The Chicago metro area has the third-highest population of LGBTQ+ adults of any metro area, according to a UCLA survey; however, you’d never guess that as a viewer of the One Chicago franchise.
Despite being three shows strong with a combined total of 38 seasons (39 if we toss in the short-lived Chicago Justice), the One Chicago shows have somehow managed to feature a concerningly low number of LGBTQ+ characters through the years. In fact, Chicago Fire is the only One Chicago show that has even made an effort to feature an LGBTQ+ character in a prominent series regular role through the characters of Leslie Shay, Darren Ritter, and Emily Foster. Representation within the One Chicago franchise, otherwise, has been a box checked via side characters and the occasional guest star.
While Chicago Fire has at least included lead characters from the LGBTQ+ community, the show often strayed away from the characters’ romantic lives and exploring meaningful storylines through the characters. Take Ritter, for example. While Ritter was involved in a relationship with police officer Dwayne Morris, their relationship was rarely shown in depth or featured prominently through the show, with most developments happening through passing dialogue rather than fully realized storylines or episodes that centered on their relationship.
If we’re being honest, even Ritter as a series regular character was never fully given the same bigger storylines many of his fellow series regulars were given through the years. Ritter was rarely the emotional center of episodes, lacked season-long arcs that his colleagues were given, and his screen time never quite matched that of his fellow series regulars.
Chicago Fire deserves credit for the representation, but it felt as though the show was simply checking the box of representation more than actually building Ritter into a fully realized, story-driving character. And when it came time to make budget cuts, it was the sole LGBTQ+ character who was written out, erasing the one remaining queer character from the franchise.
Chicago Med, Fire and PD’s lack of LGBTQ+ representation is more than a little disappointing
Chicago is one of the most diverse cities in the country, with a vibrant and visible LGBTQ+ community. That reality should naturally extend into Firehouse 51, the halls of Gaffney, and the precincts of the Chicago Police Department. Instead, LGBTQ+ characters have remained largely on the sidelines, their stories either underdeveloped or entirely absent.
The issue isn’t simply about adding more LGBTQ+ characters for the sake of optics. It’s about giving those characters the same narrative weight, complexity, and emotional depth afforded to their heterosexual counterparts. It’s about allowing them to lead episodes and to exist beyond a single defining trait, something that so many of One Chicago’s competitors do with much more nuance and care.
Shows like Grey’s Anatomy, 911, and Fire Country all feature LGBTQ+ characters in prominent series roles and actually celebrate their queerness. They’re not just there to check a box; they’re fully realized characters whose queerness is part of the show and their stories, not an afterthought. Rather than minimizing their identities, the shows lean into them and let them shape meaningful storylines.
It's disappointing that in a franchise that spans three shows and has nearly 40 seasons between them, there have been just three series regular LGBTQ+ characters featured, and it's time that changes. Imagine what these shows could gain by embracing that opportunity.
At a time when representation across television continues to evolve, One Chicago feels stuck behind the curve. The foundation for meaningful inclusion is there; the franchise has simply yet to fully commit to building upon it. Fans deserve and want to see themselves represented on-screen, and it would be so refreshing to see better LGBTQ+ representation in the new seasons of Chicago Med, Fire, and PD this fall.
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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