Chicago Med ended Season 6 back in May with some major questions that still needed to be answered courtesy of some cliffhangers. Plus, the news that two original series stars were departing on top of the fact that the original contracts of the original cast of regulars had expired at the end of Season 6 meant that there might be several missing familiar faces in Season 7. Now, fans have some good news – not only have several cast members been confirmed as returning, but the Will Halstead cliffhanger may have been resolved.
As fans will remember, Season 6 of Chicago Med ended with Goodwin firing Will for crossing lines with his clinical trial (and she doesn't even know all the lines he crossed) when he took the fall for Natalie stealing drugs for her ailing mom. He didn't out Natalie and let Goodwin believe he was the guilty one, even after being fired, and it was pretty clear that Goodwin was fresh out of second chances for him.
But before the finale could end, Natalie chased after Goodwin to admit the truth, and fans were left on the question: will Will be able to return once Natalie came clean, even though he crossed lines too and then lied to Goodwin? Fortunately, the latest news about the cast of Chicago Med can at least confirm one thing: Will's exit at the end of Season 6 doesn't mean Nick Gehlfuss' exit from Med.
And Nick Gehlfuss isn't the only original Chicago Med cast member confirmed to return for Season 7 and beyond. Deadline reports that in addition to Gehlfuss, Chicago Med has signed S. Epatha Merkerson (Sharon Goodwin), Oliver Platt (Dr. Charles), Brian Tee (Ethan Choi), and Marlyne Barrett (Maggie Lockwood) for Season 7 and Season 8. Med, along with Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D., is already guaranteed to run for two more seasons thanks to the three-season renewal last year.
While all of these cast returns are good news for fans who have had reason to wonder about the future ever since Yaya DaCosta and Torrey DeVitto announced their departures at the end of Season 6, Will is really the only one who got a big cliffhanger. It would have been a different story if Ethan's life hadn't been saved before the final credits rolled, although there is the question of how he'll respond to April's absence, especially in light of Dean Archer taking over the ED while he recovers from his injury.
But Will's future was the one that was more immediately up in the air. It's not hard to imagine a scenario of his return, especially once Natalie came clean about stealing the drugs and jeopardizing the hospital's chances at future clinical trials. And I'm assuming that Will isn't going to confess about the smaller transgressions that Dr. Virani is privy to. He might be in some hot water with Goodwin, though, assuming she rehires him after Natalie's news. After all, Nat may have stolen the pills, but Will was pretty clearly an accomplice in keeping the situation going, and he lied.
Will will be back, as will most of the other series regulars. It's still not clear how Chicago Med will compensate for the losses of April and Natalie, but the odds seem pretty good that Asjha Cooper's Vanessa will be around more regularly, which is bound to cause some complications due to her status as Maggie's secret biological daughter. I've been personally hoping for Tehmina Sunny to sign on as a regular, although maybe not to continue her relationship with Will. We'll just have to wait and see.
Chicago Med will return to NBC in the fall, retaking its 8 p.m. ET time slot on Wednesdays ahead of Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively. Fire and P.D. ended on cliffhangers as well, and Fire fans are undoubtedly more than ready for some casting news that could confirm some survivors of the Season 9 finale.
