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Every "Chicago Med" star who's exited the series — and what they're doing now

The medical drama will return for season 12 this fall.

Key Points

NBC's Chicago Med has been renewed for a 12th season.
Original cast member Marlyne Barrett announced her exit following season 10.
S. Epatha Merkerson and Oliver Platt are the only original stars still on the show.

Chicago Med has been spiking fans' heart rates for 11 seasons and counting — and a 12th season is officially on the way.

A cornerstone of NBC's One Chicago franchise, the medical drama regularly sees its cast cross paths with the first responders of Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. Of course, any long-running series is going to see its share of cast shake-ups. Of the original ensemble, only S. Epatha Merkerson and Oliver Platt remain at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center.

Season 8, which aired between 2022 and 2023, marked a particularly dramatic shift, with the departures of key cast members like Brian Tee, Nick Gehlfuss, and Guy Lockard. Most recently, Marlyne Barrett, who played charge nurse Maggie Lockwood since day one, confirmed her exit.

While these departures paved the way for a new generation of doctors and nurses to flex their stethoscopes, it's worth taking a moment to look back at the familiar faces who walked the halls of Gaffney and see what they've been up to since.

Here's the original Chicago Med cast, then and now.

01 of 11

Rachel DiPillo as Dr. Sarah Reese (seasons 1-3)

During Chicago Med’s first three seasons, Rachel DiPillo played Dr. Sarah Reese, a medical student interested in pathology. But after graduating from medical school, Sarah left pathology behind and became a psychiatry resident.

DiPillo reprised her role in the season 4 premiere, in which it was revealed that she was being transferred to Baylor following a tense fallout with Dr. Charles (Platt). She later returned in a recurring role during season 10.

Since leaving Chicago Med, DiPillo hasn't taken on many new projects, making her return in Chicago Med season 10 all the more welcome by fans.

02 of 11

Colin Donnell as Dr. Connor Rhodes (seasons 1-5)

Colin Donnell portrayed cardiothoracic fellow Dr. Connor Rhodes for the first four seasons of Chicago Med.

Fortunately for fans, the character wasn't killed off, and showrunners Andy Schneider and Diane Frolov previously told Entertainment Weekly there's a possibility Donnell could return in the future.

In the season 5 premiere, Connor left both the hospital and Chicago behind, reeling from the back-to-back deaths of his father, Cornelius Rhodes (D.W. Moffett), and his ex-girlfriend, Dr. Ava Bekker (Norma Kuhling), who died by suicide after murdering Cornelius in a twisted attempt to win him back.

"The hospital became a reminder of the tragedy but he made friends there, built a career there," Frolov told EW. "So there are a lot of mixed emotions there at the end having to say goodbye to it."

Donnell has stayed busy. He starred on Peacock's drama miniseries Irreverent and made appearances on FBI: International and Zero Day. Donnell also returned to the theater, with roles in Almost Famous (2019), The Shark Is Broken, and Ragtime.

03 of 11

Yaya DaCosta as April Sexton (seasons 1-6)

Yaya DaCosta was a core part of Chicago Med for its first six seasons. The former America's Next Top Model runner-up played April Sexton, a senior emergency department (ED) nurse and proud first-generation Brazilian-American.

In season 6, April took the next step in her career by enrolling in a nurse practitioner program. After completing her training, she returned briefly in season 8 and found a happy ending with Dr. Ethan Choi (Tee). The two married and started a mobile clinic to help underserved communities.

Since then, she's continued working steadily, including on Fox's Our Kind of People and Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer. She also played the title role in Lifetime's Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story (2025).

04 of 11

Torrey DeVitto as Dr. Natalie Manning (seasons 1-6)

Torrey DeVitto played Dr. Natalie Manning, an ED pediatrician, for the first six seasons of Chicago Med.

In the season 7 premiere, it was revealed that Natalie was fired after confessing to stealing medication for her ailing mother. She returned in the season 8 finale to reunite with her ex-fiancé, Dr. Will Halstead (Gehlfuss).

In a 2024 interview with Us Weekly, DeVitto shared that her departure was the result of "a mutual conversation" with the writers. “I’ll be very blunt, the last season I was there they wrote my character in a really weird way and wrote her into a big hole that she could not get out of,” she added.

