Many great actors are on the market thanks to TV cancellations, and One Chicago needs to steal these stars for Chicago Fire, Chicago PD and Chicago Med.
With TV networks having announced which shows aren’t returning or weren’t picked up for next season, a number of excellent actors are now free agents—and would be perfect additions to the One Chicago universe.
Spring TV announcements aren’t only for which shows have been renewed or canceled. That’s also when we find out which actors are back on the open market, whether their show wasn’t picked up, came to a natural end, or they’ve decided to leave.
With this year giving us a particularly great crop of available talent, why not cast some of those stars on Chicago Fire, or Chicago PD, or Chicago Med?
We’ve scoured the list of actors who aren’t coming back to their current roles, and picked out who we’d particularly love to see join the One Chicago franchise next season, and what we’d like to see them play. These are truly talented people who would make our shows even better, and we think they deserve a seat at the table.
Click through the below slideshow for the five actors we think need to come to Chicago during the upcoming season, and let us know which actors you’d want to see on Chicago Fire, PD and Med in the comments at the end of the article.
1. Alfonso Herrera
CURRENTLY: Father Tomas Ortega in FOX‘s horror series The Exorcist, which was canceled after two seasons.
SHOULD MOVE TO: Chicago Fire or Chicago Med.
WHY WE LIKE HIM: Anyone who saw Herrera on The Exorcist knows how amazingly talented he is. His character went from being a wide-eyed priest in over his head during the first season, to a hardened exorcist who had evil getting inside his head. He completely transformed the character, so on his level of talent alone, we’d love to have him.
But beyond that, his character also had a huge heart, plenty of compassion for others and a very endearing personality. He’d be a good fit over on Chicago Fire, where the firefighters and medics have to be community therapists and problem-solvers as much as actually putting out fires and tending to medical emergencies.
Or even on Chicago Med, where he could easily play a new doctor with a great bedside manner. He would’ve been perfect for the episode where there was talk about an exorcism. But Herrera has the right personality and presence to be somewhat like Brian Tee: calm, steady, and a little bit of a mystery himself. There are always outside surgeons and specialists coming into the hospital, so it would be easy to bring him in and have him bolster the ED.
2. Boris Kodjoe
CURRENTLY: Dr. Will Campbell on CBS‘s Code Black, which was canceled after three seasons. The series finale airs July 18.
SHOULD MOVE TO: Chicago PD or Chicago Med
WHY WE LIKE HIM: Kodjoe was originally a recurring cast member in Code Black‘s first season but was promoted to series regular for the second and third seasons, and he helped change the whole show for the better. His character, Dr. Campbell, went from being an antagonistic surgeon to a part of the team as he oversaw both the ER and the OR in a massive cost-cutting measure. He’s the boss, but he’s also a boss.
That would make him an interesting fit for Chicago PD, because his stage presence would work for the show in a number of ways. He could either play another rough and tumble cop who works with Intelligence, similar to what we saw with Nick Wechsler‘s character Kenny Rixton, or go the other direction and be a straight-laced cop who pushes back against Jason Beghe‘s Hank Voight and his methods. Kodjoe starred in NBC‘s spy series Undercovers, so he can do the physical work.
If he wants to stay in the lane he’s currently in, Kodjoe’s character went through in Code Black season 2 is what One Chicago tried to do in Chicago Med season 3, but didn’t entirely succeed with. He would be an excellent fit if he were, say, hired by the new executive to help improve the running of the hospital as a consultant or new doctor—and his no-nonsense manner would push everyone who’s currently working in the ED. Generally, all of our characters get along, and Kodjoe’s great at playing the one guy who doesn’t.
3. Benjamin Hollingsworth
CURRENTLY: Dr. Mario Savetti on CBS‘s Code Black, which was canceled after three seasons. The series finale airs July 18.
SHOULD MOVE TO: Chicago Med or Chicago PD
WHY WE LIKE HIM: Benjamin Hollingsworth has quietly been one of Code Black‘s best actors over the show’s entire run. His Dr. Mario Savetti is a fighter, who came into the show with a chip on his shoulder and continues to battle for his patients and colleagues throughout. He’s done wonderful things with the character, and One Chicago would benefit from an actor of his caliber, who’s still getting better as he goes.
