Chicago Med boss reveals plans to bring back original characters in season 11

It seems Chicago Med season 11 could be bringing back a few familiar faces from the show's early days.
CHICAGO MED -- "Extreme Measures" Episode 205 -- Pictured: Colin Donnell as Connor Rhodes -- (Photo by: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)
CHICAGO MED -- "Extreme Measures" Episode 205 -- Pictured: Colin Donnell as Connor Rhodes -- (Photo by: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)

If you enjoyed seeing Mekia Cox and Rachel DiPillo back on Chicago Med in season 10, we have some great news for you! It seems the powers that be are actively working to bring back more former characters from NBC’s hit medical drama, and they’re focused on bringing back a few original cast members — or so it seems!

While nothing has been officially locked down just yet, Chicago Med showrunner Allen MacDonald has confirmed he is actively working to bring back one if not two or more original cast members in season 11. 

“I intend to at least bring back one if not two or more original cast members [from the series premiere] in the next season,” MacDonald revealed to TV Insider

Although MacDonald would not name names, it seems there are likely five specific candidates he’s referring to. Given that the quote specifies that he’s looking at original cast members from the series premiere, this seems to suggest we’re looking at five key actors who were in the series premiere and have since left the show. This list includes Nick Gehlfuss (Dr. Will Halstead), Yaya DaCosta (Nurse April Sexton), Torrey DeVitto (Dr. Natalie Manning), Colin Donnell (Dr. Connor Rhodes), and Brian Tee (Dr. Ethan Choi). 

Of this group, it would definitely be most interesting to see Donnell return as Dr. Rhodes, as we haven’t seen him on the show since the season 5 premiere, which was used to explain his exit from the show. Donnell’s exit was one of the show’s most shocking and remains one of its most surprising. Dr. Rhodes was a central figure in the show’s first four seasons, and his exit shocked fans. It felt abrupt, and we’ve been longing to see him back on the show, so we can only hope that perhaps he might be one of the characters in consideration for a return in season 11. 

Given MacDonald’s hint that he may bring back one or even two original cast members, we have to wonder if he’s trying to stage a dual comeback. This would make sense given that the other four actors’ characters made up two of the most iconic couples the show has given us, and their exits were tied together in giving fans a bit of a happy ending of sorts. 

After DaCosta left the show in season 6, she returned for a three-episode guest arc in season 8 as part of Tee’s exit storyline. This arc revealed that Ethan and April were getting married and allowed fans to see the couple get married as part of Tee’s exit storyline. DeVitto also left the show in season 6, but returned to guest star in a season 7 episode and made a cameo in the season 8 finale as part of Gehlfuss’s departure. In the season 8 finale, Will left town and moved to Seattle to be with Natalie. 

Fans would definitely love to see these iconic duos return together, but we’d certainly settle for just one member of the pairings if it meant the chance to get an update on their relationships. 

Truthfully, we’d love to see any and all of these five actors back, even just for an episode or two. All five actors played such pivotal roles in the show, and we’ve missed them each dearly. And we love that MacDonald is looking to honor the show’s legacy by trying to bring back some of the original cast members!

Chicago Med returns this fall on NBC!