Since leaving the show, DeVitto has become a familiar face on Hallmark, starring in several movies, including Twas the Night Before Christmas (2022) and Love's Greek to Me (2023).

05 of 11

Brian Tee as Dr. Ethan Choi (seasons 1-8)

For eight seasons, Brian Tee starred as Dr. Ethan Coi on Chicago Med.

His final appearance came in season 8's "Could Be the Start of Something New," where Ethan married April and left the hospital to open a mobile clinic serving underserved communities.

EW confirmed that Tee left the show "to spend more time with his family and pursue other opportunities along with acting, including directing and producing."

Over the years, Tee has returned to Chicago Med as a director and featured on the Prime Video series Expats and Reacher. Most recently, appeared with Idris Elba in Kathryn Bigelow's A House of Dynamite (2025).

06 of 11

Nick Gehlfuss as Dr. Will Halstead (seasons 1-8)

Nick Gehlfuss helped lead the first eight seasons of Chicago Med as Dr. Will Halstead, a former plastic surgeon who finds a home in the ED.

In the season 8 finale, Will resigned after exposing flaws in Jack Dayton's (Sasha Roiz) OR 2.0 system, then moved to Seattle to be with Natalie and her son. He returned for a guest spot in season 11.

Gehlfuss confirmed his departure was his own decision, telling Variety, "It was a difficult decision, but ultimately, I felt I'd taken Dr. Halstead as far as I can go with him. … I want to develop new, different characters."

Gehlfuss currently stars on the FBI spinoff CIA on CBS.

07 of 11

Marlyne Barrett as Maggie Lockwood (seasons 1-10)

Marlyne Barrett is one of Chicago Med's longest-running cast members, having played charge nurse Maggie Lockwood for 10 seasons. In Aug. 2025, Barrett announced her decision to step away from the show, with EW confirming her exit was for personal reasons.

While the exact details of her departure haven't been shared, Barrett did reveal in 2022 that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. This came just three years after her character, Maggie, faced the same diagnosis on the show.

08 of 11

Norma Kuhling as Dr. Ava Bekker (seasons 2-5)

Norma Kuhling joined Chicago Med in season 2 as Dr. Ava Bekker, a South African trauma surgeon entangled in a turbulent relationship with Connor. Their storyline took a dark turn when Ava confessed to killing Connor's father and died by suicide in the season 5 premiere.

Kuhling never gave a specific reason for her departure, but Deadline cited "creative reasons related to the characters’ story evolution." She later had recurring roles on S.W.A.T. and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

09 of 11

Dominic Rains as Dr. Crockett Marcel (seasons 5–9)

Dominic Rains was introduced to Chicago Med in season 5 as Dr. Crockett Marcel. He exited at the end of season 9, with his character seeking a fresh start in Boston after a tragic case involving the death of a young patient and the patient's father.

Rains was recently announced as part of the Power: Origins cast at Starz. According to his Instagram, he has been focused on pro-Palestinian advocacy.

10 of 11

Kristen Hager as Dr. Stevie Hammer (season 7)

Kristen Hager's Dr. Stevie Hammer was an attending physician and Will's med school rival. She debuted in the season 7 premiere and made her final appearance in episode 14, when the character left to reconnect with her husband.

Hager was pregnant during filming, which may have contributed to her departure. However, producer Andrew Schneider told Variety that the writers felt her story had come to a natural conclusion, but noted, "We'd love to have her back."

Following Chicago Med, Hager had a recurring role on the short-lived Suits spinoff Suits LA.

11 of 11

Guy Lockard as Dr. Dylan Scott (seasons 7-8)

Guy Lockard stepped into the role of Dr. Dylan Scott, a police officer-turned-pediatric emergency physician, on seasons 7 and 8 of Chicago Med.

His character left the hospital and Chicago in the season 8 premiere following the death of Jo (Riley Voelkel), an undercover cop he dated.

"He was a former cop and that dynamic and his being caught between those two worlds is what was so interesting in his character," Schneider told TVLine at the time. "We felt we really played that out with a number of storylines, and finally with the death of the woman he loved, we felt this would be a good time for him to move on."

Since exiting Chicago Med, Lockard has popped up on The Blacklist, FBI, and NCIS: Origins.