Gaffney Chicago Medical Center has officially opened its doors once again for a new season, but there is one familiar face Chicago Med fans won’t be seeing around the hospital this season.
After three seasons, Ashley Sharpe Chesnut has exited Chicago Med and will not be a part of the season 12 cast. Chestnut confirmed her departure from the show during the summer hiatus, telling one fan on TikTok that she would not be coming back for the new season.
At the time, little was known about the circumstances of Chestnut’s exit, leading to a lot of speculation over what led to her departure. This was understandable given there had been no indication that Naomi would not be back for season 12, with the previous season of Chicago Med finally putting Naomi and Frost together after an extended will-they-won’t-they storyline. All signs pointed towards Naomi remaining a key part of the show’s ensemble in season 12, and fans were looking forward to seeing more of Naomi and Frost’s relationship.
So what led to this sudden and unexpected departure? Well, it seems this was not a decision made by the show’s writers but rather a personal decision made by Chestnut.
Allen MacDonald reveals why Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut left Chicago Med
While the One Chicago shows often are forced to say goodbye to longtime cast members due to budget constraints and for creative reasons, that was not the case with Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut. According to Chicago Med showrunner Allen MacDonald, the plan was always for Chestnut to return for season 12 and for Naomi to continue to be a part of the show’s ensemble; however, Chestnut made the decision to step away from the series to pursue other opportunities. As a result, the show was forced to write the character of Dr. Naomi Howard out of the show.
“We were initially planning for Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut to return as Dr. Naomi Howard this season, but she elected to move on because she has a lot of opportunities,” MacDonald revealed to Give Me My Remote. “She’s a super talented actress. She is an amazingly kind person, and she has other things she wants to do and try. And she can’t do everything, so she had to make a choice. Right now, we don’t have her on the show. I don’t know when and if we will again, but I hope we do.”
Chestnut is not the first actor to exit a show set within the One Chicago universe to pursue other opportunities, and she likely will not be the last to leave the show of her own accord. At the end of the day, Chestnut had to do what she felt was best for her personally, and that sadly was to leave Chicago Med, which is a shame.
While Naomi started in a minor role upon making her debut in season 9, she’d become a key member of the show’s ensemble as the years progressed. Fans loved getting to see Naomi come into her own as a doctor at the hospital and were thrilled when the show began incorporating her into the show’s narratives in a more prominent role.
It’s unclear whether we’ll get to see Naomi again at any point in the future, but the odds of her appearing in season 12 are not looking good. Given the sudden nature of her exit, we don’t imagine Chestnut will return late in the season, though there is always a possibility she could pop up for a guest appearance down the line should the stars align.
Add us as a preferred source on Google