The fifth season of Fox medical drama The Resident is currently on its winter hiatus following that midseason finale cliffhanger for Dr. Bell, but it’s already time to look forward to characters warming back up for the remainder of the season. After the surprise time jump following Nic’s death, one big question surrounding Matt Czuchry's Conrad has been who his next love interest could be. With the two friends and colleagues growing closer, some suspect Conrad and Jessica Lucas' Billie could get romantic as Season 5 goes on. But is that just wishful thinking?
It was only just a matter of time before Matt Czuchry’s Conrad Hawkins would find himself ready to date again after losing the love of his life. Many nurses at Chastain found themselves pining over the internist, such is the life of a TV lead, and even Billie soon found herself slowly falling for Conrad. Because who wouldn’t? Executive producer Andrew Chapman told TVLine that Billie getting a crush on her late best friend's widower wouldn’t be surprising if things play out that way:
Everybody loves Conrad. He’s a lovable guy, he’s heartfelt and he’s compassionate. What’s not to love, right? And he’s this dedicated dad. Without giving too much away, I think it would be only natural if Billie were kind of interested in him, right?
At the end of the November 30 episode, “He’d Really Like to Put in a Central Line,” Billie urged Conrad to ask out Marion, a childcare worker at the hospital, whom Gigi also really likes. When the three walked off to get some ice cream, Billie seemed almost jealous. And it’s not hard to figure out why, even though she was partly responsible for making it happen. She clearly cares about his happiness even if it doesn't mesh with hers.
Meanwhile, Andrew Chapman didn’t give too much away about Billie’s possible lovey-dovey feelings for Conrad, but it will be a “juicy and mysterious” element going into the remainder of Season 5. It’s already been confirmed that Conrad will end up with someone by the end of the season; but the "who" is hard to tell, especially since there are multiple new potential love interests this season. Along with Marion and Billie, we also have Cade, a new ER doctor, who was introduced in the midseason finale. To that end, Chapman explained that anything can happen:
He’s a guy who’s just testing the waters, seeing what that’s like. There’s a bunch of possible ways it can go. Marion’s there, but also here’s this new character, Cade, who’s kind of sexy and interesting and mysterious. And then there’s Billie… We want to show that he’s human, he has human needs, and he’s being very careful. He doesn’t want to break any hearts. He doesn’t want to hurt anybody. But he also wants to lead a life again.
As someone who has been Team CoNic since the first episode, I think it will definitely be hard to see Conrad move on with someone new, but it’s time. (At least within the time-jumped world of the show.) It’d be interesting to see Billie and Conrad in dating mode, considering they were not in a good place with each other when she came back into his life. While taking their friendship to the next step may be complicated since Nic was the love of Conrad’s life, and since Nic and Billie were best friends, it could possibly help to make them grow closer, hopefully in the least creepy of ways.
Whoever Conrad ends up with, I just hope that she is good to him and Gigi. The Resident comes back to Fox on Tuesday, February 1, so there is plenty of time to theorize! Check out what else comes out soon with CinemaBlend’s 2022 winter and spring schedule!