Hollingsworth is an incredibly versatile actor who could shake up any One Chicago show, and he has lots of experience playing the foil. If Chicago Med really wants someone for Colin Donnell to butt heads with in a stronger rivalry, they could bring him in; he’s done that in the first season of USA‘s Suits with Patrick J. Adams.
At the same time, that challenging quality would also work over on Chicago PD. Intelligence is all about doing whatever it takes, and Benjamin Hollingsworth has the grit that show requires. Either as a cop or as another ASA—since Steve Kot seems to be missing and Anna Valdez may not be back given that Monica Barbaro has a new series—he’d fit right in. Hollingsworth played an ADA on FOX‘s Backstrom, so whatever role he’s offered he can handle.
And One Chicago needs to find a place for him because he’s a performer who would immediately elevate the franchise. He’s not going to be on the market for very long.
4. Robert Patrick
CURRENTLY: Agent Cabe Gallo on CBS‘s Scorpion, which was canceled after four seasons.
SHOULD MOVE TO: Chicago PD
WHY WE LIKE HIM: If Chicago PD is determined to replace Alvin Olinsky (which we think is not a good idea), then Robert Patrick should be the first and only choice. Like Elias Koteas, he has the experience, the veteran presence, and the seen it all personality. Plus, who wouldn’t want to see Robert Patrick and Jason Beghe in scenes together?
Patrick’s recent resume just completely lends itself to joining One Chicago’s detective squad. He just finished four seasons playing a federal agent on Scorpion and before that, was leading an elite military squad as Colonel Tom Ryan on CBS’s The Unit. Plus, this is the same actor who played the fantastic Agent John Doggett on FOX’s The X-Files and oh yeah, was the killer T-1000. What more do you want?
He would bring another experienced presence into an Intelligence Unit that just skewed a lot more youthful with Koteas’s departure. The idea of him working with Beghe or Amy Morton already has us getting excited. And Robert Patrick can play anything One Chicago wants to throw at him. He’s been one of the best villains of in film history, an upstanding FBI agent chasing aliens, and in The Unit he was sleeping with his subordinate’s wife for a while.
He’s the perfect good-bad cop that Chicago PD specializes in, so it’d be a huge missed chance if the show doesn’t grab him while he’s available, even if it’s for just a brief arc like Nick Wechsler or Michael McGrady.
5. Sam Jaeger
CURRENTLY: Detective Les Zoeller on NBC‘s Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders. The series has yet to be canceled or renewed for a second season.
SHOULD MOVE TO: Chicago Fire
WHY WE LIKE HIM: Sam Jaeger is already in the Dick Wolf ethos thanks to his supporting role in last season’s Law & Order True Crime. It doesn’t sound like that show is coming back for another season, and even if it was, the anthology nature means that Jaeger probably won’t be unless Wolf pulls a Ryan Murphy.
But he’s done a lot of good work, much of it happening on NBC, as before True Crime he was one of the series regulars in the TV version of Parenthood. The network knows him and clearly likes him, so given that there’s at least one position available at Firehouse 51, why not move him from one Wolf franchise to the other? It’s been done before.
Jaeger was the best thing to come out of True Crime, and he’d be a fine partner for Kara Killmer‘s Sylvie Brett, as an actor who’s great at playing down to earth civil servants. Or he’d be a solid pick to play the next visiting firefighter; he just portrayed a SWAT team leader in the film SWAT: Under Siege, which proved he ought to be offered more physical roles, too.
He’s a solid actor, an excellent addition to any cast, and he’s got good history with both Dick Wolf and NBC, so all signs point to him being wonderful for One Chicago. There’s the issue of Jaeger in the upcoming CBS All Access series Tell Me A Story, but since that’s also an anthology, perhaps he could find time in his schedule to visit the firehouse somewhere in there.
Next: 5 questions about Chicago Fire's big exit
Which actors would you like to see in a One Chicago show next season? Which series would you cast them in? Let us know in the comments, and we may feature your casting suggestions in a future article!
One Chicago returns on NBC on Sept. 26.