Chicago Med casts Jessy Schram as drug-addicted new doctor

When Chicago Med returns, Jessy Schram will be recurring as a doctor with a drug addiction in multiple Chicago Med season 5 episodes.

Another doctor is coming to Chicago Med, and this new arrival is also a drug addict.

Jessy Schram (Last Resort, Falling Skies) has been cast in a recurring role when Chicago Med season 5 returns, according to a report from Deadline. Schram will appear in multiple episodes in the rest of the season.

Schram’s character is Dr. Hannah Asher, a gynecological surgeon on the hospital staff. She’s been described as “attractive, brilliant…with a secret drug problem. [Asher] does her best to pull herself together…but she’s always fighting her demons.”

The report didn’t state when the new character will be introduced, but new episodes resume on Wednesday, Jan. 8.

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We also don’t know how Asher fits into the existing stories we’ve seen so far this season. Since she’s a surgeon in gynecology, will she come into contact with April Sexton (Yaya DaCosta), who was last seen getting a difficult diagnosis from her OB/GYN?

It’s possible that April could decide to have some sort of procedure done, and thus Asher is introduced that way, leading April to eventually pick up on her issues. The character description wouldn’t mention her drug use if it wasn’t going to come out in the story.

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The bigger question, if you’re a Chicago Med fan, is how the hospital might want to start taking a closer look at the people it’s been hiring. Or at least, the writers have started a trend of more dysfunctional characters.

Last season Dr. Ava Bekker (Norma Kuhling) turned into a murderer, liar and a sociopath before she committed suicide in the hospital during the season 5 premiere.

Then the show introduced Dr. Crockett Marcel (Dominic Rains), described as “hard-partying” and who was once seen hooking himself up to an IV line in the Emergency Department to get over his latest night out.

Now, the newest doctor they’re bringing in has a drug problem. While they might be wanting to tell a real story about drug addiction within the medical world—it does exist—it’s worth noting that’s a pattern of creating characters who really don’t have much business working in the hospital in the first place.

It’s also kind of at odds with the overall theme of the One Chicago franchise. The marketing for the three shows depicts the characters as heroic and selfless, the best of Chicago, and then this series shows doctors who murder, party too much and abuse drugs. So what are the producers going for here?

That being said, Jessy Schram should be a good addition to the cast; if you saw her work on Last Resort, you know she’s capable of doing a lot with a little. Perhaps her character will get to take a redemption arc and clean up her act, like how Marcel has generally stayed out of trouble. Or will she get a dramatic exit like Ava Bekker, ending up arrested or overdosing? We’ll have to find out when Hannah Asher is introduced.

For the latest Chicago Med season 5 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Med category at One Chicago Center.