Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Pitt season 1 finale.The Pitt’s finale managed to solidify this gripping medical drama as one of the best shows of 2025, and the finale included plenty of great moments that wrapped up these characters’ stories in fun and interesting ways. It wasn’t just Dr. Robby who took center stage in the final episode; every member ofThe Pitt’s castgot their own time to shine, proving why this is such a strong ensemble show. One of its most likable figures, Fiona Dourif’s Dr. McKay, got a particularly special moment that fans of the horror genre may have noticed.
Dourif is best known for her role asNica Pierce in theChild’s Playfranchise. She’s a hugely recognizable actor in the horror genre, and her role as Dr. McKay inThe Pittwas a totally unexpected venture for her. While she’s also appeared in projects such asThe BlacklistandDirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency,this was among the first times she’d played such a reserved and respectively calm character on-screen. McKay’s conversation with David was one ofThe Pitt’s most emotional scenes, but the character was given another moment from the finale that sticks out too.
Dourif’s Horror Background Was Subtly Referenced In The Pitt
Image via Max
As the doctor is leaving her shift at the hospital, her son tells her over the phone that he and his grandfather are watchingPlanet of the Apes,to which McKay responds that he’s not allowed to watch scary movies. Given that Fiona Dourif is such a recognizable face in the horror genre,McKay’s line takes on a much funnier context inThe Pitt’s finale. It feels like a very deliberate nod from the writers towards Dourif’s earlier career.
The line is made even more entertaining by the fact that McKay’s father, who’s watching the film with her son, is played byBrad Dourif — Fiona Doruif’s real-life father, and the voice of Chucky in theChild’s Playfranchise. These are very subtle connections that general audiences don’tneedto know, but it makes the interaction more tongue-in-cheek for horror fans.
McKay Referencing Horror Movies Makes Fiona Dourif’s Theory About Her Father’s Cameo More Likely
The Actress Suggests Noah Wyle Facilitated The Cameo
Brad Dourif’s cameo earlier in The Pittwas quickly noticed by fans, and Fiona Dourif has since voiced her suspicions that it was the idea of executive producer and lead star Noah Wyle to get the father and daughter on-screen together. Speaking toVariety, the actress revealed that “[Wyle] had talked to me about my dad’s career in great detail before [so] it was probably thrown out in the writers’ room as a very cool idea.”McKay’s line about horror movies in the season finale makes the actress’s theory more likely, as it leans even heavier into their off-screen connection.
