Chicago Med is an American medical drama series broadcast by NBC and created by Dick Wolf as the third installment of the Chicago franchise. It stars Nick Gehlfuss, Yaya DaCosta, Torrey DeVitto, Rachel DiPillo, Colin Donnell, Brian Tee, S. Epatha Merkerson, Oliver Platt, Marlyne Barrett, Norma Kuhling, Dominic Rains, Steven Weber, Guy Lockard, Kristen Hager, Jessy Schram, Luke Mitchell, Sarah Ramos and Darren Barnet. It premiered on November 17, 2015.
Chicago Med follows the emergency department 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.
In March 2026, the series was renewed for a twelfth season, which is set to premiere on October 7, 2026.
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.
Cast
Nick Gehlfuss as Dr. Will Halstead (seasons 1–8; guest season 11), 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 in seasons three and four. 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 Senior 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 Kelly Severide. In the sixth season, she is 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 1–6; guest seasons 7–8 and 11), an ED pediatrics fellow 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 for her sick mother from her ex-fiancé Dr. Halstead's clinical trial. She later reunites with Halstead following his resignation at the end of season eight. Rachel DiPillo as Dr. Sarah Reese (seasons 1–3; recurring season 10; guest season 4), originally a fourth-year medical student, who does not feel drawn to emergency medicine and would rather become a pathologist. After she graduates from medical school, she immediately leaves pathology and becomes a First year 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. Charles finds out her father is a suspected serial killer and they have a falling-out. She returns in Season 10, and following yet another argument with Dr. Charles about a patient's care, was able to make peace with her former mentor. Colin Donnell as Dr. Connor Rhodes (seasons 1–5), a Trauma and Cardiothoracic Surgery 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 cardiothoracic surgery. 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 died by suicide after murdering Cornelius to win Connor back. Brian Tee as Lieutenant Commander Dr. Ethan Choi, United States Navy Reserve (seasons 1–8), the Attending Physician of Emergency Medicine specialising in infectious diseases who just returned to the United States after serving on the 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 ED Charge Nurse and a Board-certified critical care nurse who currently is the Executive Director of Patient and Medical Services of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. Oliver Platt as Dr. Daniel Charles, the Chief of Psychiatry and Behavioural Health, 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 as Maggie Lockwood, the ED Charge Nurse and a Board-certified EMT-paramedic. (seasons 1–10), the ED's charge nurse who is not afraid to speak her mind when it comes to schooling the residents, but she is caring and kind and fights for her patients. In the fifth season, she is diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, but is later cured and she marries former cancer patient Ben Campbell. She leaves Med temporarily after the tenth season for personal reasons. Norma Kuhling as Dr. Ava Bekker (seasons 3–5; recurring season 2), a South Africa Second Year Fellow/later Attending Physician in Cardiothoracic Surgery. 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 dies by suicide after admitting to killing Connor's father in a last-ditch effort to win him back. Dominic Rains as Dr. Crockett Marcel (seasons 5–9), a new trauma surgeon fellow at Chicago Med introduced in the fifth season. At the end of the ninth season, he is devastated when a young patient, for whom he had to cancel a life-saving kidney transplant due to a last-minute infection, succumbs to his disease. Immediately after, the boy's aggrieved father commits suicide. The experience reminded Marcel of his own daughter's death, and in the tenth-season premiere, it is revealed he has moved to Boston for a fresh start. Steven Weber as Dr. Dean Archer (season 7 – present; recurring season 6), an experienced trauma surgeon and emergency physician and a mentor to Dr. Ethan Choi, with whom he formerly served in the Navy. He eventually takes over as Chief of Emergency Medicine before becoming co-head of the department in season 10, and eventually goes back to being an attending physician after Dr. Caitlin Lenox takes over all management responsibilities. Guy Lockard as Dr. Dylan Scott (seasons 7 and 8), a 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 in Emergency Medicine and former rival of Dr. Will Halstead from medical school. 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 season 5; guest season 6), a Board-certified and attending physician in obstetrics and gynecology from Los Angeles who previously struggled with substance abuse before getting sober. Luke Mitchell as Dr. Mitch Ripley (season 9 – present) an ED attending physician, a former violent delinquent who had been treated by Dr. Charles and has since turned his life around. Sarah Ramos as Dr. Caitlin Lenox (season 10 – present), an attending physician with Board-certification in Trauma surgery, who becomes the new co-head of the ED, and eventually outright Chief of Emergency Medicine. A former Army Special Forces member, Lenox is an often fearless physician with a measured, rational demeanor. When her compassion surfaces, it proves to be surprising, sincere, and creative. Darren Barnet as Dr. John Frost (season 10 – present), an emergency pediatrics resident who joined Gaffney after the previous hospital he worked in closed. Frost is revealed to be a former teen heartthrob who was on a popular television series.
Episodes
Crossovers
"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. "In the Trenches" (Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 11/Chicago Med Season 10, Episode 11/Chicago P.D. Season 12, Episode 11)
Production Development The series was greenlit by NBC for the show's pilot episode on May 1, 2015. On August 21, 2015, Andrew Dettman stepped down as showrunner due to "creative differences" following his appointment in June. Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov were appointed as new showrunners on August 27, 2015. NBC originally ordered 13 episodes for season one; on December 11, 2015, an additional 5 episodes were ordered, bringing the season to 18 episodes.
On February 1, 2016, NBC renewed the series for a second season. On May 15, 2016, it was announced that the series would be moving to Thursdays. The second season premiered on September 22, 2016. 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. The series moved back to Tuesdays after spending one season on Thursdays.
On February 27, 2020, NBC renewed the series for a sixth, seventh, and eighth season. The sixth season premiered on November 11, 2020. The seventh season premiered on September 22, 2021. The eighth season premiered on September 21, 2022. On March 13, 2020, Universal Television shut down production on the series due to the COVID-19 pandemic.