NBC’s Chicago Med joins Chicago Fire and Chicago PD

“The aim here is, every week, if you watch the show, you will get at least one piece of medical information that you probably don’t know,” said producer Dick Wolf at a recent press conference to discuss his new series Chicago Med. The third entry in NBC’s successful Chicago franchise (with Chicago Fire and Chicago PD), the new series will follow Wolf’s formula of “ripped from the headlines”-style drama — mixed in with personal drama, of course.chicago-med

Some of the cast, including Nick Gehlfuss and Oliver Platt, as well as their characters’ trauma center setting, was introduced in an episode of Chicago Fire last season. Gehlfuss plays trauma surgeon Dr. Will Halstead, brother of Jay Halstead from Chicago PD (Gehlfuss appeared on three episodes of that series), while Platt plays psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Charles.

In order to maintain the realism of working with medical emergencies in a huge city like Chicago, Gehlfuss told us that he worked in an actual trauma center to gain insight into some of the experiences real-life medical experts face.

“I’ve been shadowing at Cook County right in Chicago,” Gehlfuss said. “Cook County is the No. 1 trauma center. I met a trauma surgeon on Chicago PD, and he’s been an invaluable resource and a great contact to have. I’ve seen really how tough and ugly Chicago can be, and how these doctors handle themselves, and my respect for these doctors — they’re geniuses.”

Chief of psychiatry at the trauma center, Platt’s character, Dr. Charles, is introduced to us as perhaps a man who, while an expert in his field, may not be as successful in navigating his own life.

“The etymology of the word ‘psychiatry’ was actually coined by a German doctor in the early 19th century,” Platt said, “and psychiatry actually means the medical treatment of the soul. I would say that Dr. Charles is probably a guy whose own soul — I think that he probably distracts himself from his own problems with the problems of other people.”

The characters of Chicago Med will not only deal with problems in their own series, but they will also be part of the successful Chicago series crossovers that have become audience favorites.

“The crossovers are incredible ratings engines for us,” Wolf said. “[But] what we can’t do is have them become commonplace. So we basically have an agreement we’re going to do three this season.”

And in February, look for what executive producer Matt Olmstead calls a “jumbo crossover” — a four-way crossing over of the three Chicago series with Law & Order: SVU.

Chicago Med airs Tuesdays at 9pm ET on NBC beginning Nov. 17.

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Mark Seliger/NBC