Several characters who are no longer part of Chicago Med could return during season 10. Like most shows in the One Chicago universe, Med has had several characters leave over the years. There have been several cast changes almost every season, and there are few characters left who have been with the medical drama since its first season. Significant characters have left in the past two seasons, with Will Halstead exiting at the end of season 8 and Crockett Marcel leaving after season 9.
Two new characters joined the Chicago Med season 10 cast. However, there is still room for characters who have left Chicago Med to return. While most characters would likely not return full-time, there would be opportunities for them to visit Med if the right storyline was written for them. These guest stars could help connect the new episodes to the past nine years, especially for characters who did not leave on the best terms.
9Crockett Marcel
Played By Dominic Rains
Marcel is one of the most recent departures. He left at the end of season 9 after an emotional storyline in which he not only failed to save a child who desperately needed a new liver, but the father took his own life when the boy died. Marcel was distraught over the double loss, which is what led to his decision to leave Gaffney Medical Center prior to the season 10 opening.
Marcel did not leave on bad terms, and his traumatic experience was not mentioned in the explanation of his departure. As of the season 10 premiere, it appears that Marcel chose to take a position at a hospital in Boston, perhaps to get away from the memories associated with Gaffney or for a fresh start. Thus, Marcel could easily be written back into the series. He could appear on video or in person if he needs to consult with someone at Gaffney about a case in his new hospital or someone at Med could consult him about their case.
8Ethan Choi
Played By Brian Tee
Like Marcel, Choi left Chicago Med on good terms. He left after he and April got married. The pair decided that after the ceremony, they wanted to provide mobile medical services to those who were in need and who did not have regular access to doctors.
Thus, Choi resigned as the head of the ED and he and April left together to work in their new non-profit initiative. This exit gave the characters a new sense of purpose and explained their absence from Gaffney Medical Center. An exit like this opens the door for many storyline possibilities.
He is also another candidate for a video chat or other consultation, which would allow him to visit Med in an organic way.
Choi could need Med’s help with a patient he encounters while offering these mobile services, especially if he is in the Chicago area and someone needs more help than he can provide. He is also another candidate for a video chat or other consultation, which would allow him to visit Med in an organic way. Thus, Choi could be one of the departing characters Chicago Med‘s new showrunner teases could return in season 10.
7April Sexton
Played By Yaya Decosta
Since April is married to Ethan, if he returns, she likely will too. The couple works together in the mobile medical unit, so if their story involves one of their patients, they likely would both come to Med for a consultation. Additionally, if Ethan visits for another reason, it’s unlikely that he would leave April behind to tend to patients by herself, especially if the mobile unit goes into neighborhoods where there is more crime.
Hopefully, if April and Ethan return, it isn’t because they are having marital difficulties. They had trust issues and other problems that interfered with their relationship for years and led to a broken engagement, but they ended with a positive story when they finally got married. Thus, there is no need to regress to them having more relationship drama, and that type of story would ruin the happy note they exited on.
6Will Halstead
Played By Nick Gehlfuss
Will’s re-entry to Gaffney might be trickier to manage, though it is still doable. Will is one of the few people who did not leave on entirely good terms. He had almost lost his job several times over the eight years he had spent working at Gaffney, and he ultimately resigned after deliberately sabotaging an AI machine that was meant to help surgeons perform complicated and previously impossible procedures.
Will learned the machine had previously made a fatal error and felt it did more harm than good, so he fed it false information to prove a point and then quit. This type of exit would seem to suggest Will could never come back to Gaffney, especially since it was followed up by Torrey Devitto’s brief return to Chicago Med after her own exit to give him a happy ending.
However, Will has been in worse trouble before and Sharon has managed to find ways to keep him employed, so it would not be impossible for her to circumvent the hospital board’s concerns if she wanted Will to return. Furthermore, he could still consult with current staff from Seattle, so his fall from grace isn’t necessarily an obstacle to his return.
5Natalie Manning
Played By Torrey DeVItto
Chicago Med‘s season 8 finale strongly suggested that Natalie and Will would have the romantic happiness they never got while on-screen together. Natalie greeted Will at the Seattle airport with a hug, and the two went off together. Thus, if Will were to return, Natalie would likely come with him, even if she didn’t have a work-related reason to accompany him to Chicago. She could also give input into whatever case Will was trying to figure out when he returned.
