With each passing year, the One Chicago franchise’s roster of original cast members just keeps growing smaller and smaller.
On July 2, word broke that LaRoyce Hawkins would be exiting Chicago PD after 13 seasons playing Officer Kevin Atwater. The news shocked fans of NBC’s police procedural, who have been left speechless by the announcement that Hawkins is set to exit the series at the top of season 14.
Hawkins is the latest in a growing list of original One Chicago stars to exit the franchise, with the last few years in particular bringing an end to several longtime cast members' time on Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD. In fact, with Hawkins’ exit, there are now only 10 original series regulars remaining in the One Chicago franchise across the three series.
Chicago PD and Chicago Fire retain the most original series regulars, with four each, while Chicago Med has only two series regulars from the first season still in its cast. Following Hawkins’ exit, the list of remaining original One Chicago franchise series regulars include the following stars:
- Jason Beghe (Hank Voight) - Chicago PD
- David Eigenberg (Christopher Herrmann) - Chicago Fire
- Taylor Kinney (Kelly Severide) - Chicago Fire
- John Patrick Flueger (Adam Ruzek) - Chicago PD
- S. Epatha Merkerson (Sharon Goodwin) - Chicago Med
- Joe Minoso (Joe Cruz) - Chicago Fire
- Amy Morton (Trudy Platt) - Chicago PD
- Oliver Platt (Daniel Charles) - Chicago Med
- Marina Squerciati (Kim Burgess) - Chicago PD
- Christian Stolte (Randall "Mouch" McHolland) - Chicago Fire
It’s hard to process the fact that only 10 original series regulars remain with the One Chicago franchise, especially considering there was a time when the casts of Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med were anchored by a much larger group of familiar faces. Every major departure has reshaped the franchise in its own way, making the remaining originals all the more special to longtime fans who have followed these characters from the very beginning. Sadly, there is a very real chance that this list could grow even smaller this fall.
Chicago Fire season 15 could open with the exit of an original star
Much like how the Marvel Cinematic Universe has undergone its own changing of the guard with many of the original Avengers gradually exiting the franchise, the One Chicago franchise has seen many of its original stars leave the franchise over the years with just a few mainstays remaining. We’ve established that there are only 10 original stars in the franchise, and that list may grow smaller depending on how the Chicago Fire season 14 cliffhanger is resolved.
Season 14 ended with the lives of nearly every member of Firehouse 51 left up in the air after a call went south. There is a really good chance that someone might not survive the fire, and the three most likely candidates to be killed off all happen to be original series regulars.
The closing moments included a montage that wove in clips of three of the team’s wives in a move that has many worried it was the show’s way of foreshadowing that one of the men might not make it back home to them. This has left fans worried that Herrmann, Cruz, or Mouch might die in the season 15 premiere as a result of injuries sustained during the season 14 finale fire.
It’s been a while now since Chicago Fire has killed off a main character in the line of duty, and it does not help that the season 14 finale is very reminiscent of the season 2 finale. Season 2 ended with every member of 51 trapped within a building that went up in smoke as Chief Boden watched on in horror, and season 3 then opened with the death of Shay in the line of duty.
Should Chicago Fire kill off one of these three characters, that would bring about the exit of yet another original member of the One Chicago ensemble and truly mark a major turning point in the franchise. The exit of Joe Minoso, David Eigenberg, or Christian Stolte would leave Chicago Fire with just three original series regulars and bring the franchise’s overall total under double digits to nine.
Hopefully, we won’t have to say goodbye to any additional original cast members this fall, but it’s clear you never know when someone might exit the franchise.
Chicago Med showrunner hints we've seen the last of one of the show's most disliked characters
The final episodes of Chicago Med season 11 took an unexpectedly darker turn for Dr. John Frost as the season revisited his traumatic experiences growing up as a child actor and his rocky relationship with his parents, who failed to protect him. It all began when Frost’s parents, James and Celeste, showed up in town hoping to reconnect with their understandably estranged son.
Frost would eventually agree to meet with his parents, and he came to learn that his father’s health was in decline due to his MS diagnosis. As the season progressed, Frost would come to learn that his father was not suffering from MS, but rather he had a tumor on his spine which was causing MS-like symptoms. He’d also come to learn that his dad knew about the tumor but didn’t explore treatment out of fear.
By the time Frost found out the truth, his father was no longer eligible for a medical trial which could provide treatment designed to shrink the tumor. Despite their fractured relationship, Frost didn’t want to give up on his dad and agreed to sign on for a Nick of Time reboot series in order to make the money needed to pay for his father’s expensive treatment.
It was clear from the start that Frost did not want to return to acting, but it was a means to an end to make the money needed for his father’s treatment. He was all set to proceed with the project until the reboot’s producer surprised him at lunch with the news that Ainsley, the woman who played his mom on the show and took advantage of Frost as a teen, had been added to the cast.
Upon learning the news, Frost chose to walk away from the reboot which was when he’d come to find out that his father knew about his relationship with Ainsley and never stepped in to protect him. Instead, he turned a blind eye. This led to another fallout between Frost and his father, one that was short-lived as Frost would learn in the penultimate episode of the season that his dad’s treatments were not working and he’d been moved to hospice care.
The season finale saw Frost make peace with his father as he stayed with him through his final hours and remained at his side until his father passed as the finale came to a close.
Jessalyn Gilsig not expected to return for Chicago Med season 12
Needless to say, the back half of the season was particularly trying for Frost in many ways, but it was one that allowed the show to close the book on the past as the show focuses on how Frost will move forward. With the closing of this book, Chicago Med showrunner Allen MacDonald seemed to indicate that we’ve seen the last of a character that quickly became one of the show’s most disliked characters: Ainsley.
While you can truly never say never in the world of television, MacDonald appears to have all but confirmed we’ve seen the last of Ainsley on Chicago Med. In speaking with Parade following the finale, MacDonald noted that while they’ll always make reference to Frost’s past and to Nick of Time and Ainsley, specifically, they’ve closed the book on that—seeming to hint that while Ainsley might come up in conversation, she won’t be popping back up on the show directly.
“There’s a weight lifted off his shoulders. I think the past has always been something he’s run away from, that he thought he didn’t need to deal with it but it was actually weighing him down more because he wasn’t. We’ve spent the last two seasons with him slowly confronting the past and growing from the processing of it, and now I believe next season he’s going to move on,” MacDonald revealed. “There will be other challenges next season for Dr. John Frost, but as far as the past and Nick of Time and Ainsley, those are things we’ll always make reference to, but I feel like we’re closing the book on that, on the past, and now he’s going to move forward.”
As much as we love Jessalyn Gilsig, who was phenomenal in the role of Ainsley, it does make sense for her appearance in season 11, episode 19, “Exit Strategies," to serve as her final episode on the show.
Frost will surely continue to unpack the events of his past in the new season as he works on his relationship with his mom following his father’s death, but we don’t need to see Ainsley back again as it’s time the show began to allow Frost to reclaim his future and move forward. Thankfully, that seems to be the plan, and we’re certainly eager to see what season 12 will bring for Frost as he begins this new chapter in his story!
Be the first to comment on this article!