Chicago Med is an American medical drama television series created by Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead, and is the third installment of Wolf Entertainment's Chicago franchise. The series premiered on NBC on November 17, 2015. Chicago Med follows the emergency department (ED) doctors and nurses of the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. As they work to save lives, these members deal with the personal and professional pressures of their jobs.[1]
In April 2023, the series was renewed for a ninth season,[2] which premiered on January 17, 2024.[3] In March 2024, the series was renewed for a tenth season.[4]
Premise
Set in Chicago, Chicago Med is the third series in Dick Wolf's Chicago franchise. It focuses on the emergency department at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center and on its doctors and nurses as they work to save patients' lives. It sometimes crosses over with characters from Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.
Nick Gehlfuss as Dr. Will Halstead (seasons 1–8), a former plastic surgeon, who at the start of the series becomes an ED supervising attending physician. He is originally from Chicago and is the older brother of Chicago P.D. character Detective Jay Halstead. He was engaged to Dr. Natalie Manning from seasons three to four.[5] He resigns from Chicago Med at the end of the eighth season after sabotaging Jack Dayton's OR 2.0 to prove its defects, and moves to Seattle to reunite with Natalie and her son.
Yaya DaCosta as April Sexton (seasons 1–6; recurring season 8), a first-generation Brazilian-American ED nurse. She has a younger brother, Noah, who began as a third-year medical student at the hospital. She is also a childhood friend of Chicago Fire character Lieutenant Kelly Severide. In the sixth season, she applies and gets accepted into a nurse practitioner program in order to do more in caring for patients and in the seventh-season premiere "You Can't Always Trust What You See", it is revealed that she has started the program. She later returns in the eighth season after completing the program. She and Dr. Ethan Choi rekindle their relationship during this time, and marry in the middle of the season, with the intent of starting a mobile clinic for the impoverished people in the community.
Torrey DeVitto as Dr. Natalie Manning (seasons 1–7; guest season 8), an ED pediatrician who did a fellowship in emergency medicine in the first season and becomes an attending in the emergency pediatrics division in the fifth season. She is a widow, coping with the loss of her husband, Jeff, who was killed in action while serving in the U.S. military. In the first-season episode "Bound", she gives birth to her son Owen. In the seventh-season premiere "You Can't Always Trust What You See", she is fired by Sharon Goodwin and moves back to Seattle with Owen after admitting that she stole drugs from her ex-fiancé Dr. Will Halstead's trial for her sick mother. She later reunites with Will following his resignation at the end of the following season.
Rachel DiPillo as Dr. Sarah Reese (seasons 1–3; guest season 4), originally a fourth-year medical student, who does not feel inclined to emergency medicine, and would rather become a pathologist. After she graduates from medical school, she immediately quits being a pathologist and becomes a resident in psychiatry, thanks to Dr. Daniel Charles in the season 2 premiere. In the fourth-season premiere "Be My Better Half", she transfers from Chicago Med to Baylor after Dr. Daniel Charles finds out her father is a suspected serial killer and they have a falling out.
Colin Donnell as Dr. Connor Rhodes (seasons 1–5), a cardio-thoracic fellow from Chicago, who spent some time in Riyadh following his residency. In the first season, he is a trauma surgery fellow, but switches his specialty to cardio-thoracic. In the fifth-season premiere "Never Going Back to Normal", he leaves Med, and Chicago completely for a fresh start after the deaths of his father Cornelius Rhodes and his rival and ex-girlfriend Dr. Ava Bekker, who committed suicide after murdering Cornelius to win Connor back.
Brian Tee as LCDR Dr. Ethan Choi, United States Navy Reserve (seasons 1–8), the Chief of Emergency Medicine and former ED chief resident with an expertise in infectious diseases who just returned to the United States after serving on the USS Carl Vinson as a medical officer. He marries April Sexton in the middle of the eighth season and leaves Chicago Med afterwards to start a mobile clinic for the impoverished people in the community with her.
S. Epatha Merkerson as Sharon Goodwin, a former OR nurse and the Chief of Patient and Medical Services (chief administrator) of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center.
Oliver Platt as Dr. Daniel Charles, the chief of the psychiatry department, who is usually tasked with helping the other doctors deal with the psychological nuances of medicine or difficult patients. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
Marlyne Barrett[a] as Maggie Lockwood (season 1 – present), the ED's charge nurse who is not afraid to speak her mind when it comes to schooling the residents.[6][7] In the fifth season, she is diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, but is later cured and she marries former cancer patient Ben Campbell.
