Chicago Med: How Season 7 deals with major cast changes

Torrey DeVitto and Yaya Dacosta leave Chicago Med after 120 episodes

Chicago Med returns for its Season 7 on September 22, but when the One Chicago medical drama returns there are going to be two beloved characters Dr. Natalie Manning, and Nurse April Sexton notably missing from the halls of Gaffney Medical Center as well as the introduction of two new cast regulars.

After six seasons of playing nurse April Sexton, Yaya DaCosta has stepped away from the One Chicago franchise and will not be returning as a series regular in the upcoming season 7.

Torrey DeVitto played Dr. Natalie Manning, an emergency pediatrics specialist, on Chicago Med as well as in crossover episodes on Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. Manning has also had her fair share of life altering decisions as well, not to mention her romantic entanglements.

While two actors (Yaya DaCosta and Torrey DeVitto) exited Chicago Med, two new ones are coming in, as NBC has cast Kristen Hager (Wanted, Being Human, Gotham) as Dr. Stevie Hammer, a brilliant, scrappy emergency medical doctor with a surprising past, and Guy Lockard (Bull, The Village) as Dr. Dylan Scott, an ex-cop who’s doing a dual residency in emergency medicine and pediatrics.

Season 7
Guy Lockard and Kristen Hager join the cast of Chicago Med

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In the season premiere, Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss) returns to Chicago Med to help Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson) with a secret investigation. Dr. Dean Archer (Steven Weber) and Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt) deal with twins who insist on being identical inside and out. Dr. Stevie Hammer (Kristen Hager) and Dr. Dylan Scott (Guy Lockard) treat a young patient with sickle cell anemia. 

The season finale left us with Nat running up to Goodwin insisting that she reinstate Halstead because SHE was the one who stole the trial medication that we all know she used for her mom.

With the shift in casting, there are plenty of questions that we need answers for in the premiere as well as the rest of the season.

Will Halstead get his job back?

In the premiere episode, it’s safe to assume that Goodwin and Halstead will discuss what happened and considering that he is still obviously on the show, at some point Goodwin MUST reinstate Halstead or at the very least, give him an opportunity to earn back her trust. 

What happened to Dr. Natalie Manning?

We reported back in May that Torrey DeVitto was leaving the show, so it’s safe to assume the season finale was her last episode. 

Who are these new Doctors?

Kristen Hager as Dr. Hammer is a young woman who fought hard to overcome a difficult childhood to become the person she is today. Apparently, she attended medical school with Will Halstead and was first in their class, academically surpassing him. 

Guy Lockard as Dr. Scott was a police officer before he was a doctor and still has strong ties to law enforcement. He’s close to a number of characters on PD and went to the Academy with Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins). His father and his sister are also both cops.

How is Dr Ethan Choi (Brian Tee)?

In the season finale, fans witnessed Dr. Ethan Choi (Brian Tee) get shot by a former patient. Due to the fact that he is recovering, Dr. Dean Archer (Steven Weber) was named the interim chief of the ED by Goodwin. In season 7, we will see how well Ethan recovers from the injury.

Does Archer have a beef with Halstead?

NBC has dropped a new promo teasing the upcoming seasons of Chicago Fire, Med and PD. Among the promo’s biggest moments is Will’s return to Med which seems to tee up a potential new adversary for our beloved doctor. In the clip, Goodwin welcomes Will back to the Med team which triggers a generally warm welcome from most present in the ED including Med’s two newest doctors, Dr. Stevie Hammer and Dr. Dylan Scott, however, Dr. Dean Archer does NOT seem happy to see Will back. It seems that as Choi recovers and Archer’s in charge, Halstead will inevitably butt heads with Archer throughout the season.

What’s up with Maggie (Marlyne Barrett) and her biological daughter?

After agonizing over telling her the truth, Maggie approached her biological daughter to tell her the truth but before she had the opportunity to speak, Vanessa (Asjha Cooper) reveals that she knows exactly who she is and that coming into her life wasn’t right and leaves a tearful Maggie where they were sitting. It’s safe to assume their relationship will be further explored throughout the season.


Chicago Med will return for the Season 7 premiere on September 22, 2021 on NBC.

Viewers can expect to see the show as part of the network’s fall line-up, and it will be placed in the middle of the network’s now-iconic One Chicago night, with Chicago Med airing at 8pm EST, Chicago Fire at 9pm EST, and Chicago PD rounding the series out at 10pm PST.

Dick Wolf, Diane Frolov, Andrew Schneider, Stephen Hootstein, Derek Haas, Arthur Forney, Matt Olmstead, Michael Brandt and Peter Jankowski are executive producers. 

Chicago Med is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Wolf Entertainment.


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