Heading into the new season of Chicago Med, there are a lot of questions on the minds of fans, due in large part to the many unresolved questions left by the finale cliffhangers. Fans have been speculating for weeks already about what the new season could hold and where the finale storylines might take things next, but there’s another more pressing question circulating among viewers: Could we be losing any members of the cast?
It’s a question that has been understandably on the minds of fans after it was reported that additional One Chicago departures were a strong possibility in the wake of Daniel Kyri and Jake Lockett’s exits from Chicago Fire. This is a reasonable concern given the One Chicago shows are all getting up there in season count with each show past the ten-season marker.
The good news is that it has now been confirmed that Wolf Entertainment has locked down both S. Epatha Merkerson and Oliver Platt for Chicago Med season 11. Deadline reports that the pair’s options for the 2025-26 season have been picked up as part of the multi-year contracts inked in 2024 after their contracts ended at the conclusion of season 9.
It’s exciting to know that options for both Merkerson and Platt have been picked up for next season, but it’s a bit concerning that there is no update on the contract status of fellow original star Marlyne Barrett.
Like Merkerson and Platt, Barrett’s contract expired at the end of the show’s ninth season and she inked a new multi-year contract at the same time it was reported Wolf Entertainment worked out a new deal for Merkerson and Platt. However, unlike her costars, Barrett’s name was not referenced in the new Deadline report, which has us more than a little concerned about the standing of Barrett’s contract with the show and whether the show might be choosing not to pick up an option for the 2025-26 season.
Truthfully, Barrett’s character Maggie Lockwood, is one of the show’s most vital characters. While there are plenty of doctors making up the show’s ensemble, Barrett is the show’s sole series regular whose character is a nurse. As anyone in the medical field and fans who watch medical dramas will tell you, nurses are the heart of the hospital and are true unsung heroes in the field. They play pivotal roles in the treatment of patients and in helping to keep departments such as the ER running smoothly, and we’ve seen this many times through Maggie’s storylines.
To think of Chicago Med continuing without Maggie is an impossible thought, as she’s a character we simply cannot picture the show without. She’s someone who always has the best interests of her patients at the forefront of her mind and who challenges the doctors to always do right by their patients, while also looking out for the best interests of the doctors as well.
Simply put, Maggie is the heart of the E.D., and we can only hope that Barrett will be back for season 11 as the show cannot stand to lose her.