NEED TO KNOW
Katherine LaNasa knows more eyes are on her performance in season 2 of The Pitt after her Emmy win.
The actress, 58, revealed to PEOPLE at the Rape Treatment Center and Stuart House Annual Brunch in Los Angeles that after scoring the trophy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in September, she’s feeling some pressure as the medical procedural drama enters its second season.
“I think in season 1, I shined from the back,” LaNasa, who plays nurse Dana Evans, told PEOPLE on Sunday, Oct. 26. “And I didn’t know that I was, but that happened. And now I’m more in the front.”
She adds, “So it’s like, can I shine in the front, can I lead from the front? We have to see.”
The “anecdote to any fear around” following up a win, LaNasa explains, is to “really just do the work.”
“To do the research, to get into the work, to know your lines, to study, to go to the rape treatment center and do background work if you have a rape story,” she says.
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On Sept. 14, LaNasa took home her golden statuette at the 77th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, in a category that also included performances from Patricia Arquette (Severance), Carrie Coon (The White Lotus), Julianne Nicholson (Paradise), Parker Posey (The White Lotus), Natasha Rothwell (The White Lotus) and Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus).
Following her nomination, LaNasa told PEOPLE she felt like she “already won.” The recognition also marked her first career Emmy nomination.
“It’s crazy. You stay on the sidelines for so much of your career, you don’t really ever expect to be one of the nominees,” LaNasa said. “To be one is really just delightful. I feel like I got a ticket to ride and I’m happy about it.”
The series, which follows medical professionals during a grueling shift, also took home the Outstanding Drama Series award during the show. During her speech, LaNasa thanked her family, nurses who “inspired” her while making the show and her costar, “the incomparable Noah Wyle.”
“Oh my goodness, I am so proud and honored to receive this award from the Academy,” she said in her speech. “My whole career I wanted to work for [producer] John Wells and he elevates everything.”
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The second season of The Pitt is set to arrive on HBO in January. Back in August, HBO dropped the first teaser for the forthcoming installment, offering a glimpse at what’s to come at the Pittsburgh hospital. EW previously reported that the new season takes place 10 months after the season 1 finale.
“It was really driven by wanting to have the [Frank] Langdon character back and knowing how much time he would’ve had to spend in rehab and going through his recovery process,” showrunner R. Scott Gemmill told the outlet. “We knew it had to be about 10 months, [which] took us into the summer. We played Labor Day, essentially, for the first season, so we decide to play this on the 4th of July.”
The Pitt season 2 premieres in January on HBO.
