Chicago Med has had a lot of cast shakeups in the last few years, but season 11 was honestly one of the most stable seasons in recent seasons. In fact, the only major cast exit came via the unexpected departure of Marlyne Barrett heading into the season.
This was a welcome change given how many cast shakeups the past few seasons have brought within the broader One Chicago franchise.
While we’re expecting most of the Chicago Med cast back for season 12, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few members of the show’s cast who we wouldn’t be surprised not to see back. After all, there were some characters whose storylines seemed to come to a natural conclusion in season 11.
As we look ahead to the upcoming season, let’s take a look at four characters who we probably won’t be seeing in season 12.
Jennifer Kingston
We first met Dr. Jennifer Kingston early in season 11 with the introduction of Merrin Dungey in the role in episode 2. Over the course of the season, Jennifer appeared in a recurring role working alongside Dean and Hannah, with the trio treating the husband-and-wife duo Jeremy and Esme.
Her close proximity with Dean eventually led to the pair becoming romantically involved, but we knew that their relationship was never going to go anywhere. While the writers put Jennifer and Dean together, their relationship was a flash in the pan and was used as a catalyst for Dean finally realizing his true feelings for Hannah.
With Dean and Jennifer having broken up as the season ended and Jeremy having passed away in the season finale, it would be easy for the show to write Jennifer out of the show. We’ve seen this happen before with many side characters, and we have a feeling we might have seen the last of Jennifer Kingston.
Ainsley Towne
One character we’re almost certain we’ve seen the last of is Jessalyn Gilsig’s Ainsley Towne.
We met Ainsley late in season 10 and would quickly come to realize that she was more than just Frost’s former Nick of Time costar. Ainsley took advantage of Frost, entering into a romantic relationship with him before he was 18.
After Frost confronted Ainsley about her actions as season 10 came to a close, we thought we’d seen the last of her before she returned for a guest appearance in season 11. In that episode, she shocked Frost by crashing a lunch with the producer of the Nick of Time revival. Her arrival left Frost to back out of the project and effectively close the book on that chapter of his life.
We’d be shocked if the show brought Ainsley back for an appearance in season 12, which is why it seems likely we’ve probably seen the last of her on Chicago Med.
Dr. Theo Rabari
When we first met Dr. Theo Rabari, he immediately challenged Dr. Charles’ ways of thinking with a very different approach to patient care. This quickly led to a fun partnership as the pair pushed one another and challenged the other's way of thinking, which helped them crack several difficult cases.
Sadly, just when we thought the pair had hit a true turning point, Theo made a play for Charles’ job and tried to push him out of the department he had worked so hard to build through the years.
This power play led to a shocking discovery as we’d come to learn that Theo suffered from antisocial personality disorder, making him a sociopath in clinical terms. While Charles did not expose Theo’s medical diagnosis during the fight with the board, someone did leak it to Miranda, which helped Charles keep his job.
After the board passed him over for Charles’ position, Theo seemed to make the decision to leave Gaffney saying what appeared to be a final goodbye to Charles before heading out. We’re hoping we’re wrong and that Theo might return, but it seems probable that his journey on the show has come to an end.
Maggie Lockwood
The last name on this list is the one that hurts the most to include. There is nothing we want more than to see Marlyne Barrett return as Maggie Lockwood in season 12, but we’re also being realistic in noting that it will probably not happen.
When word broke that Barrett would be exiting the show ahead of season 11, it was hinted that the hope was for her to return at some point in the season. Sadly, as the season progressed, it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, and it, in fact, did not. Not only did we not see Maggie back in season 11, but the show failed to give us much of an update as to where she went.
At the top of the season, it was revealed that Maggie had left Gaffney, but the show never provided us with a direct answer as to why she left or where she went. There were some small references to Maggie late in the season, but nothing that gave us any insights into what happened to her.
Hopefully, we’ll get to see Maggie in season 12, but fans should prepare for the reality that we might have seen the last of Maggie on Chicago Med.
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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