Norma Kuhling as Dr. Ava Bekker (seasons 3–5; recurring season 2), a South African trauma surgeon. She butts heads with Dr. Connor Rhodes on professional boundaries, and eventually their rivalry becomes a romantic relationship, which eventually ends after Connor's father alleges that Ava seduced and slept with him to persuade him to fund Connor's hybrid OR. In the fourth-season finale "With a Brave Heart", Connor turns her down in reconciling their relationship and then suspects her of killing his father. In the fifth-season premiere "Never Going Back to Normal", she commits suicide after admitting to killing Connor's father in a last-ditch effort to win him back.
Dominic Rains as Dr. Crockett Marcel (season 5 – present), a new trauma surgeon fellow at Chicago Med.
Steven Weber[b] as Dr. Dean Archer (season 7 – present; recurring season 6), an experienced trauma surgeon and emergency physician and a mentor to Dr. Ethan Choi having formerly served in the Navy together.
Guy Lockard as Dr. Dylan Scott (seasons 7–8), a new Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician. He is a former Chicago police officer, who switched his career to medicine. In the eighth-season premiere "How Do You Begin to Count the Losses?", after the death of his lover Jo, an undercover cop whom he had crossed paths multiple times with during her assignment, he realizes that he will never be able to let go of his past as a police officer as long as he remains in Chicago and leaves Med, and the city altogether for a new start.
Kristen Hager as Dr. Stevie Hammer (season 7), a new attending physician, who has a past with Dr. Will Halstead. After many ups and downs in dealing with her homeless, addicted, and mentally-ill mother, she moves back to Michigan halfway through the seventh season to give her marriage another chance.
Jessy Schram as Dr. Hannah Asher (season 7 – present; recurring seasons 5–6), a returning Attending Physician in Obstetrics and Gynaecology from Los Angeles who previously struggled with substance abuse before getting sober.[8] She is a Senior Attending of the New Emergency OB/GYN Service.
Recurring
Julie Berman as Dr. Samantha "Sam" Zanetti (season 1), an attending trauma surgeon who briefly dates Dr. Connor Rhodes[9]
Deron J. Powell as Tate Jenkins (seasons 1–2), a retired NFL player who begins dating Nurse April Sexton when she helps treat his son in season one. They become engaged in season two, but break it off shortly after she is infected with tuberculosis and miscarries their child.
Jeremy Shouldis as Dr. Marty Peterson (season 1–present), an anesthesiologist with a silky, deep voice.
Peter Mark Kendall as Joey Thomas, a lab tech who dates Dr. Sarah Reese in seasons one and two.[10]
Roland Buck III as Dr. Noah Sexton (seasons 1–6; guest season 8), a first-year ED resident and Nurse April Sexton's younger brother. In the sixth-season episode "When Your Heart Rules Your Head", he is fired by Dr. Ethan Choi for negligence, due to assisting in Dr. James Coleman's suicide, and he leaves Chicago to take over Dr. Coleman's clinic in Atlanta. He later returns in the eighth season for April and Ethan's wedding.
Brennan Brown as Dr. Samuel Abrams, a blunt Chief of Neurosurgery.[11]
Gregg Henry as Dr. David Downey (season 1), a high-profile Cardiothoracic Surgeon who takes an interest in Dr. Connor Rhodes, and dies of cancer in the first-season finale "Timing".[12]
D. W. Moffett as Cornelius Rhodes (seasons 1–4), the father of Dr. Connor Rhodes. He runs the family business Dolen Rhodes, a high-end department store started by his father. Connor's choice to go into medicine lead to a bitter estrangement between father and son. He is murdered by Dr. Ava Bekker, Dr. Rhodes' ex-girlfriend, via insulin overdose in fourth-season episode "Forever Hold Your Peace" in an attempt to win Dr. Rhodes back, which is revealed later in the fifth-season premiere "Never Going Back to Normal", resulting in Dr. Bekker's suicide.
Christina Brucato as Claire Rhodes (season 1), the sister of Dr. Connor Rhodes.
Lorena Diaz as Nurse Doris (season 1–present), ED nurse.
Casey Tutton as Nurse Monique Lawson (season 2–5), ED nurse.
