Chi-Hards, your favorite Chicago-set shows will be returning in 2024! Chicago Med is among the NBC shows premiering in the new year. NBC isn’t wasting any time bringing One Chicago night back to your television screens.
Chicago Med is entering its ninth season after a wild season 8. Two beloved doctors left the hospital, and now a new one is being thrown into the mix in season 9. Hollywood Life has rounded up all the key updates about Chicago Med season 9.
Will ‘Chicago Med’ Return in 2024?
Yes, Chicago Med is coming back in 2024. The Chicago Med season 9 premiere date is January 17, 2024. The series will air at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, kicking off One Chicago night on Wednesdays. Episodes will be available to stream the next day on Peacock.
Like the majority of scripted shows, Chicago Med’s ninth season was delayed until midseason due to the writers’ and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The new seasons of the One Chicago shows are expected to have shortened seasons of about 13 episodes, according to Deadline.
Who Is Returning to ‘Chicago Med’ for Season 9?
Many of your favorite Gaffney Chicago Medical Center employees will be returning for Chicago Med season 9. Cast members expected to return include S. Epatha Merkerson as Sharon Goodwin, Oliver Platt as Dr. Daniel Charles, Marlyne Barrett as Maggie Lockwood, Dominic Rains as Dr. Crockett Marcel, Steven Weber as Dr. Dean Archer, and Jessy Schram as Dr. Hannah Asher.
Blindspot actor Luke Mitchell has joined the cast of Chicago Med season 9 in a recurring role. While the role is just recurring at the moment, Deadline reported that Luke could become a series regular.
Luke will play Dr. Mitch Ripley, an “Emergency Department doctor with a troubled past who shares a history with Dr. Charles.” The character is expected to debut in the season 9 premiere.
Why Did Nick Gehlfuss & Brian Tee Leave ‘Chicago Med?’
Season 8 featured the exits of longtime Chicago Med vets Nick Gehlfuss and Brian Tee as Dr. Will Halstead and Dr. Ethan Choi. Will left Chicago in the season 8 finale to live with Natalie in Seattle. The character had been a series regular since the show’s premiere in 2015.
“It was a difficult decision, but ultimately, I felt I’d taken Dr. Halstead as far as I can go with him,” Nick told Variety. “I think that comes down to a creative part of you, or the energy or spirit you have that you’re either built for a very long time with one person or not. I am attracted to the profession for the variety in it, and eight years is a long time. It’s two college degrees! I’m joking now that I basically have a doctorate in television.”
Thankfully, Nick isn’t ruling out a return to Chicago. “We were all in agreement on that, thankfully, as I talked with Dick [Wolf] and the writers,” Nick added. “Whenever it makes sense again for important moments, I’d love to don the white lab coat once again.”
Earlier in the season, Brian bid farewell to the character he’d played since the series premiere. Ethan left in the season 8 midseason finale to launch a mobile clinic to help underserved communities in the city with April.
“I think Choi wanted more,” Brian told NBC Insider about why Ethan left the hospital. “I think he needed to help the people he felt needed him the most. I think he loved Chicago Med, but he had a higher purpose in the sense of really trying to heal a city that is wounded. Especially in the inner cities, especially those that, you know, may be struggling either financially or situationally.”
He continued, “I think he [Choi], being from Chicago, has this urgency to want to help and heal, especially those that need him the most. And I think that’s why he chose this particular path and why he left Chicago Med.”
Similar to Nick, Brian is open to returning to the show in the future. “I leave the door always open,” Brian said. “Chicago Med has been an incredible experience and ride for myself personally. And I’ve made some wonderful friends that I hold near and dear to my heart. And going back just to work—not even being in front of the camera—going back to work, and seeing and working with the cast and crew would just be a joy to do.”
Brian has been busy since his Chicago Med exit. He’s starring alongside Nicole Kidman in the Prime Video series Expats. The show will premiere on January 26, 2024.
What Will ‘Chicago Med’ Season 9 Be About?
Chicago Med season 9 will likely pick right up from the finale upheaval. Will decided to manipulate the OR 2.0 system to produce a bad result and ended up resigning. Will and most of the doctors had been fighting to protect the hospital from becoming solely for-profit when Jack Dayton took over. Because of the OR 2.0 system fiasco, Dayton told Goodwin that he was going to have to sell the hospital.
With Will in Seattle, his absence is going to be felt in season 9. With a new doctor coming into the mix, expect some feathers to be ruffled. Meanwhile, Archer is still in need of a kidney donation after his son relapsed.