NBC’s #OneChicago franchise returns Wednesday, Jan. 7 — and our Windy City first responders aren’t making any resolutions in the new year: They’ll be back and messy as ever with fresh relationship drama and plenty of career challenges.
First up: “Chicago Med.” In case you need a refresher, the Season 11 fall finale ended with Dr. Lennox collapsing after being pistol whipped by her former patient Devin Carter.
When TVLine spoke to showrunner Allen MacDonald, we begged for details about Lennox’s fate. Will she survive this whole ordeal? How will we find her in the midseason premiere? Will Devin be stopped? But MacDonald wouldn’t budge on sharing even the slightest detail about our Gaffney doctor’s fate. (Which begs the question: Should we be worried?! We’re worried!)
He could share, however, that the next episode will look a lot different from past year’s midseason premieres and that the hour will start after a very small time jump.
MacDonald also said that Hannah’s pregnancy will be at the forefront in the remaining Season 11 episodes, with the midseason premiere featuring two big Archer/Hannah scenes revolved around the baby — particularly finding out the sex of their future unborn child.
“You may remember that in the finale’s opening scene, we had Hannah waking up from a nightmare,” he shared. “We’re going to take a deeper dive into the fact that they’re recurring, and that it has to do with the baby and her fears about the baby, her fears of being a mother, her fears of delivering the baby healthily.”
MacDonald added that it’s important to note that Hannah’s own mother died during childbirth, which will weigh heavily on her.
Fans will also remember than Dr. Kingston got flirty with Archer during a surgical procedure toward the end of the fall finale. MacDonald revealed that a “little bit of a mini love triangle” may emerge among Archer, Kingston, and Hannah.
“Kingston obviously has an interest in Archer,” showrunner Allen MacDonald said. “Archer is not uninterested in Kingston, but it’s a complicated situation because he is not going to engage in a sort of romantic relationship out of respect for Hannah and the fact that she’s carrying his child even though they’ve agreed that they’re just going to continue to be friends.”
Hannah, he added, will have “a very strong opinion about what Archer should and shouldn’t do in terms of his love life.”
Meanwhile, a different love triangle already began in the first half of Season 11, with Frost expressing interest in bot Naomi and “Chicago Fire” medic Lizzy Novak. The fall finale ended with Naomi expressing her feelings for Frost, but encouraging him to pursue Novak.
“That energy between Novak and Frost is real,” MacDonald said. “We will be seeing a lot of Lizzy Novak on ‘Med,’ and vice-versa.”
Elsewhere, Ripley is single, but MacDonald assured us that he and Hannah are still over. That said, Ripley learned from his relationships with both Hannah and Sadie, and he we will find him in a “healthier place mentally about relationships.”
MacDonald also pointed out that Season 11 has been a challenge for Dr. Charles thus far. He recently celebrated his 65th birthday, where his friends encouraged him to retire, and he’s had to face technological advancements that change the landscape of his work.
“We’ve really been doing a slow burn on Dr. Charles’ arc,” he said. “He’s been having some issues with his antidepressants, and he’s been struggling a little bit with his moods and not feeling as physically well as he has in the past. Those issues will come to a head later in the season.”
Will Charles be pushed to retirement?
“It’s a possibility that he considers,” MacDonald revealed.
Keep scrolling for more teases about whats to come in “Fire” and “P.D.,” then hit the comments with your hopes for the #OneChicago winter premieres.
