Dr. Ethan Choi is hanging up his scrubs.
Brian Tee, who has portrayed Choi on Chicago Med since its 2015 premiere, is departing the cast of the NBC medical drama after eight seasons, EW has confirmed. He’ll make his final appearance in episode 9, “Could Be the Start of Something New,” set to air Dec. 7. But this is not a permanent goodbye: Tee will return behind the camera and make his directorial debut on episode 16.
Tee decided to exit the series after the end of his six-year contract to spend more time with his family and pursue other opportunities along with acting, including directing and producing. He’ll next star opposite Nicole Kidman, Sarayu Rao, and Jack Hudson in Lulu Wang’s upcoming Amazon Prime series Expats, based on Janice Y.K. Lee’s 2016 novel.
George Burns Jr/NBC via Getty Images Brian Tee on ‘Chicago Med’
“Playing Dr. Ethan Choi on Chicago Med has been such a gift and a blessing,” Tee told Deadline, which first reported his departure. “I am forever grateful to our fans and my colleagues both in front of and behind the camera as I embark on a new journey. I am forever indebted to Dick Wolf, NBC, and Universal Television for choosing me.” Tee added that Dr. Choi’s sendoff will be “beautiful” and “fitting.”
“I think the fans are going to absolutely love it,” he teased. “It’s going to bring a little bit of the new Ethan and a little bit of the old. Know that episode 9 is going to be an amazing one.”
Tee’s other TV credits include Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Agents of SHIELD, Grimm, and Hawaii Five-0. On the film front, he’s starred in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Jurassic World, and The Beautiful Ones.
