When it comes to long-running broadcast procedural dramas, fans have to become somewhat accustomed to cast members coming and going. Chicago Med happens to fall under that umbrella, and after a over a decade on the air, viewers have seen a number of favorites come and go. But if you stick around long enough, we’re sometimes lucky enough to see some returns.
Like Chicago Fire season 14’s various comings and goings, Chicago Med season 11 also hosted a number of notable cast exits and returns, especially some big ones right out the gate that left fans stunned. Throughout the season, some characters were given their final farewell, while other were either seen for the first time or came back after an extended absence.
Chicago Med season 11 character exits and returns
As Chicago Med fans know, Marlyne Barrett left the series after 10 seasons playing Gaffney’s charge nurse Maggie Lockwood. Barrett’s departure was announced before season 11 premiered, and the character was never formally written out. Maggie’s absence still hasn’t been explained with an actual reason and she was only mentioned in the season in a meaningful way two times.
It’s unclear if Barrett, one of the last three original cast members who remained on the series, will ever return to reprise her character or if season 12 plans to address Maggie’s exit with more permanence. However, in Maggie’s absence, Chicago Med kicked off season 11 with a bang to make up for her loss with the returns of original characters Will Halstead and Natalie Manning.
Nick Gehlfuss returning for a guest appearance was announced before season 11 began, but Torrey DeVitto coming back was kept quiet until she made a surprise cameo at the end of the season’s second episode, which was the 200th episode of Chicago Med. Halstead and Manning were part of a two-episode arc that’s by far among some of the series’ best storytelling.
Obviously, Halstead and Manning’s triumphant homecoming to Gaffney is a tough act to follow, but Chicago Med season 11 also featured some other character return, though they might not have been quite as big. Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut came back as Dr. Naomi Howard after seemingly being written out after last season. Hope Lauren appeared as Ripley’s friend Lynne Murphy and Jessalyn Gilsig reprised her role as Frost’s past costar Ainsley Towne.
Unfortunately, along with all of these returns there were also exits. While we were reunited with Goodwin’s kids for the first time in a long time, it wasn’t for a particularly fun reason. The family gathered together to say goodbye to Bert as Gregory Alan Williams departed the series from his recurring role. Frost also lost his father James, who was played by David Costabile.
Hopefully, we won’t have to endure quite as many character exits in Chicago Med season 12. We aren’t expecting any major shakeups, and none have been announced ahead of the season. Instead, let’s manifest some exciting cast returns that revival those from last season!
