The Pitt's Shabana Azeez Doesn't Think Off Campus Can Stop Mavadi
Plus, her thoughts on being fan-cast as Sabrina James.
Class is back in session at Briar U, but the day shift is also clocking in at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. Since both Prime Video’s Off Campus and HBO Max’s The Pitt are in production this June, fans are worried about the fate of Nurse Mateo Diaz, since Jalen Thomas Brooks stars in both shows. But one important co-star is hopeful he’ll be able to scrub up in time for the night shift.
Shabana Azeez, who’s character Dr. Victoria Javadi is frequently shipped with Mateo, recently threw another complication at Mavadi fans by revealing Javadi won’t be “in the ER this season.” Despite the move to a psychiatry rotation and dueling filming schedules, Azeez is optimistic about potentially reuniting with Brooks this season. “He was shooting [Off Campus] at the same time last season,” Azeez points out, and he was still able to appear in four episodes of The Pitt Season 2.
Brooks told Deadline in May that he had already heard about his future on The Pitt. He said, “If my pager goes off, I will be in the ER.”
Despite this, Azeez admits she was nervous about Mateo’s future. “I don't have control over these things, even a little bit,” she says. “I asked about it, actually. I was like, ‘Is Jalen coming back,’ and they said, ‘Don't ask us questions that you can't talk about in public.’”
Shabana Is Here For The Sabrina James Fan-Casting
In Off Campus, Brooks plays Briar U hockey star John Tucker alongside teammates Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli), John Logan (Antonio Cipriano), and Dean Di Laurentis (Stephen Kalyn). Each book in the series follows one of the players as they fall in love, and Tucker’s is the fourth of the Off-Campus series, The Goal. It’s been announced that Season 2 will follow Dean and Allie, and it’s likely Season 3 will be Logan’s turn.
When it comes time for Tucker’s story, fans are already saying who they want to play Brooks’ love interest, Sabrina, and Azeez is one of the names being thrown around. The Australian actor is down to enroll in Briar U under one condition: She doesn’t have to play hockey. Luckily for her, Sabrina spends her time in law school rather than hockey rinks.
“I don't have to do hockey? Well then let's go,” Azeez says. “I'm very much the kind of person who wants to learn new skills for roles, but the stories Jalen has told about the bruises on his butt really painted a picture, so I'd be a little scared.” If Mavadi shippers are lucky, it’s possible they could get Azeez and Brooks together not just in the ED, but at Briar U as well.
