When Chicago Med’s new showrunner, Allen McDonald, said he was interested in bringing back past characters, he remained reticent about who he planned to have back on the show. “And they just texted me,” he shared in an interview when Season 10 was wrapping up. A new report reveals that original cast member Nick Gehlfuss is returning for Season 11. Details about what brings Dr. Halstead back remain scarce, as does the duration of his expected stay on the show. Gehlfuss’ return would mark the second cast member from Season 1 to return in as many years. Rachel DiPillo (Dr. Sarah Reese) guest-starred in the eighth episode of Season 10, rehashing her dynamics with Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt).
Gehlfuss was one of the earliest cast members in the show, appearing from the pilot episode until he departed in Season 8. The final sighting of the character was in the season eight finale when he reconnected with the love of his life, Dr. Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto) in Seattle. The pair went to raise Dr. Manning’s son, Owen, together. Much about what happened in his life has never made it to the screen, even with his brother Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) being left behind in Chicago, only to leave a short while later. The return will be an opportunity for Will to update fans on what he has been up to and for him to learn about the developments that have occurred in his absence. How will he take the news of Dr. Hannah Asher’s (Jessy Schram) pregnancy and the upcoming baby daddy drama?
‘Chicago Med’ Will Keep Bringing Back Old Characters
One of McDonald’s missions as the new showrunner is to revisit some characters from past seasons and see how they have evolved and what that means in the context of the current ER. It is also exciting for fans to see some characters they haven’t seen for several years. “I think there’s a fear in storytelling, television specifically, that if you bring back old characters that you’re kind of going back into the past and not being in the present. But I think life is both. And I think we were successful in telling stories of the present, but I think that in the One Chicago world, it’s completely legitimate to check in on people, characters that we love and we miss, and what fun to see them interact with the new doctors that the audience knows, but they don’t,” he shared in an interview while explaining his rationale behind the returns.
