NBC has officially unveiled the cast of Chicago Med Season 12, with seven familiar faces returning to Gaffney Chicago Medical Center when the Chicago-made medical drama begins its new season October 7.
Returning are Steven Weber as Dr. Dean Archer, Jessy Schram as Dr. Hannah Asher, Luke Mitchell as Dr. Mitch Ripley, Sarah Ramos as Dr. Caitlin Lenox, Darren Barnet as Dr. John Frost, S. Epatha Merkerson as Sharon Goodwin and Oliver Platt as Dr. Daniel Charles.
Season 12 picks up with parenthood, strained friendships and changes at Gaffney
It is a lineup that keeps the current core of Chicago Med together, but Season 12 finds several of those characters entering very different chapters.
Archer and Asher ended last season with perhaps the biggest change of all. The two welcomed their daughter, Mabel, after Hannah went into labor while Gaffney was dealing with a hospital lockdown. Season 12 will find the longtime colleagues navigating parenthood together, with Archer essentially living at Hannah’s house as they care for their daughter.
For Dr. Charles and Goodwin, the situation is considerably less comfortable.
Season 11 ended with Goodwin facing serious professional consequences after being accused of leaking medical information in an effort to save Charles’ career. When the series returns several months later, showrunner Allen MacDonald has indicated that the longtime friends will find their relationship unusually strained.
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Platt and Merkerson remain Chicago Med’s strongest links to the beginning of the series. Both have been with the show since it premiered in 2015.
Ripley also returns following an eventful season that saw his relationship with Dr. Caitlin Lenox take an unexpected turn. Lenox, meanwhile, continues to deal with the knowledge that she carries the gene for the rare and fatal disease that killed her mother.
Ramos will have a reduced presence during the early portion of Season 12. MacDonald has said the actress’ real-life pregnancy was not written into Lenox’s storyline and that Ramos will be absent from a number of episodes at the beginning of the season.
Barnet is also back as pediatric resident Dr. John Frost, whose difficult past became an increasingly important part of his storyline last season.
Season 12 begins with an episode titled Shots Fired, which centers on the aftermath of a shooting at a wedding and brings much of the action back into Gaffney’s emergency department. Gabrielle Carteris will guest star in the premiere as the mother of the groom.
Who is not returning for Season 12
Noticeably absent from NBC’s Season 12 cast announcement is Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, who played Dr. Naomi Howard. Chestnut confirmed earlier this month that she will not return for the new season. Marlyne Barrett, who played longtime Gaffney nurse Maggie Lockwood, is also not expected to return, although MacDonald has said Maggie will continue to be referenced.
Chicago Med Season 12 premieres Wednesday, October 7 at 8 p.m. CT on NBC, kicking off the network’s One Chicago Wednesday lineup. New episodes will stream the following day on Peacock.