It might be difficult for Natalie to return if the story involved her setting foot in the hospital, however. Natalie’s behavior before her exit was both unethical and illegal, as she stole medication meant for participants in a clinical trial and gave it to her mother without her mother being in the trial. Thus, she might have to appear from afar, such as via video chat, while Will visits Chicago, as she might not be able to return to the city without facing arrest.
4Dylan Scott
Played By Guy Lockhard
Dylan Scott was one of the more interesting characters to join Chicago Med, so it’s disappointing that he didn’t stay. He was a former cop turned doctor who was especially good at developing rapport with children and figuring out the root cause of their illnesses. However, Scott’s time at the hospital was marred by a best-forgotten storyline about an undercover detective he both treated and got involved with, and he got tangled up in a sticky situation with some gang members she was investigating.
This silly story led to Scott’s exit, as he decided this hospital was not for him. Although that seems to be a final ending for his character, he still could return for a guest appearance. Scott might return to Med for a variety of reasons; one compelling idea is that if he returned to police work, he could participate in a One Chicago crossover that included his old hospital as well as the cops featured in Chicago PD.
3Vanessa Taylor
Played By Asjha Cooper
Vanessa was a character whose potential was not fully realized at the time she left Chicago Med. She was introduced in season 6 as an enthusiastic, passionate medical resident who was also Maggie’s daughter that Maggie had given up for adoption as a 16-year-old mother. This led to some interesting dynamics, as Maggie kept trying to make up for lost time by becoming overbearing and annoying Vanessa.
However, Vanessa eventually got a job helping with medical care in the Philippines and abruptly left Chicago Med. This exit story makes it easy for Vanessa to return to Chicago Med. She simply has to return to America from the Philippines for a plausible reason.
The easiest way to get her back to Gaffney would be for the program she was working in to lose funding so that it closes or lays off staff. Thus, she would likely return in search of a new job. She might visit Gaffney to see if she wants to return there before making a final decision.
2Anna Charles
Played By Hannah Riley
Anna Charles, Daniel’s rebellious teenage daughter, has been conspicuously absent during her father’s relationship drama with Lilianna and Pawel. If she had been around, she would have had some choice things to say and likely would have been an additional problem for Dr. Charles to deal with along with his relationship issues and constant conflicts with Ripley at work.
Anna’s return would give Charles a compelling subplot, as she is almost always a thorn in his side who feels unloved and unaccepted by him.
While it’s too late for Anna to participate in most of that drama, now might be a great time for her to return. Anna’s return would give Charles a compelling subplot, as she is almost always a thorn in his side who feels unloved and unaccepted by him.
She is an adult now, as she was last seen thinking about which colleges to apply to. Her final story makes it easy to write her back in, however, as she could transfer to a school in Chicago and ask to live at home to save money. She could also drop out of school, which would give Charles even more to deal with at home.
1Zach Hudgins
Played By Conor Perkins
Zach has been a resident at Gaffney for two years, arriving at the beginning of season 8. He often is simply there to assist, and is eager to learn and to improve his skills. Despite working well with many of the other doctors at Med, Zach was abruptly fired at the end of the season 10 premiere.
He had frozen up during a mass casualty event and disappeared, leaving Sharon to handle patient care alone even though she is not a doctor, and thus new ED Co-Chief Caitlin Lenox determined he did not belong at the hospital. It would be easy for Chicago Med to write Zach back into season 10.
| IMDB’s Highest Rated Episodes of Chicago Med | ||
| Episode Number | Title | IMDB Score |
| S4.E19 | Never Let You Go | 8.6 |
| S5.E4 | Infection, Part II | 8.4 |
| S10.E1 | Sink or Swim | 8.3 |
| S4.E22 | With a Brave Heart | 8.2 |
| S5.E11 | The Ground Shifts Beneath Us | 8.2 |
He could try to convince Sharon to give him his job back or sue the hospital for wrongful termination because he was fired by a new attending who was unfamiliar with his work. This would be a more compelling legal storyline than the drama surrounding Ripley after he covered for the person who beat up Pawel.
