Chicago Med adding new doctor character in season 9
Chicago Med, like Chicago PD, is going through some growing pains. The show parted ways with a handful of central characters in season 8, including Dr. Dylan Scott (Guy Lockard) and Dr. Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss), which means Gaffney Medical Center has more than a few positions to fill in the upcoming season.
To the show’s credit, the writers and producers are wasting little time. According to TV Line, Med will be looking to cast a doctor who is in his mid-thirties, and who has a personal connection to an established character, Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt). The connection has not yet been revealed, but the outlet does state that the doctor comes from a troubled background, and received assistance from Charles when he was growing up.
Chicago Med makes casting change ahead of season 9
The actor’s age and status as a doctor makes him sound like a technical replacement for Halstead, but given that Halstead was the default protagonist of Chicago Med for eight seasons, making the swap might prove tricky. The show will have to take its time setting up the new doctor, and make sure that viewers are connecting with him before they throw him into central storylines.
The notion of bringing in a new actor is, however, exciting. Chicago Med had no choice but to make changes after the aforementioned departures, which gives the show a chance to step back, retool its ensemble cast, and make sure that things are running smoothly as they approach a decade on the air. Not many shows make it ten years, but the ones that do are able to roll with the punches and make adjustments when cast members decide to leave.
The last time Med tried to bring in new characters was in season 7, when Dr. Pamela Blake (Sarah Rafferty) and the aforementioned Dylan Scott introduced. Neither character made it far, though, as the former was forced to resign after a medical procedure gone wrong, and Scott quit after a tragic encounter with an undercover police officer. We hope that whoever the new doctor is manages to stick around for the long haul.
NBC has not yet commented on who will be cast.
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