Marie Tredway as Nurse Trini (season 5-present), ED nurse.
Amanda Marcheschi as Nurse Dina (season 1-present), ICU charge nurse, sometimes assists in the surgical ward.
Jeff Hephner as Jeff Clarke (seasons 1–2), a medical student, a former Marine and Iraq veteran, and Dr. Natalie Manning's old family friend. Clarke was briefly a firefighter at Firehouse 51 before returning to medical school after an injury. Clarke briefly dates Natalie until he confesses that her late husband did not approve of his feelings for her. Clarke matches with a hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii, after graduating from medical school.
Ato Essandoh as Dr. Isidore Latham (seasons 2–6), the Attending/later Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery who supervises Dr. Connor Rhodes' fellowship. Latham has autism spectrum disorder, which sometimes makes it difficult for him to understand the emotional responses of the medical staff.
Mekia Cox as Dr. Robin Charles (seasons 2–5), an epidemiologist and Dr. Daniel Charles' previously estranged daughter. She dates Dr. Connor Rhodes during seasons two to three.
Eddie Jemison as Dr. Stanley Stohl (seasons 2–4), the Chief of Emergency Medicine, derisively referred to as "The Troll" by the staff because of his condescending and publicity-courting ways. He is fired from Chicago Med after an arbitrary decision by Gaffney Chicago Medical Center's COO.
Alexandra Grey as Denise Lockwood (season 2–present), Nurse Maggie Lockwood's transgender sister.
James Vincent Meredith as Barry (season 3), a paramedic who is Maggie Lockwood's on-again/off-again ex-boyfriend.
Nate Santana as Dr. James Lanik (season 3–present), Chief of Trauma Surgery, formerly the interim head of the Emergency Department.
Michel Gill as Dr. Robert Haywood (seasons 3–4), Dr. Sarah Reese's estranged father who was an astrophysics professor and a suspected serial killer.
Arden Cho as Emily Choi (seasons 3–4), Dr. Ethan Choi's younger and previously estranged recovering–drug addict sister
Paula Newsome as Caroline Charles (Seasons 4-5), the first wife of Dr. Daniel Charles, who arrives at Med for a cancer treatment clinical trial, and eventually remarries him.
Molly Bernard as Elsa Curry (season 4–5), a third, later fourth year medical student who ends up working closely with Dr. Daniel Charles.
Ian Harding as Phillip Davis (seasons 4–5), a widowed father who is left to raise his daughter alone after his wife dies from an aneurysm in childbirth. He dates Dr. Natalie Manning during seasons four to five.
Jodi Kingsley as DCFS Officer Madeline Gastern (season 1-present), a Department of Child and Family Services social worker attached to Gaffney Medical Center
Tehmina Sunny as Dr. Sabeena Virani (season 6), a cardiologist with Kender Pharmaceutical Company who supervises a clinical trial for a new medication and approaches Dr. Will Halstead to lead the project.[13]
Asjha Cooper as Dr. Vanessa Taylor (seasons 6–8), a first year resident, who initially had friction with Maggie who is her biological mother, which she prefers to keep private.
Sarah Rafferty as Dr. Pamela Blake (season 7), the Chief of Transplantation Surgery who has friction with Dr. Marcel after he did not want her daughter to be operated on.
Bonita Friedericy as Terri Hammer (season 7), is the mother of Dr. Hammer.
Michael Rady as Dr. Matthew Cooper (season 7), is an Intensivist (Critical Care Specialist) who uses Vas-com a lot and who Will is investigating to find out if he is doing illegal use in the hospital.
Johanna Braddy as Avery Quinn (season 7) is the daughter of Dr. Pamela Blake who has an interest in Dr. Marcel.
Kristof Konrad as Pawel Wapniarski (season 8) is the brother of Liliana Wapniarski, a girlfriend of Dr. Charles
Luke Mitchell as Dr. Mitchell Ripley (season 9) is an ED Attending Physician who shares a history with Dr. Charles.[14]
Sophia Ali as Dr Zola Ahmad (season 9) a senior resident in the ED
"The Beating Heart" (Chicago Fire Season 4, Episode 10) / "Now I'm God" (Chicago P.D. Season 3, Episode 10) – In the first crossover with Fire and P.D., continuing on "Malignant", a member of Firehouse 51 is rushed to Chicago Med for a stabbing while an attempted suicide uncovers four cases of chemo overdose, leading to an investigation that becomes personal for Voight.
