List of Chicago Med characters


This is a list of fictional characters in the television series Chicago Med, the second spin-off in the Chicago franchise. The article deals with the series' main, recurring, and minor characters.

Main

Overview

;Notes

Dr. Will Halstead

Dr. William "Will" Halstead is an attending in the Emergency Department. He was first introduced to the Chicago franchise in the Chicago P.D. episode "Say Her Real Name" as Detective Jay Halstead's estranged brother who drops by to visit in a two-episode arc. The character moved to Med after being introduced in the show's backdoor pilot on Chicago Fire and Gehlfuss was made a regular cast member when the characters at Chicago Medical Center who appeared in both Fire and P.D. were given their own spin-off.
Dr. Halstead was initially written as a plastic surgeon who left his private practice in New York City and returned home to Chicago. After the backdoor pilot of Chicago Med, he decided to switch specialties to emergency medicine. When Med first premiered, he was Chief Resident. As of season 2 he has been an attending. He is characterized as a competent and compassionate doctor who tries to do what he thinks is best for his patient but his single-minded stubbornness has sometimes clouded his judgment, such as when he insists on a particular course of action that is contrary to both advice and evidence. Charge Nurse Maggie Lockwood, who sometimes uses the nickname "Big Red" when referring to Dr. Halstead, once described him as "a slightly anal, overly stubborn, rule breaking, control freak". Dr. Halstead's relationship with hospital administrator Sharon Goodwin has been historically fraught, and Halstead's job has been jeopardized on multiple occasions.
In season 1 Dr. Halstead clashes a number of times with Dr. Connor Rhodes, a trauma surgery fellow, and Sharon Goodwin, the chief administrator, over hospital practices and policies. He particularly disliked Dr. Rhodes as he felt the latter was an entitled "rich kid" from the more affluent northern suburbs. They eventually call an unspoken truce by the end of the season as they developed a mutual professional respect for one another. During the episode "Choices" he finds himself in hot water after ignoring a patient's DNR and faces a lawsuit as a result. He also earns the ire of attending Dr. Kendra Perrington in the episode "Inheritance" for overriding her at the request of the patient's brother, who was his former schoolmate, only to find out that she was on the hiring committee. This put his job prospects in jeopardy as he was in the last year of his residency. In the season 1 finale he receives a letter of offer for an attending position in the ED, much to his relief. For much of early season 2, he stresses out over his finances as he still had to pay off his student loans and sizeable malpractice insurance. He initially sees final-year medical student Jeff Clarke as a rival for Natalie's affections but develops a friendship with Clarke and often encourages him.
During the first season, Dr. Halstead had feelings for the pediatric emergency medicine fellow, Dr. Natalie Manning, who was then pregnant with her late husband's baby. It caused some awkwardness as her mother-in-law was extremely protective and initially viewed him with suspicion. He eventually decided to move on and starts dating pathologist Nina Shore. They move in together in the season 2 episode "Free Will". They break up in finale of season 2 because he still has feelings for Dr. Manning. In the first episode of season 3 “Nothing To Fear”, she returns from a three-month sabbatical and tells him she also has feelings for him too and they became a couple. In season 4 they prepare for their wedding but Dr. Halstead finds himself in a difficult position when a neighborhood friend he made a house call to turns out to be federally listed criminal wanted by both the CPD and FBI. His brother convinces him to continue making the house calls in order to feed information to the joint CPD-FBI task force.
When he was first introduced on P.D., it was implied that he and Jay had not seen each other for some time. Jay still has some lingering bitterness over the fact that Will was not around when their late mother was ill. Despite this, they remain close and look out for one another. The brothers had a difficult relationship with their late father Pat as he disapproved of both his sons' occupations. The Halsteads are from a working class Irish Catholic background, as implied by Will's statements about growing up in Canaryville, a historically Irish neighborhood in the South Side of Chicago, and being an altar boy in his youth. Will attended De La Salle Institute, where he excelled academically but was also bullied by the more popular students and given the derogatory nickname "Ginger Spice". It is likely that he and his brother were ostracized for coming from a lower socioeconomic background as Jay has also made a reference to being ostracized by his more affluent counterparts at private school.
Dr. Halstead plays the guitar and performed at weddings to pay his way through medical school. It was a reference to actor Nick Gehlfuss's days as a busker in New York City when he first entered the acting industry.
He is a supporter of the Chicago White Sox like his father.

