One Chicago fans have made it through their first month without Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago PD, but we still have a long way to go before the three shows return to NBC’s schedule this fall. Thankfully, the cast of the One Chicago shows has been keeping us busy with exciting new releases to enjoy featuring some of our favorite actors from the franchise.
At the top of the month, Michael Bradway made his return to TV following his exit from Chicago Fire via Prime Video’s newest drama Every Year After. Now, as June comes to a close, fans can look forward to enjoying the final season of FX’s Emmy-winning series The Bear, starring two series regulars from Chicago Med!
Oliver Platt and Sarah Ramos are both back for the final chapter of FX’s beloved series, which promises to serve up an unforgettable last season. The final season will see Platt and Ramos returning alongside fellow returning stars Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Abby Elliott, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Matty Matheson, Ricky Staffieri, Will Poulter, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
The final season of The Bear picks up in the immediate aftermath of Head Chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto having quit the food industry, leaving the restaurant to Sydney, Richie, and Sugar. As FX teases, "With no money, the threat of a sale and a torrential storm in their way, the new partners must band together with the rest of the team to achieve one last service, hoping they’ll finally earn a Michelin star. Ultimately, they learn that what makes a restaurant ‘perfect’ might not be the food, but the people.”
Platt and Ramos will reprise their respective roles as Uncle Jimmy and Jessica, who are both likely to play pivotal roles in the final chapter. Not that the size of their role matters to One Chicago fans who are sure to be thrilled to have the duo back on their screens in fresh content during the summer hiatus!
Uncle Jimmy is a far departure from Platt’s Chicago Med role as Dr. Daniel Charles, who is a straight shooter and one of the most reputable figures in the franchise. "Reputable" is not a word you’d ever catch us using to describe Uncle Jimmy, who is a more questionable figure. Meanwhile, we certainly see shades of Dr. Caitlin Lenox in Ramos’ character, Jessica, as both are strong characters who know how to keep shit running in order and operate well under pressure.
Unlike with Every Year After, which was a new series that made it easy for One Chicago fans to dive into, The Bear does require a little homework if you’re not already watching the show. However, with just 46 episodes total (including the eight episodes that make up the final season), which come in at around 30 minutes each, the show is a perfect binge watch that not only stars a few beloved One Chicago characters but is also set against the backdrop of Chicago.
Season 5 arrives on June 25, 2026, making it the perfect show to add to your One Chicago summer hiatus watch list as we bid farewell to June and welcome July’s arrival!
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!
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