its short run, and the way Dourif helped portray physician-assisted death alongside Roxie’s death doula (played by Lesley Boone) added another touching layer to her performance this season.

I remember Dourif telling me about her own journey with grief earlier this year, and it makes me appreciate her portrayal of McKay this season even more.

“This show, I think, has accidentally cast people who are very close to who they actually are,” she said. “So, this [role] feels like a dedication to [my late mother] Joni Dourif, who I loved, who was a wonderful mother and ultimately had a very difficult end of her life. And then 10 years later, I get to act out one of the more positive things that having a really difficult situation in your life gives you.”