The Chicago Fire spinoff, Chicago Med, has been coming together over at NBC for months, now. In fact, this past spring we were introduced to the major members of the cast, including Laurie Holden’s Dr. Hannah Tramble, a sharp, tough character with a penchant for fixing machinery around the hospital. Her character was a nice addition to the fledgling series, but this week we learned the character won’t actually be back when Chicago Med airs this fall.
It’s not unusual for a show to work out the kinks and recast before it moves forward to series. In fact, Criminal Minds spinoff Beyond Borders recently replaced Breaking Bad alum Anna Gunn when her characters wasn’t totally working out. This doesn’t seem to be the case with the Laurie Holden exit, however. A spokesperson for the show revealed to TV Line that it was actually Holden’s decision to leave the upcoming drama.
It was Laurie’s decision to opt out of the series. We are sorry to see her go. We are currently casting additional new roles which we hope to have confirmed very soon.
Holden hasn’t totally disappeared since announcing her departure. She released a lengthy statement that also gives us a hint about why she would quit a plum network TV gig. Apparently, “family stuff” is the culprit.
Sometimes we must make tough choices and, for family reasons, not doing Chicago Med is one of those for me at this time. I know the show is going to be a huge success and I’ll be watching.
While Holden was a nice addition to the team when the backdoor pilot aired, I can think of a couple of recastings that would have been a bigger disaster if those leads quit. Yaya DeCosta’s nurse April Sexton has already been teased as a potential romance for Chicago Fire character Kelly Severide. Chief Boden also had some pretty great conversations with Oliver Platt’s Dr. Daniel Charles, the head of Psychiatry in Chicago Med. Moving forward, I’d love to see their very different philosophies during a crisis juxtaposed. Dr. Will Halstead is also the brother of Chicago P.D.’s Halstead, so there should be plenty of reasons for crossover there, as well.
There’s a lot of stuff to look forward to in the new Dick Wolf series--especially if you've stuck with the other shows in the franchise--and we won’t have too much longer to wait to see Chicago Med in action. The network is staggering its three Chicago-based shows, with Chicago P.D. hitting the schedule first on Wednesday, September 30 at 10 p.m. ET. Chicago Fire will air next, beginning on Tuesday October 13 at 10 p.m. ET. Chicago Med will actually premiere last, airing on Tuesday, November 17 at 9 p.m. ET. You can find out when your other fall favorites are returning, here.
