Chicago Med Season 9 Cast: Who’s Coming Back and Leaving After Will’s Sudden Exit? (2024)

Who’s in the Chicago Med Season 9 Cast?

Is Maggie leaving Gaffney? Does Dean die? Is Will coming back? With so many unanswered questions at the end of last season’s finale, it’s understandable why One Chicago fans are dying for answers about Chicago Med Season 9 cast and which cast members are coming back and leaving.

Chicago Medis NBC’s medical drama following the personal and professional lives of doctors and nurses in the emergency department of the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. The series — which premiered in 2015 and is created by Dick Wolf, the same mind behind theandFBIfranchises — is the third spin-off in NBC’s One Chicago franchise, which also includesChicago FireandChicago P.D.

The Chicago Med Season 8 cast included: Nick Gehlfuss (Will Halstead); S. Epatha Merkerson (Sharon Goodwin); Oliver Platt (Daniel Charles); Marlyne Barrett (Maggie Lockwood); Dominic Rains (Crockett Marcel); Steven Weber (Dean Archer); and Jessy Schram (Hannah Asher).

However, as One Chicago fans know, no one is safe in the world of Dick Wolf. So who’s in the Chicago Med Season 9 cast? Read on for what we know so far about which cast members are returning and leaving.

Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss)

Is Will Halstead coming back for Chicago Med Season 9? The answer is no. Nick Gehlfuss — who has played Dr. Will Halstead since Season 1 of Chicago Med — confirmed he was leaving the series after the Season 8 finale, which saw Will resign from Gaffney Chicago Medical Center and move to Seattle, Washington, to be with his ex-fiance, Natalie Manning, and her son, Owen.

“It was a difficult decision, but ultimately, I felt I’d taken Dr. Halstead as far as I can go with him. I think that comes down to a creative part of you, or the energy or spirit you have that you’re either built for a very long time with one person or not,” Gehlfuss told Variety after the Chicago Med Season 8 finale in May 2023. “I am attracted to the profession for the variety in it, and eight years is a long time. It’s two college degrees! I’m joking now that I basically have a doctorate in television.”

He continued of filming the finale, “It’s overwhelming, because of all the emotions. It wouldn’t be that way if it didn’t mean so much. It’s like with love, if you truly love somebody then you’re going to have very high moments and very low moments, because it’s just so important to you. It was important to me to give everyone an advance notice of me leaving so that we didn’t finish cold turkey.”

Gehlfuss confirmed that he filmed the Chicago Med Season 8 finale in mid-April 2023, a month and a half before he told the series’ creators he was leaving. “The first person I was calling was the reason for all this, Dick Wolf,” Gehlfuss said. “It was very important to me that he heard it from me first. And then I guess it was a trickle effect from that point.” Gehlfuss also told Variety that, while he felt Will and Natalie’s reunion was an “appropriate” way for him to be written off, it wasn’t always the plan for them to end up together. However, once Gehlfuss let the Chicago Med creators know he was leaving, there were immediate discussions to bring back Torrey DeVitto who left Chicago Med in Season 7. “I’ve kept in touch with her, so it wasn’t as if we hadn’t seen each other since she left the show. But it was great to see her,” Gehlfuss said. “We fell right back in to our work rhythm as if we didn’t have any time off. It was a beautiful moment, and one that I hope bring some closure to the fans. Because this relationship has come full circle for Will and Natalie. I think Will was seeking elements of Natalie in every relationship that followed their breakup. He never really got over her.”

Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto)

Is Natalie Manning coming back for Chicago Med Season 9? The answer is no. Torrey Devitto — who played Dr. Natalie Manning from Season 1 to Season 7 of Chicago Med — confirmed she’s not coming back to the series full time despite Natalie’s cameo in the Season 8 finale, which saw her and her ex-fiance, Will Halstead, reunite in Seattle, Washington, after Will resigned from Gaffney Chicago Medical Center and moved to Seattle to be with her and her son, Owen.

“I loved that they ended up together. I was always rooting for them. Right now I think it is the last time you will see them together, but I guess in the land of Dick Wolf, ya never know,” DeVitto told Entertainment Tonight in June 2023.

She also explained how her cameo came about. “My agents got a call asking if I would come back and then I personally got a call from Nick Gehlfuss,” she said. “Nick is like a brother to me. It was pretty much an instant yes to come back and see this out with him. He and I both felt like our characters didn’t get the ending they both deserved together, so it was really nice being able to come back and give them that ‘happily ever after.’ Stepping back into Natalie’s shoes felt like coming back home and seeing family. It felt like no time had passed. She will always be such a big part of me. It was a joy getting to step back into her [shoes].”

