Chicago Med Makes Massive Creative Change

NBC’s hit series Chicago Med will see some major behind the scenes changes at the end of Season 9. On Tuesday, co-showrunners Diane Frolov and Andy Schneider announced that they are exiting the series at the end of the season. The pair said in a joint statement that they feel that it is time for them to move on and “explore other possibilities”. A new showrunner for the series, which is a spinoff of Chicago Fire, has not yet been named.

“We were honored to be chosen by Dick Wolf to run Chicago Med and have tremendously enjoyed our association with Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television,” the statement read (via Variety). “We love Chicago Med and have devoted all our creative energies to it, but after nine seasons we feel it’s time for us to move on and explore other possibilities. We’ve been privileged to work with a great writing staff, production team and a brilliant cast of actors. We will miss them all.”

“We’re grateful to Diane and Andy for nine fabulous seasons of Chicago Med,” Dick Wolf added. “They helped us give NBC a No. 1 bonafide hit for almost a decade.”

The showrunner shakeup is the latest major change for Chicago Med. Season 8 saw the exits of several actors, including Guy Lockard, Asjha Cooper and original series stars Brian Tee and Nick Gehlfuss. Only three original stars — S. Epatha Merkerson, Oliver Platt, and Marlyne Barrett — remain. Season 9 also saw the addition of new actors, Luke Michell and Sophia Ali.

Chicago Med Has Been Renewed for Season 10

Last month it was announced that Chicago Med had been renewed for Season 10. The series was renewed along with the rest of the Chicago franchise — Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. Next season will be Chicago Fire’s 13th season and Chicago P.D.‘s 12th.

A Chicago Med Star Returned to Direct in Season 9

It was recently announced that Tee would be returning to Chicago Med to direct Season 9’s eleventh episode. Tee’s return for Season 9 will mark his second time directing on the series as he previously directed Season 8’s seventeenth episode, “Know When to Hold and When to Fold”. 

Tee played Dr. Ethan Choi on Chicago Med for 8 seasons, making him one of the original actors for the medical drama. He appeared in 131 episodes of the series. His final episode was Season 8’s ninth episode, “Could Be the Start of Something New”.

“The career path is such an uphill journey of dreams and I’ve been fortunate enough to climb a few mountains,” Tee said. “But no matter who far I may go, it’s always so special to be able to go back home and feel grounded in your own backyard. The Chicago Med set is my home away from home… I’ve met the best and dearest on this show and it fills my heart to be able to go back and see them all again. IN this business, projects come and go, but it’s the relationships you make that continue. I’m extremely fortunate to have made some great ones at Wolf, NBC, and of course, Chicago Med.”

Chicago Med airs Wednesdays on NBC.