The fifth season of Chicago Med, an American medical drama television series with executive producer Dick Wolf, and producers Michael Brandt, Peter Jankowski, Andrew Schneider and René Balcer (uncredited), was ordered on February 26, 2019. This season marks the last appearances of Norma Kuhling as Dr. Ava Bekker, and Colin Donnell as Dr. Connor Rhodes, as well as the first appearance of Dominic Rains as Dr. Crockett Marcel. The season premiered on September 25, 2019.
On March 13, 2020, the production of the fifth season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This season also includes the series' 100th episode.
Cast
Main characters
- Nick Gehlfuss as Dr. Will Halstead, Supervising Attending Emergency Physician
- Yaya DaCosta as Emergency Department Nurse April Sexton
- Torrey DeVitto as Dr. Natalie Manning, Emergency Medicine/Pediatrics Attending
- Colin Donnell as Dr. Connor Rhodes, Attending Trauma Surgeon (episode 1)
- Brian Tee as LCDR Dr. Ethan Choi, Attending Emergency Physician
- Marlyne Barrett as Maggie Lockwood, RN, ED Charge Nurse
- Norma Kuhling as Dr. Ava Bekker, Cardiothoracic Surgery Attending (episode 1)
- S. Epatha Merkerson as Sharon Goodwin, Chief of Services
- Oliver Platt as Dr. Daniel Charles, Chief of Psychiatry
- Dominic Rains as Dr. Crockett Marcel, Trauma Surgeon (episode 2 onwards; guest, episode 1)
Recurring characters
Guest characters
- Adam Petchel as Tim Burke (episode 1)
- Mekia Cox as Robin Charles (episode 9)
Crossover guest stars
Episodes
Production
On April 19, 2019, NBC announced that Colin Donnell (Dr. Connor Rhodes) and Norma Kuhling (Dr. Ava Bekker) would be departing the series due to creative reasons, but they would both appear in the season 5 premiere to wrap up their characters' storyline. The episode sees Connor depart Med after Ava kills herself in front of him. Series showrunners Andy Schneider and Diane Frolov said the scene in which Dr. Bekker takes her own life was the "ultimate revenge against the man that had rejected her." Her death pushes Connor to leave Med, as he will always be reminded of everything that happened. Schneider and Frolov confirmed that the ending means Donnell could return to the show in the future.
The season premiere also begins several ongoing storylines for the show's regulars. Dr. Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto) will be dealing with a traumatic brain injury she sustained in the season 4 finale. A time gap occurs between the first and second episodes, in which Dr. Manning recovers and returns to work. Schneider and Frolov said the injury would prompt questions about Dr. Manning's ability to do her job well. They also confirmed that Dr. Manning's memory will return and the audience will find out what she was planning on telling Dr. Halstead before the crash.
Following a pregnancy scare for Dr. Choi (Brian Tee) and Nurse April Sexton (Yaya DaCosta) in the first episode, the idea of having a child is "definitely part of their storyline." Meanwhile, Maggie Lockwood (Marlyne Barrett) is diagnosed with breast cancer and her treatment is a long-running storyline, which showcases new technology available to cancer patients. Frolov commented, "We hope women will see Maggie and relate to her, especially when she goes through the biopsy. Maybe they'll see her go through it and realize it's not as terrible as you'd imagine in your head — it's painless. That's what we were hopeful for, that seeing someone go through it will help reduce fear."
Dominic Rains joined the cast in the recurring role of Dr. Crockett Marcel, "a hard-partying doctor from Louisiana". He made his first appearance in the season premiere.
Crossover
In early September 2019, Chicago Fire showrunner Derek Haas confirmed a crossover event between Fire, Chicago Med and Chicago P.D.. Haas and producer Dick Wolf came up with the story, and Haas would write all three episodes, marking the first time he has written for Med since the spin-off episode "I Am the Apocalypse". Haas explained that the shows would be "intertwined" and there will be scenes that would make viewers think they are watching "a Med scene, but it's in the Fire hour." The plot revolves around "a mysterious illness", with Haas comparing it to The Poseidon Adventure or Independence Day, saying "where you've got a bunch of stories – cutting to one, cutting to another – and there's a mystery, both medical and criminal, going on that we’re trying to solve before it gets out of hand." The crossover begins in Fire's fourth episode, before leading into Med and P.D. on the same day.
Ratings
References
External links
- Official website
- Chicago Med at IMDb
