NBC’s Chicago Med premiered tonight without one of its original actors, Marlyne Barrett, who has played ED Charge Nurse Maggie Lockwood since the medical drama premiered in 2015.
Deadline revealed exclusively in late August that Barrett would be taking a “temporary leave” from the series due to personal reasons. It is as yet unknown whether or not she will appear in any episodes of Season 11, but showrunner Allen MacDonald tells Deadline they are hopeful she will.
“We hope to see her at some point this season, but that remains uncertain at the moment. When Marlyne told us she wanted to step away, we, of course, respected that. She had to do so for personal reasons,” shared MacDonald.
“Right now, there are references to her not being there. I think this will probably be a little frustrating for the audience, but whatever story we do with her, we will want to save for and when she comes back. So at least in the short term, we’re saying that Maggie has temporarily stepped away,” he added.
Maggie is vaguely mentioned twice in the premiere titled “We All Fall Down,” both times in passing conversation. The first time, Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson) and Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) are discussing a window replacement with complications, causing the treatment room to be out of service longer than expected.
“Have you talked to Maggie since she left?” Dr. Charles asks Goodwin.
She replies, “Not a peep.”
Following that brief exchange, Goodwin pivots the conversation to Dr. Charles’ youngest daughter, Anna, who is now studying at Northwestern and is doing better since the events in Season 10. As a refresher, Anna told her dad in last season’s penultimate episode that she dropped out of Stanford, which caused Dr. Charles some distress. In the season’s finale, Anna is admitted to Gaffney after a car accident. Later, it is suggested by sister Robin, with whom Anna had been quietly living, that she believes the crash may have been intentional due to Anna’s struggle with depression.
“You know, Maggie has some big shoes to fill, and she’d be proud of you,” Goodwin says.
Doris replies, “Just keeping them warm until she comes back.”
New episodes of NBC’s Chicago Med drop every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
