Chicago Med is continuing to expand its cast. Having been on the air for ten years, the three One Chicago shows, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med, have gone through its fair share of changes. For this upcoming installment of Chicago Med, season 11, fans are already getting treated to the return of Nick Gehlfuss, who played Dr. Will Halstead from the very start of the series, since 2015, but left the show in 2023 after season eight.
Now, they will also be getting to know a brand new character, S. Epatha Merkerson's character's Sharon Goodwin's son David, who will be played by Gbenga Akinnagbe. The One Chicago universe newcomer, who will be appearing on Med under a recurring role, is best known for his previous roles as Chris Partlow on the hit HBO series The Wire as well as Larry Brown on the fellow HBO series The Deuce, plus he was also recently on the Jeff Bridges helmed drama The Old Man.
Speaking with Deadline, showrunner Allen MacDonald gave insight into what this season might look like for Goodwin, especially having added her son into the mix. "There's a lot of pain in her life and in her past, with the stabbing and her breakup with Dr. Dennis Washington in her recent past. I was just so moved by how she handled that. It was always my intention that with the arc with Cassidy, her attacker, that we would, in the finale, see her confront her attacker, and that the attacker would ask for forgiveness," he first shared of some of the drama that unfolded in season 10.
After that break-up, Goodwin relied on Bert, her ex-husband and the father of her three kids, Michael, Tara and David, for support. "I loved so much the idea that she went to the one person who is still home to her, even though he's her ex-husband. She had children with him, so her closest connection is to him. It's not spoiling anything to say we will be seeing more of Bert this season," Allen added.
As for season 11's other additions, last month, Nick confirmed he was returning as Dr. Will Halstead when he appeared in an Instagram photo shared by his co-star Luke Mitchell, who stars as Dr. Mitch Ripley, also featuring Steven Weber, who plays Dr. Dean Archer. Will had previously left on season eight to reunite with his ex-fiancée Dr. Natalie Manning — who was played by Torrey DeVitto, who left the show at the end of season six — but will return as a guest star for the show's milestone 100th episode. His character will be back along with Natalie's son, in town for a Bears game, and stop by the hospital.
Chicago Med came back on October 1 without John Earl Jenks and Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut. John starred as Dr. Dennis Washington for just 12 episodes across seasons nine and ten, his last episode being the season ten finale, "Don't You Cry," which was released in May. His character was written out as part of a budget-cut storyline, and though Goodwin, the chief administrator of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, tried to renegotiate his deal, he ultimately resigned. Also leaving is Ashlei, who starred as Dr. Naomi Howard for 16 episodes across seasons nine and ten, her last appearance being on the penultimate episode of season ten, "Baby Mine…"
In spite of those two departures, Chicago Med's mainstays are safe, including S. Epatha and Oliver Platt, who signed multi-year contracts last year. Also returning are Marlyne Barrett, Steven Weber, Jessy Schram, Luke Mitchell, Sarah Ramos, and Darren Barnet. Speaking with Parade, Allen, who took over as showrunner for the show's milestone tenth season, shared that when it comes to season 11, his plan is "to take everything a step further but still be on the same path."
"I told the writers that in every episode [of season 10], I want everyone to cry in every episode, and I want everybody to laugh in every episode," he went on, confessing: "I want to continue that emotional torture for the audience as much as I possibly can, but take the characters in different directions."