"Going to War" (Chicago Fire Season 7, Episode 2) / "Endings" (Chicago P.D. Season 6, Episode 2) – In the second crossover with Fire and P.D., continuing on "When to Let Go", the victims of an apartment complex fire are rushed into Chicago Med and Intelligence races to find the culprit.
"Infection" (Chicago Fire Season 8, Episode 4/Chicago Med Season 5, Episode 4/Chicago P.D. Season 7, Episode 4) – In the third crossover with Fire and P.D., a bioterrorist spreads a deadly virus throughout Chicago.
Production
Development
The series was greenlighted by NBC for the show's pilot episode on May 1, 2015.[24]
On August 21, 2015, Andrew Dettman stepped down as showrunner due to "creative differences" following his appointment in June.[25]Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov were appointed as new showrunners on August 27, 2015.[26]
NBC originally ordered 13 episodes for season one; on December 11, 2015, an additional 5 episodes were ordered, bringing the season to 18 episodes.[27]
On February 1, 2016, NBC renewed the series for a second season.[28] On May 15, 2016, it was announced that the series would be moving to Thursdays.[29] The second season premiered on September 22, 2016.[30]
On May 10, 2017, NBC renewed the series for a third season but opted to remove it from the fall schedule to midseason, after the premiere of Dick Wolf's sixth Law & Order series Law & Order True Crime.[31] The series moved back to Tuesdays after spending one season on Thursdays.[32]
On February 27, 2020, NBC renewed the series for a sixth, seventh, and eighth season.[33] The sixth season premiered on November 11, 2020.[34] The seventh season premiered on September 22, 2021.[35] The eighth season premiered on September 21, 2022.[36]
On March 13, 2020, Universal Television shut down production on the series due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[37]
On April 10, 2023, NBC renewed the series for a ninth season,[2] which premiered on January 17, 2024.[3]
On March 21, 2024, NBC renewed the series for a tenth season.[4]
Casting
The Walking Dead star Laurie Holden was originally cast as Dr. Hannah Tramble, but dropped out due to "family reasons".[38][39] On May 29, 2015, Arrow star Colin Donnell was cast as Dr. Connor Rhodes, the hospital's newest trauma surgeon.[40] In July 2015, Jurassic World star Brian Tee joined the cast as Dr. Ethan Choi, an expert in infectious disease prevention and a Navy Reserve medical officer.[41]Pretty Little Liars star Torrey DeVitto was cast on August 13, 2015, as Dr. Natalie Manning, the ED pediatrician.[42] On August 14, 2015, Jane the Virgin star Rachel DiPillo was cast as Sarah Reese, a fourth-year medical student.[43]
On April 19, 2019, NBC announced that original cast member Colin Donnell and Norma Kuhling would be written out of the series at the end of the fourth season for creative reasons.[44] On May 12, 2021, NBC announced that original cast members Yaya DaCosta and Torrey DeVitto would leave the series at the end of the sixth season after deciding not to renew their contracts to pursue new roles.[45] On July 21, 2021, it was announced that Steven Weber would be promoted to a series regular after recurring in the sixth season, and Guy Lockard and Kristen Hager would join the main cast.[46] On October 12, 2022, NBC announced that Tee would leave the series after eight seasons.[47]
On Metacritic, season 1 has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 based on 17 reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[71]Rotten Tomatoes reported that 50% of critics have given the season 1 of the show a positive review based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 5.52/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "While adding nothing new to the established medical procedural formula, Dick Wolf's Chicago Med hits its familiar beats forcefully enough to satisfy a few genre enthusiasts."[72]
In Canada, the series aired on the Global Television Network for four seasons, then moved to CityTV. Season three aired at the start of the week ahead of the NBC air date later in the week.[74]
In Malaysia, the series aired on PRIMEtime for five seasons, then moved to Showcase.
In the UK, Chicago Med premiered on March 20, 2016, on Universal Channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The second season aired on October 23, 2016.[75] Since the fifth season, it has aired on Sky Witness.
In Australia, the series debuted on November 23, 2016, on the Nine Network.[76]
In Romania, the series debuted on February 16, 2017, on the channel Diva under the title "Camera de gardă" (The guard room). The sixth season premiered on March 7, 2021.[77]
