Chicago Med’s Heather Headley starring in Netflix series Sweet Magnolias

NBCUNIVERSAL EVENTS -- "One Chicago Day" -- Pictured: Heather Headley, "Chicago Med," at "One Chicago Day" at Lagunitas Brewing Company in Chicago, IL on September 10, 2018 -- (Photo by: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)
NBCUNIVERSAL EVENTS -- "One Chicago Day" -- Pictured: Heather Headley, "Chicago Med," at "One Chicago Day" at Lagunitas Brewing Company in Chicago, IL on September 10, 2018 -- (Photo by: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC) /
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Chicago Med recurring guest star Heather Headley will star in the Netflix drama Sweet Magnolias. Does that mean Gwen Garrett is leaving Chicago Med?

One of Chicago Med‘s most prominent recurring players has booked a leading role on another show, as Heather Headley has been cast in Netflix‘s upcoming series Sweet Magnolias.

Based on romance novels by Sherryl Woods, Sweet Magnolias is described as a “romantic drama” about a trio of friends in a small town in South Carolina.

Headley will star as Helen Decatur, who has a successful career as a lawyer and helps people as much off the job as she does on it. She’s particularly close to Maddie Townsend (played by Monica Potter from NBC‘s Parenthood).

Former Drop Dead Diva star Brooke Elliott rounds out the main cast as the third friend, Dana Sue Sullivan, who owns and operates the local restaurant.

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Heather Headley was a well-established name before she joined the One Chicago franchise; she’s a Tony Award and Grammy Award winner, best known for playing the title role in the musical Aida.

She was introduced at the end of last season as the hospital’s new Chief Operating Officer, Gwen Garrett, brought in to deal with the ongoing financial issues at Chicago Med.

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Headley appeared in multiple Chicago Med season 4 episodes, most notably with Gwen earning the ire of Dr. Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss) during the first crossover to keep his father Pat on life support just long enough so that his death didn’t look bad for the hospital.

So does her getting a new job mean that we’ve seen the last of Gwen Garrett on Chicago Med? It’s possible, but not necessarily.

Gwen’s fate is up the air; she was last seen being warned by Cornelius Rhodes (D.W. Moffett) that her contract at the hospital was about to expire—but with Cornelius being killed off not long after he said that, he’s obviously no longer around to question her job security.

On the other hand, her role wasn’t particularly prominent in the back half of the season. Headley didn’t get a lot to do, and her character could easily be written out off-screen because of Gwen’s contract situation. The hospital has had money problems for two seasons now, so not having her probably isn’t going to hugely impact the storyline.

That being said, Heather Headley is a remarkable actress so it’d be a shame to lose someone with as much talent as she has from the One Chicago cast.

It’ll come down to when Sweet Magnolias films and how it compares to Chicago Med season 5’s shooting schedule.

But Headley becomes the second person to star in their own show after being a major recurring on the hospital drama: Ato Essandoh recurred as Dr. Isidore Latham before he was named a star of CBS‘ military series The Code.

He was still able to come back for guest appearances (albeit only a few of them and mostly brief), so maybe Heather Headley can do the same.

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For the latest Chicago Med season 4 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Med category at One Chicago Center.