Luke Mitchell shared a photo featuring Nick Gehlfuss, who will return as Dr. Will Halstead for several season 11 episodes
In the world of One Chicago, luckily for fans, saying goodbye to a beloved character doesn’t always mean it’s a goodbye for long. Having been on the air for ten years, the three One Chicago shows, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med, have gone through its fair share of changes. For a period in 2023, Chicago Fire even made due without one of its lead stars, Taylor Kinney, who took a leave of absence to deal with a personal matter, and made his return after over a year away in January 2024.
Now, a former Chicago Med series regular has also confirmed their return, leaving fans buzzing. On Wednesday, September 17, Nick Gehlfuss, who played Dr. Will Halstead from the very start of the series, since 2015, but left the show in 2023 after season eight, appeared in an Instagram photo shared by his co-star Luke Mitchell, who stars as Dr. Mitch Ripley, also featuring Steven Weber, who plays Dr. Dean Archer.
Nick’s character Will had previously left on season eight to reunite with his ex-fiancée Dr. Natalie Manning — who was played by Torrey DeVitto, who left the show at the end of season six — but will return as a guest star for the show’s milestone 100th episode. His character will be back along with Natalie’s son, in town for a Bears game, and stop by the hospital.
“2 weeks… #ChicagoMed #Season11,” Luke captioned his post confirming the exciting return, and fans did not hesitate to take to the comments section under the post and rave over it. “CANNOT WAIT. MY WILL,” one wrote, as others followed suit with: “WILL MY FAVORITE GINGER IS BACK I’M SO HAPPY,” and: “WILL IS BACK?!? OMG,” as well as: “Omg our favorite redhead is back. God I missed him so much.”
Showrunner Allen MacDonald, speaking with TVLine about the milestone episode and Will’s return, shared: “It’s a very special episode and by the end it will feel like a big deal,” confirming Will will be back on the show for multiple season 11 episodes. The show returns to NBC on Wednesday, October 1.
When Chicago Med returns, it is coming back without John Earl Jenks and Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut. John starred as Dr. Dennis Washington for just 12 episodes across seasons nine and ten, his last episode being the season ten finale, “Don’t You Cry,” which was released in May. His character was written out as part of a budget-cut storyline, and though Sharon Goodwin, the chief administrator of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center who is played by S. Epatha Merkerson, tried to renegotiate his deal, he ultimately resigned. Also leaving is Ashlei, who starred as Dr. Naomi Howard for 16 episodes across seasons nine and ten, her last appearance being on the penultimate episode of season ten, “Baby Mine…”
In spite of those two departures, Chicago Med’s mainstays are safe, including S. Epatha and Oliver Platt, who signed multi-year contracts last year. Also returning are Steven and Luke, plus Marlyne Barrett, Jessy Schram, Sarah Ramos, and Darren Barnet. Speaking with Parade, Allen, who took over as showrunner for the show’s milestone tenth season, shared that when it comes to season 11, his plan is “to take everything a step further but still be on the same path.”
“I told the writers that in every episode [of season 10], I want everyone to cry in every episode, and I want everybody to laugh in every episode,” he went on, confessing: “I want to continue that emotional torture for the audience as much as I possibly can, but take the characters in different directions.”
