PITTSBURGH — Five new characters wasn't enough — "The Pitt," the HBO Max medical drama set in Pittsburgh and partially filmed there — has added four more recurring characters for its fast-approaching sophomore season.

New additions to the cast include Brittany Allen ("The Boys"), Taylor Handley ("Mayor of Kingstown"), Bonita Friedericy ("Chicago Med") and Jeff Kober ("The Walking Dead," "Sons of Anarchy"), an HBO Max spokesperson confirmed.

Allen will play Roxie Hamler, an emergency department patient; Handley will play Paul Hamler, the husband of an emergency department patient; Friedericy will portray Cora Wilkins, a woman visiting the emergency department and Kober will play Duke, a motorcycle engineer that shares a history with one of the doctors.

Last summer, the hit medical drama announced the addition of five other cast members, including Lawrence Robinson, who worked on "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" and Charles Baker, widely known for his role as Skinny Pete in "Breaking Bad." The final cast has yet to be confirmed by the show team as fans await its return in January.

From creator R. Scott Gemmill and producer John Wells, a Carnegie Mellon University graduate, "The Pitt" depicts the struggles of frontline health care workers at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, which was inspired by North Side's Allegheny General Hospital. The cast is led by Noah Wyle of "ER" fame, who also serves as executive producer, as Dr. Michael "Robby" Robinavitch.

"The Pitt" has been praised for its realism by actual emergency room doctors, including Pittsburgh emergency physician and pediatrician Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, who said in February that watching the show feels like being "at work."

The second season will occur 10 months after Season 1, over Fourth of July weekend. Though an exact release date has yet to be confirmed by HBO Max, John Wells revealed a Jan. 8 release date in an August interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

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