Chicago Med will return to NBC in less than a month for its eighth season, with a big cliffhanger to resolve for more than one major character. While fans will have to wait until September for all the details of what comes next, two new stars have joined the series. The good news is that neither one of them sounds like a replacement for one of the characters in mortal danger at the end of Season 7, and one of them will be a familiar face for fans of Fox’s 9-1-1.
Chicago Med has cast Sasha Roiz of 9-1-1 and Grimm fame as well as Lilah Richcreek Estrada of The Wonder Years and Cougar Town for Season 8 as recurring guest stars, according to Deadline. Instead of wearing a detective badge like he does as Lou on 9-1-1, Roiz will play a character by the name of Jack Egan, who is a man of wide interests and has the millions of dollars to back him up. Estrada's character will join the staff at the hospital, working with Dr. Charles as a psychology fellow.
While it’s hard to guess how Jack Egan will fit into the action as a multimillionaire who doesn’t seem to work in the medical field, Estrada’s Nellie Cuevas will evidently fill a role that has been vacant for some time. Sarah Reese (played by Rachel DiPillo prior to her departure in early Season 4) was the psych resident working with Dr. Charles, and she hasn’t returned despite what the showrunners had to say about her departure.
Other medical students, residents, and doctors have certainly worked with Dr. Charles over the past few years, and he even seemed to have a pretty solid dynamic with Vanessa in Season 7, but ultimately it will be this new character who joins him in the psych department.
As for Sasha Roiz’s Jack Egan, it would be interesting if he became a patron of the hospital and the doctors and nurses had to deal with his input and/or interference, whether they like it or not. Will generally doesn’t take well to such things, at least, and I’m just going to assume that he survives the Season 7 finale cliffhanger.
Dr. Archer’s response could be particularly interesting if that is how Roiz is involved in Season 8, as he took over the ED Chief position permanently after Ethan returned and made an important decision. Marlyne Barrett signed a deal to return as a series regular as well, so Maggie will be in the mix.
Whether or not these two new characters will be welcomed by the staff in the ED remains to be seen, but it’s nice to get some news about what’s on the way with the new season of Chicago Med. There have been some peeks behind the scenes (including a photo with Chicago P.D.’s Marina Squerciati that just made me miss the good old days when crossovers could safely happen), but not many details. NBC hasn’t released new footage to give away anything that will happen, so any news may well be good news.
With Chicago Med returning for Season 8 on Wednesday, September 21 at 8 p.m. ET (followed by Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m.), however, it’s probably safe to say that more teases and reveals will start to trickle in as the premiere approaches. To plan ahead for fall, be sure to check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule, and revisit the spring finales streaming with a Peacock subscription.
