Chicago Med might not have had quite as a tumultuous summer as Chicago Fire and Chicago PD, but fans of NBC’s One Chicago medical drama might be about to see a beloved character sidelined for several episodes at the beginning of Chicago Med season 12.
Ahead of the season 11 finale, Sarah Ramos took to Instagram to announce that she and her husband, Matt Spicer, were expecting their first child. The news was widely celebrated by One Chicago fans and Ramos’ One Chicago co-stars, who shared their love for the couple as they prepare to become first-time parents.
At the time of the announcement, it was unclear whether Ramos’ pregnancy might impact her role on Chicago Med, but it now seems safe to reason that fans may not be seeing Dr. Caitlin Lenox as the new season begins. Filming on season 12 has recently begun, and there has been no indication that Ramos is on set alongside her returning co-stars, which suggests that her maternity leave from the show will run through at least the first several weeks of production and result in Lenox being sidelined to accommodate Ramos’ leave.
It’s hard to know just how many episodes Ramos might miss, but Chicago Med fans may be able to look to FBI for a clue.
A few years back, Missy Peregrym announced her pregnancy in early April, nearly a month earlier than Ramos, and Peregrym’s leave would ultimately result in her not returning to film until September of that year. She would then make her on-screen return in November in the seventh episode of the season.
If Ramos follows a similar approach with her leave for Chicago Med, adjusting to account for the fact that her pregnancy announcement came a month later than Peregrym’s, there is a chance that Ramos might not return to begin filming Chicago Med season 12 until late September or early to mid-October. This means we could potentially be without Lenox for the first several episodes of the season, potentially missing up to the first six to eight episodes of the show.
What will be interesting is to see how the show might write Lenox out during that time given that we could very well be without the character for a sizable amount of time to open the season. There was really no storyline introduced in the season 11 finale that could help explain her potential departure from Gaffney during that time.
One possible idea is that her exit will be connected to her diagnosis of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease. Perhaps she’ll enter an experimental trial for early treatment that will take her out of town for a stretch of time or even dedicate her time to participating in research for the disease that will take her out of town.
Hopefully, with the season quickly approaching, we’ll begin getting more official updates from NBC with plot information and via new interviews. We imagine that once showrunner Allen MacDonald begins hitting the interview circuit to speak about the upcoming season, we’ll learn more about the plans for Lenox and Ramos’ potential leave at the top of the season.
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