Yaya DaCosta reveals the real reason she left Chicago Med

When Chicago Med returns for its seventh season this fall, it will do so without original cast member Yaya DaCosta. As season 6 came to a close, word broke that DaCosta, along with fellow original cast member Torrey DeVitto, had decided not to extend her contract with the show marking the end of an era for NBC’s hit medical drama.

While Med has seen its fair share of cast shakeups over the years, there is no denying the loss of DaCosta’s Nurse April Sexton is going to be one of the show’s biggest hurdles yet. April has been a key member of the Chicago Med cast across the show’s first six seasons and was actually one of the first cast in the spinoff, having originated the role on Chicago Fire before making the jump to Med in the fall of 2015 upon the show’s launch.

In the season 6 finale, a potential exit storyline seemed to be laid out with April getting accepted into a Nurse Practitioner program and we’re anticipating that the writers will lean into this storyline to explain April’s absence when the new season begins.

We know what is going to lead to April leaving town, but what exactly led to DaCosta departing the series after six seasons?

Why did Yaya DaCosta leave Chicago Med

While some Chicago Med actors have left the series as the result of creative decisions with the writers opting to write their characters off of the show, Yaya DaCosta’s departure was a personal decision — one that happened to come about as the result of a new project coming about right at the time she was determining her future with the show.

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As DaCosta revealed in a new interview with Deadline while pondering whether or not to leave Chicago Med DaCosta came across the script for FOX’s new drama Our Kind of People which she immediately fell in love with. Not only did the project catch her eye and spark inspiration, but it also came with the added bonus of getting to once again team up with Lee Daniels who she previously worked with on The Butler. 

"“My exit from Chicago Med and the arrival of this show happened really simultaneously. There isn’t much to say about it. There was a window opening and a question mark as to whether I should stay or go,” DaCosta revealed. “And in that window, I fell in love with Our Kind of People and I jumped at the opportunity to work with Lee Daniels again. I first worked with him years ago on The Butler.”"

While DaCosta seems to have nothing but love for Chicago Med, ultimately she felt it was the right time to move on to pursue new acting ventures with Our Kind of People standing out as an opportunity that was too good to pass up.

For the latest Chicago Med season 7 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Med category at One Chicago Center.