Maggie Lockwood (Marlyne Barrett)

Is Maggie Lockwood coming back for Chicago Med Season 9? The answer is unclear. Marlyne Barrett — who has played nurse Maggie Lockwood since Season 1 of Chicago Med — hasn’t confirmed if she’s leaving or coming back for Season 9. However, fans believe that her storyline at the end of Chicago Med Season 8 could be setting up her exit.

In Season 8, Episode 19, “Look Closely and You Might Hear the Truth,” Maggie reveals to Sharon Goodwin, the Executive Director of Patient and Medical Services at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, that she’s been talking to a recruiter and exploring jobs at other hospitals because of how Gaffney is moving toward being a for-profit hospital. “I feel guilty even thinking about leaving,” Maggie says. “All the changes that are going down in the ED and all this chatter about going for-profit. I have a bad feeling about the direction that Jack is taking us.” The storyine made fans wonder if Chicago Med was setting up Maggie’s exit from Gaffney as a way for her to leave the series.

“The show will not be the same without Maggie so I hope you’re not leaving the show,” commented Instagram user @salem_forever_in_my_heart on Barrett’s Instagram page in May 2023. User @gbc.jader0binson commented, “My heart ain’t gonna be the same if you leave honest.” User @marz_67 added, “We hope you’re not leaving!!!!!”

As for why Barrett could be leaving Chicago Med, there’s speculation that she’s exiting the series to focus on her health after she was diagnosed with cancer in 2022. In an interview with People in September 2022, Barrett revealed that she was diagnosed with uterine and ovarian cancer after doctors found a football-sized tumor on her uterus and left ovary in July 2022. “I’m an extremely private person, but I felt a responsibility to tell my story, she said at the time. “When my character went through breast cancer, I had a sea of people reach out to me through social media. They brought me courage, and so I felt a sense of inevitability to meet their hearts where they met me.” She continued, “We as human beings are so scared to face the mortality of life, or to even pronounce the word cancer. But we have so much more strength inside of us than we think.”

Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt)

Is Daniel Charles coming back for Chicago Med Season 9? The answer is likely. Oliver Platt — who has played Dr. Daniel Charles since Season 1 of Chicago Med — hasn’t confirmed if he’s leaving or coming back for Season 9. However, there are no major clues storyline-wise that he’s leaving.

In an interview with Parade in 2020, Platt opened up about why he thinks Chicago Med has run for so long. “I want to think it’s got something to do with the storytelling. “One of the brilliant things about the conception of these shows is that we are telling stories about first responders, who are actually the unsung day-to-day heroes of public life if you think about it,”he said. “I was about to say American life, but really all over the world. For us, one of the things that really keeps us on our toes is that it is both an honor, and also a real responsibility to try to do this as accurately as we can. In the context of an hour drama, we need to turn up the volume a little bit every now and then.”

He also credited the life-and-death aspect of the series for its ability to stay on the air. “Seventy years ago, whenever TV began, there’s this box, everybody wants to watch it. We’ve got to figure out programming, somebody was like, ‘Hospital,’ which is so genius, right?” he said. “Because in through the doors everyday come these life-and-death stories.”

He continued, “One of the things I can guarantee you is when people come in through our doors every episode, something very good or very bad is going to happen very soon. There’s not too much in between and that’s like life, you know? That’s like life, but it’s just automatic drama.”

Sharon Goodwin (Epatha S. Merkerson)

Is Sharon Goodwin coming back for Chicago Med Season 9? The answer is likely. Epatha S. Merkerson — who has played Chief of Patient and Medical Services Sharon Goodwin since Season 1 of Chicago Med — hasn’t confirmed if she’s leaving or coming back for Season 9. However, there are no major clues storyline-wise that she’s leaving.

Before Chicago Med, Merkerson starred as as Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the original Law & Order— which was also created by Dick Wolf, the mind behind the One Chicago franchise — from Season 4 to Season 20. In an interview with AARP in 2015, Merkerson revealed that Wolf personally cast her in Chicago Med after her 17 seasons on Law & Order. “Dick has been a loyal producer and friend. He first hired me at 41, and now he’s hiring me at 62,” she said. “That says he knows the importance of the female point of view at all stages. I consider him a dear, dear friend.”

“At a certain point the jobs come few and far between. That’s why I’m very proud of being part of this production, as a woman in her 60s.”

Merkerson also told the Chicago Tribune in 2016 that she joined Chicago Med after having “nothing to do” following her time on Law & Order.

“I started doing other things,” she said. “And then about five years after the show ended, I had nothing to do and nothing planned. And that had never happened before! I was on Law & Order 17 seasons, so it was wild to be in my late 50s and I was like, ‘OK, I want something to do.'”

