Chicago Med returned for Season 8 with a fiery cliffhanger to resolve, and while Will Halstead survived the inferno with the help of Chicago Fire first responders, his apartment building wasn’t so lucky. He had to have the building that he’d bought with his VasCom money torn down due to the fire damage and what it would have cost him to rebuild, but does that mean his finances are on the road to recovery? Well, according to actor Nick Gehlfuss, fans shouldn’t count on one thing ever happening for his character.
Nick Gehlfuss and co-star Jessy Schram spoke with press about Chicago Med’s eighth season, including weighing in on whether Hannah and Will can truly get a clean slate. After Will lost everything in the apartment fire, I asked the star how the loss would affect his character moving forward. Gehlfuss shared:
Well, one thing you can count on is Will is going to always have financial problems. The showrunners even told me that flat out. We want to keep Will in not a great financial place, and I think that's wonderful. But I think we'll see him put this behind him in a way. More importantly, he'll focus on the issues that are going to be happening within Gaffney. There's gonna be a lot of medical supply shortages, supply chain demand, and he's going to be one of the main people affected by this. There's quite a bit of shenanigans he gets in with all of that to make up for those shortages.
Well, Will’s VasCom windfall was never going to last him too long if Nick Gehlfuss had the promise from the showrunners that his character would always have money issues! It was a problem that he struggled with in earlier seasons (particularly when the cost of his malpractice insurance skyrocketed), and he didn’t hold on to the VasCom money long enough this time around. At least the actor seems resigned to this as an ongoing issue for Will!
The larger problem for the hospital will involve resources rather than Will’s personal finances. Showrunners Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider also previewed how the supply shortages would cause problems, with Frolov previewing the doctors “jerry-rigging things,” which fans saw a bit of in Episode 2 (available streaming with a Peacock subscription) with Crockett's conflict with the new surgical resident. Schneider shared that there will be arguments over “scarce items” and a lot of “dramatic situations,” and it sounds like Will will be in the thick of some of those situations.
The doctors managed to avoid any crises due to the shortages in the first two episodes, although there was a close call. Whether that continues to be the case remains to be seen; the ED moves at a fast pace and is never predictable, and tensions can run high in the hospital even when they aren’t running short on diagnostic and life-saving supplies. Of course, if anybody on Chicago Med can get creative to work around issues, that person is Will Halstead… for better or worse.
Of course, Will might have some personal turmoil on the way due to Chicago P.D. saying goodbye to Jesse Lee Soffer, who plays Will’s brother Jay Halstead. No matter the circumstances of Jay’s departure, Will might not have his brother around, and that could affect him on Med. The three One Chicago shows don’t cross over as much as they used to and the Halstead brothers haven’t shared much screentime lately, but only time will tell.
The one thing that fans can be confident of is that time will not improve Will’s financial situation in any permanent way, based on what Nick Gehlfuss had to say! See what’s next for his character with new episodes of Chicago Med on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, ahead of Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. For some more viewing options now and in the coming weeks, check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
