Chicago Med is causing concern after putting a beloved character’s future at risk — but did they officially get killed off?
During the Wednesday, April 1, episode of the hit NBC series, Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) has a difficult day when he tries to help someone who calls into the suicide hotline. The man reveals he’s holding a gun before disconnecting. With the case sent over to emergency services, Dr. Charles can’t follow up.
He then has a fight with his daughter, is accused of a patient of letting his emotional issues affect his work, got an official complaint raised again him and considering another job after an argument with Goodwin.
Dr. Charles ultimately has blurry vision and hallucinates his childhood. The final scene shows him on the ground while gasping for while, which left his health scare and future on the show unclear. Fans noted that the trailer for next week’s episode hinted at a stroke but it wasn’t confirmed if Dr. Charles died.
One Chicago fans have gotten used to seeing their favorite characters come and go from Chicago Fire, Chicago Med and Chicago P.D. over the years. After there were some questions about the franchise’s revolving door of cast members, NBC’s president of program planning Jeff Bader explained why he wasn’t concerned.
“Cast comes in, cast goes out,” Bader told TVLine in an interview published in July 2024. “It’s interesting. Because every year there are cast changes, and every year someone asks the same question about what’s going on within the One Chicago universe. But [those shows] just keep going on.”
Bader pointed out that each of the Chicago shows have continued to find success, adding, “We’re thrilled with how the Chicagos do on Wednesday. We have no plans on changing anything on that night.”
Elsewhere in the One Chicago universe, Dermot Mulroney surprised fans by departing Chicago Fire — for now.
A March episode of the hit NBC series showed Pascal having his position revoked after he previously disobeyed a federal agent’s order to stand down while collecting evidence at a house fire. Pascal was arrested, but despite the federal charges against him being dropped, his position was still in jeopardy.
Pascal ultimately confirmed to Firehouse 51 that he was told to vacate the position effective immediately. Amid the big professional change, Pascal considered retiring from firefighting but then shared that a former colleague in Phoenix offered to connect him with a firehouse in Arizona. It remained unclear what choice Pascal would make about his future.
“He’s been on the ropes,” Chicago Fire showrunner Andrea Newman told NBC Insider. “[The arrest] puts him in a situation, it’s kind of a journey for him from the beginning, where he really wasn’t connected to 51 as closely as the chiefs obviously we’ve seen in the past, like Boden.”
Newman continued: “So he makes the ultimate sacrifice for his team, for all the teams really in this episode, and it sends him in a totally different and new direction at the end here. And he’s gonna have to figure out if he’s going to fight and claw to get back to 51, or if he’s now going to be on a new path altogether.”
Chicago Med airs on NBC Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
