DeVitto chatted with NBC Insider about Dr. Natalie Manning’s stunning return for Chicago Med’s 11th season.
One Chicago fan favorite Torrey DeVitto returned as the beloved Dr. Natalie Manning on Season 11 of Chicago Med, telling NBC Insider that it was an opportunity she’d “never” miss out on.
Fans were cheering for Natalie after her boyfriend and fellow Gaffney alum Dr. Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss) returned to Chicago to visit his friends in Med’s 200th episode, dropping the exciting news that he and Natalie have a baby boy on the way. However, Natalie was devastated to receive a call at the very end of the episode that revealed her young son, Owen, had been shot while visiting the hospital. Natalie jumped on the first plane she could, flocking to Gaffney to check in on her family. Meanwhile, DeVitto tells NBC Insider that she relishes any opportunity to reunite with her One Chicago family.
“I would never say no,” DeVitto told NBC Insider. “To me, it’s like going back to your family. I enjoy being around those people so much. I enjoy being on that set so much. I personally live in Michigan now, full-time, so I’m only a two-hour drive away from [set]. It’s just a really lovely thing to do. So yeah, I would always be open to come back.”
Natalie Manning returned to Gaffney to save her son
DeVitto’s latest return to Chicago Med screens was tinged in tragedy after she rushed to Gaffney to check on her young boy, navigating a troublesome tiff with Halstead in the process.
“I think you just see her in full mama bear survival mode,” DeVitto told NBC Insider while reflecting on the episode. Once Natalie arrived at Gaffney, she was devastated to learn Owen would need a kidney transplant to avoid dialysis.
After no viable candidates surfaced, Natalie decided to get tested despite being pregnant, learning she was a candidate. Halstead voiced his concerns about Natalie moving forward with the transplant and the risks it posed to their unborn baby, but she remained adamant.
Fortunately, with the help of their passionate Gaffney friends, Natalie and Owen’s transplant went well, and the baby was completely OK.
At the end of the episode, Halstead and Natalie reconciled, and Halstead asked Owen if he could officially adopt him as his son. Owen joyfully accepted, leading viewers to applaud the Med couple’s happily-ever-after.
Torrey DeVitto says “it’s time” Halstead and Natalie have a “calm life”
Despite the harrowing nature of Natalie’s return to the Windy City, DeVitto says the vibes behind the scenes couldn’t have been merrier with her and Gehlfuss back on set.
“It was so lovely. It was so great seeing everybody that I knew, but then also just all the new characters that I didn’t know,” DeVitto said. “Everybody was so welcoming, it was really, really lovely. It was such a wonderful experience.”
Halstead and Natalie’s love story has taken many twists and turns, the most recent shooting included. But after years of will-they-won’t-they, shocking heartbreaks, and heartwarming reconcilations, DeVitto tells NBC Insider that “it’s time” the Med power couple got their chance to run off into the sunset.
“I think it’d be really great to see them happy. I feel like Natalie has been shooting for the stars for this happy ending. And she lost her first husband, saw she was pregnant, then all the things that happened with her and Will and this and that…” DeVitto explained. “It’s like, can she just have a calm life now? I think it’s time.”
If you missed DeVitto’s recent return to Gaffney, fret not: every episode of Chicago Med is available to stream on Peacock. Watch Chicago Med on Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC.