Dr. Natalie Manning

Dr. Natalie Manning is a pediatrician originally from Seattle who is an attending in emergency medicine specializing in pediatrics.
Natalie was widowed when her husband, Jeff, a soldier, was killed in Afghanistan and gave birth to their son, Owen. She is revealed to be a skilled violinist, as seen in season 1 episode "Fallback" and season 2 episode "Brother's Keeper".
In season 1, Natalie is portrayed as a caring doctor who sometimes becomes overly emotionally connected to her young patients. In Season 1, Episode 10, "Clarity", Dr. Will Halstead kisses her, showing her that he has feelings for her. However, as she is grieving her late husband, she gently tells Dr Halstead that she does have feelings for him, it just "isn't the right time yet".
At the start of Season 2, she begins a relationship with Jeff Clarke. However, she breaks up with him after he "humiliates" her during a M&M review. He also reveals that he wished she was his wife, and not his ex Lisa, which makes her angry that he didn't tell her before she let him "into her life and her bed". After the breakup, she begins to have feelings for Will, but he is in a relationship with Nina Shore. After their break up, he ends up dancing with Natalie while at Noah's graduation party.
In the first episode of the third season “Nothing To Fear”, Natalie returns from a three-month sabbatical and tells Will she has feelings for him and they became a couple. They go on a break near the end of Season 3, where he drunkenly kisses one of Natalie's old co-workers. After she finds out, she becomes angry at him but he proposes to her in the season 3 finale anyway.
Season 4 sees the couple planning for their wedding, which shows that Natalie accepted his proposal. It also shows the couple attending Pre-Cana together. After Will was brought into protective custody during their wedding, they eventually broke up and Natalie returned his ring. At the end of Season 4, Agent Lee convinces Natalie to take Will back, so she goes after him and gets into his car as she was going to tell him that she still loves him, until a car hits them.
Natalie was brought into the ED at the start of Season 5, where she was diagnosed with a TBI. While unconscious, her ex-boyfriend, Phillip Davis slipped a ring onto her finger and convinced everyone that they were engaged, except for Dr. Marcel who brings it up with Phillip and tells Will. She eventually finds out and calls it off, before trying to get back with Will, who has moved on to Dr. Asher. It is unknown if she still likes Will or if he has any feelings left for her, but it is assumed that she has feelings for Dr Marcel after they were in a hostage situation in the Season 5 finale.
In Season 6, Natalie alters data on a trial Will is running to have her mother accepted. She then stole medication to treat her mother in secret. Will was irate when finding out but ready to take the blame for it. Knowing it could ruin his career, Natalie confessed what she'd done. The opening of Season 7 revealed Natalie had been fired and was leaving Chicago for a fresh start. She appears again in the Season 8 finale picking up Will at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport when it is revealed he has left Chicago to be with her romantically. He asks how long she wants him to stay, and she responds "I'm never letting you go." The implication being Will and Natalie have a long-term future off screen.

April Sexton

April Sexton is a nurse in the Emergency Department. She was first introduced in Chicago Fire as a friend of Lieutenant Kelly Severide.
April's parents were immigrants from Brazil. Their original family name was Suassuna but they anglicized it to "Sexton" as it was easier to pronounce. She attended high school with Severide and they share a close friendship. He had been going through a rebellious phase in high school after being abandoned by his father and the Sextons often invited him to their house out of concern.
April is courted by an ex-pro football player, Tate Jenkins whom she meets when Tate brings his young son into the ED. She is initially skeptical and views Tate as a "player," but after getting to know each other, she develops a trust in him and they move in together. He proposes to her in the episode "Inherent Bias".
In season 2, April is infected with Tuberculosis from a needle stick in the ED and has to deal with the ramifications in her personal and professional life. In the season 2 fall finale, it was revealed she that she is pregnant. However, the treatment for her tuberculosis put her in a difficult position as the medication was potentially harmful to the fetus. She refused to have an abortion due to her Catholic faith. However, April suffers a miscarriage and her engagement to Tate ends.
In the season 2 finale, “Love Hurts” the doctors celebrate Noah Sexton's graduation party after he graduated medical school. April walks away from the party noticing that Noah is having a lot of fun. She walks over to a bridge and overlooks the water. As she stands there, Dr. Ethan Choi walks over and kisses her.
In season 3, Choi and April began a relationship, which they hide from the ED. A nurse grows suspicious of them and asks her questions, which April simply ignores. Later on, she opens up about her relationship to her coworkers in the ED. The two often clash in the ED about medical judgements over their patients, but continue to be very supportive of each other.