Sharon Goodwin and Dr. Charles may have chemistry on Chicago Med, but Merkerson has thoughts on where their relationship should and shouldn’t go.
The actress behind one-half of a beloved friendship on Chicago Med has some thoughts about what should and shouldn’t happen with their relationship.
Many fans of the NBC drama series have come to love the mutual respect and admiration between colleagues Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson) and Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt) at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. However, fans hoping that they become more than good friends would have to convince Merkerson that this is a good idea.
For starters, Season 9 sees Sharon, the hospital’s head of patient and medical services, dating Dr. Dennis Washington (John Earl Jelks), chief of oncology at Gaffney.
Merkerson told NBC Insider that she sees stark differences between Sharon’s relationships with Dr. Charles and Dr. Washington.
“You can see Goodwin and Charles sitting together and they’ll laugh about something ‘cause they’re old friends, but there’s a different kind of giggles… when you’re being romanced,” Merkerson said about her character’s new love interest, Washington.
S. Epatha Merkerson “never” wants Sharon and Dr. Charles to date on Chicago Med
Despite the desire of some Chicago Med fans for Sharon and Dr. Charles to get together at some point, Merkerson doesn’t want to ruin the dynamic between the characters by introducing a romance between them.
Even if Sharon wasn’t dating Dr. Washington, Merkerson thinks that a romantic relationship between her and Dr. Charles “should never happen.”
“I think there are true friendships in the world between men and women,” Merkerson told NBC Insider, adding with a laugh: “[Sharon and Dr. Charles] would know it wouldn’t work. I think they would and I believe their friendship — they know too much about each other to go any closer than… being friends.”
Merkerson views their connection as a “true” and “healthy” friendship.
“It’s good for the show that they stay strong,” Merkerson said, acknowledging the pair does have love for each other, but more similar to a sibling relationship. “It’s kind of almost like the sister-brother kind of thing because she goes to him when she’s having issues.”
In Season 9, Episode 5 of Chicago Med, Sharon turned to Dr. Charles for support to help address her ex-husband Albert “Bert” Goodwin’s concerning memory issues. Dr. Charles has a decades-long friendship with Bert as well, Merkerson noted.
“They know so much about each other that she can say, ‘Listen, I don’t need to yell you this,’ and he knows exactly what she’s talking about so yeah, I think this is a true friendship and it should stay a true friendship,” Merkerson said of Sharon and Dr. Charles.
While things between Sharon and her new flame Dr. Washington are just starting to heat up, Dr. Charles has had his own fair share of romances and heartbreaks on the show.
Most recently, the head of psychiatry began dating Liliana (Alet Taylor) in Season 8, a custodian at the hospital. After running into each other at a bar, the pair realized Liliana had cleaned Dr. Charles’ office for years overnight without them ever crossing paths before at work.
To find out how both Sharon and Dr. Charles’ love lives will progress, watch new episodes of Chicago Med on Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
