Chicago Med season 10’s cameo appearance by a Chicago PD character was great, but the series needs to have more extensive crossovers. Chicago Med was spun off from Chicago PD nine years ago. Initially, it featured Jay Halstead’s brother Will as a passionate medical resident who was willing to break the rules to help patients. During this era, there were often full crossovers with other shows in the One Chicago universe.
There has not been a full crossover in a long time. However, the current season has featured some cameo appearances, such as Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) again appearing on Chicago Fire. Most recently, Chicago PD‘s Kevin Atwater visited Chicago Med to assist with Sharon’s storyline. These small One Chicago crossovers are a step in the right direction. However, they do not compare with the full crossovers the series used to have before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Atwater’s Chicago Med Season 10, Episode Cameo Is Good But Not Nearly Enough
He Visited Briefly To Update Sharon On Her Case
Atwater appeared in Chicago Med season 10, episode 6 as one of the cops helping investigate who was stalking Sharon and sending her death threats. He spoke briefly with Sharon about the status of the case and showed her a photo of a suspect, whom she identified for him. This brief appearance contributed to the end of Sharon’s stalker storyline, but it was not extensive enough to be satisfying, as Atwater did not appear in more than a few scenes, and the confrontation with the suspect was off-screen.
However, this brief appearance restored the One Chicago tradition of having the characters from different shows interact with one another when the story calls for it. In recent years, the show has stopped doing this, instead using random cops or firefighters in Chicago Med. Atwater’s appearance is thus long overdue. Using cops or firefighters that the audience is unfamiliar with is distracting during key scenes, as it sparks the question of why they didn’t use beloved characters from elsewhere in the franchise. Additionally, these cameo appearances help connect different shows in the franchise.
Why It’s Time For A New One Chicago Crossover
The Franchise Hasn’t Had Once Since 2019
The last One Chicago crossover was in 2019, making the series overdue for another one. In recent years, there have been no crossovers because of the pandemic, and that has made the three series seem isolated from one another instead of being part of the same universe. Creating mini-crossovers such as Atwater’s appearance help solve this problem, but a full crossover would be an interesting and exciting story, as it would use the main characters from all three series in a strong storyline.
A full crossover would be especially interesting now because there have been some changes to the Chicago Med cast as well as to the casts of the other shows in the franchise. Each show has some new members who have not interacted with each other before, and it would be especially worthwhile for the staff of Chicago Med to interact with Chicago Fire’s Dom Pascual or Chicago PD’s Reid, both of whom have leadership roles during the new season.
Will A One Chicago Crossover Happen This Season?
It Is More Likely Than In Previous Seasons But One Has Not Been Confirmed
In the past several years, the showrunners had a variety of reasons for not included a One Chicago crossover. The COVID-19 pandemic was one strong reason, as it was a public health risk to have a large number of actors on set at one time. However, in 2024 that is not as much of a risk. Unfortunately, with the shortened seasons in the spring of 2024 because of the writers’ strike, there was no opportunity to have any crossover storylines.