She recalled talking to her manager, who mentioned that he had just gotten off the phone with Law & Order executive producer Peter Janowski. “And I said, ‘Tell him I want a job!'” Merkerson said. “Of course I didn’t say it quite like that, but my manager goes, ‘Are you serious?’ and I said, ‘Hell, yes! Dick Wolf!’ So he called me back literally two hours later and he goes, ‘Peter wants to know if you’re serious, because he might have something for you.'”

Crockett Marcel (Dominic Rains)

Is Crockett Marcel coming back for Chicago Med Season 9? The answer is likely. Dominic Rains — who has played Dr. Crockett Marcel since Season 5 of Chicago Med — hasn’t confirmed if he’s leaving or coming back for Season 9. However, there are no major clues storyline-wise to him leaving.

The only minor issue that could lead to his exit is Crockett’s disagreement with Dr. Will Halstead and other Gaffney Chicago Medical Center docors’ opinions of O.R. 2.0, a robotic surgery unit.

“He’s a fantastic surgeon. He knows it. He’s not afraid to show it. And he likes to play by his own rules,” Rains told HollywoodLife in 2019 about what makes Crockett different from other doctors at Gaffney. “He’s very unapologetic for who he is, and what he is, and what he does. He knows when he gets down to life and death situations, he’s not trying to save anyone’s feelings, so to speak.”

Dean Archer (Steven Weber)

Is Dean Archer coming back for Chicago Med Season 9? The answer is unclear. Steven Weber — who has played Dr. Dean Archer since Season 7 of Chicago Med — hasn’t confirmed if he’s leaving or coming back for Season 9. However, fans believe that his storyline at the end of Chicago Med Season 8 could be setting up his exit.

In Season 8, fans learned that Dean was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease,

the final, permanent stage of chronic kidney disease, where kidney function has declined to the point that the kidneys can no longer function on their own, according to John Hopkins Medicine. In Season 8, Episode 20, “The Winds of Change Are Stating to Blow,” Dean’s son Sean Archer — who he was estranged from for years due to Sean’s struggle with addiction and later imprisonment — tests to see if he’s a viable kidney match for his father. Sean learns he’s a match for Dean in Season 8, Episode 21, “Might Feel Like It’s Time for a Change,” and the doctors inform Dean that he could undergo surgery within the next month. Dean, however, is unsure of whether to accept the transplant, given his estranged relationship with Sean and the fact that both of them are interested in Dr. Hannah Asher. Though Dean accepts Sean’s offer to donate his kidney, Sean is unable to undergo the surgery as he falls off the wagon and must be clean for six months before he can donate. The storyline made fans wonder if Chicago Med was setting up Dean’s death as a way for hiim to leave the series.

“There’s a little bit of uncertainty there, having to do with those trust issues that I mentioned earlier, and also because he understands the reality of hospital world,” Weber told TV Insider in May 2023 of why Dean was unsure about accepting Sean’s kidney transplant. “It is of course his world. It’s what he believes in. He also knows that there are great risks involved, even in the simplest of procedures. This is not a simple procedure, and it also binds people together in ways that might make a guy like Dean very uncomfortable. There’s a lot of obligation involved and a lot of kind of existential obligation. Dean is a guy that’s a rolling stone that gathers no moss, but since he’s been at Gaffney, he’s fairly moss covered, and so this will be a challenge to him.”

He contiuned, “We’re going to see more revelations involving how he deals with being vulnerable and asking for help. He’s not used to that. He’s used to assuming that he’s the help that is asked for, and so he’s got to find a way to trust people, another big issue for him, and the people who he’s seeking trust from are also people who have trust issues.

Hannah Asher (Jessy Schram)

Is Hannah Asher coming back for Chicago Med Season 9? The answer is likely. Jessy Schram — who has played Dr. Hannah Asher since Season 7 of Chicago Med — hasn’t confirmed if she’s coming back or leaving the series. However, there are no major clues storyline-wise that she’s leaving.

The only minor issue is her love triangle with Dr. Dean Archer and his son, Sean, which could become even more complicated if Dean dies from end-stage renal disease.

“I would say since Hannah’s return, all she’s been doing is butting against the stigmas of her [past]. And Archer has been really the only one that keeps on carrying it through, for personal reasons as we learn,” Schram told Parade in 2022 of Hannah and Dean’s relationship. “He’s definitely projecting onto her because of his son’s situation of getting into drugs and also being in jail right now. So, he’s projecting a lot of his own upsets and feels onto her.”

She contiued, “I don’t really think with Archer we’ve seen him let his guard down with other people. I think it’s a really interesting dynamic that’s starting to happen between the two of them. They’re both people that come from pretty broken pasts, and so there might be a really cool relationship or friendship from that.”