https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLb5j6_bd54
Chicago Med has proven to be a huge hit and tonight on NBC at 9p it is back with another stimulating episode.
Oliver Platt plays Dr. Daniel Charles, the Chief of Psychiatry at Chicago Med, a role he researched before he starting filming the show. When I asked him how he prepared for the medical part of his role at the NBC TCA Summer Press Day, he told me, “I’ve been hanging out with the wonderful people at Columbia (University in New York).” Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, Lawrence C. Kolb Professor and Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons; Director, New York State Psychiatric Institute; and Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Columbia University Medical Center of the New York Presbyterian Hospital, introduced to him several of his staff members. Due to the confidentiality issues, he explained what exactly they could teach him about their profession. He said, “What I’ve been doing is really talking to the doctors about how they do their job. Because of the nature of their work, you can’t go in there and watch them work, but they’ve been really very, very generous and forthcoming.”
Then he revealed why he made the effort, “It was really important to find out what a head psychiatrist is going to actually have, how much to do on a day-to-day hospital and the truth is, is that Jeff Lieberman sees patients.” Then he added, “And he works at a much bigger hospital than Chicago Med would be. So I’m not worried about it at all. I think there’s also going to be a little bit of sort of unofficial HR counseling going on too, I’ve been told, which is always interesting.”
Talking about HR, Dick Wolf, who created the show, called him and asked him if he was interested in the part. As soon as he described the character and the show, Platt didn’t need a lot of convincing to say yes. The only problem for the New Yorker is that the show is shot in Chicago. How did he feel about the move? He said, “I’ve always wanted to spend more time (there). Chicago’s an incredible city,” adding, “Chicago is the great American city.”
While the city is something new for him, playing a psychologist is not. In fact, he admitted that he has played that type of doctor a few times recently, but each was completely different. When I asked him if takes that as a sign, he jokingly responded with, “Yes. Somebody’s trying to tell me something.”
What is he trying to tell viewers? He said, “I’d like them to tune in and watch it.” So do just that tonight and every Tuesday at 9p on NBC.
