Patrick John Flueger is taking an unexpected leave of absence from Chicago P.D. for a personal matter, according to Deadline. Due to his sudden departure, they are rewriting the scripts to accommodate his temporary time off from the police procedural.
Flueger has been playing Adam Ruzek since season one. He is not the only original actor from Chicago One who is taking a leave of absence; Marlyne Barrett has not been seen on Chicago Med this season. In January 2023, Taylor Kinney was absent from Chicago Fire for the rest of that season and returned in the Fall.
Before Kerry Washington led a crisis management company on Scandal, her rapper boyfriend needed one on Law & Order. She looks the same now as she did when she was 24 in that 2001 episode.
Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago PD (I don’t watch the latter) are back on NBC tonight at 8p, and get prepared for a lot of changes.
Chicago Fire starts the night off, and we find out who the father of Hannah Asher’s (Jessy Schram) baby is. How will he feel about becoming a daddy?
Then once we know that, we are back at the hospital, and the doctors are going to have a hard day at work. A mother, father, and son are brought in with severe burns after a house fire. Then there was a ceiling collapse at a rave, and there is an injury you have to see to believe.
Now that Dr. Lenox (Sarah Ramos) knows she inherited her family’s fatal disease, she has changed for the worse. So much so that I am not sure her character is worth explaining.
However, the medical drama is, and I can’t wait to see what else happens this season.
Then at 9p, get ready for the changes coming to Chicago Fire. Shortly after the season finale, we found out that we are losing two firefighters. One is confirmed in the season premiere, the other one is still with us for now.
With their departures, we get a new guy, and Vasquez (Brandon Larracuente) is going to make Stella Kidd’s (Miranda Rae Mayo) life complicated as her new driver. He is forced on the stationhouse, and Chief Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) tells her she is just going to have to put up with him.
There have been rumors that the reason shows have been cutting cast members. It is because of budget cuts. Fire found a way to explain why, at any time, we could be losing more of our favorites in the future. But hopefully, we won’t. Because the cast works well together, and we don’t need to put a wrench into their chemistry.
On Tuesday, we found out that Nick Gehlfuss would be reprising his role as Dr. Will Halstead on Chicago Med. Fans of the show were excited for this because it is nice to have an original back on the medical drama.
You see, since the show debuted in 2025, there have been a lot of cast changes. Because of that, there are only three OGs left: S. Epatha Merkerson, Oliver Platt, and Marlyne Barrett.
Strike that, only two left. That is because today, Deadline reported that Barrett is stepping away from the series for undisclosed “personal reasons.” And everyone is hoping that her departure is only temporary.
Three years ago, she announced that she was diagnosed with uterine and ovarian cancer and underwent aggressive chemotherapy to battle the disease. Later that year, she got a hysterectomy. Then, in September 2024, she revealed that she is in remission.
Chicago Med returns to NBC for its 10th season on October 1st.
Chicago Med has undergone numerous casting changes throughout its 11 seasons. To the point that there are only three original cast members remaining on the medical drama.
This season, S. Epatha Merkerson, Oliver Platt, and Marlyne Barrett will see one of their old friends come for a visit.
Nick Gehlfuss, who plays Dr. Will Halstead, will be visiting for an undetermined number of episodes, according to Deadline. They have confirmed that he will guest star, but that is all they have been able to find out as of now.
This is the first time we have seen Dr. Halstead since he moved to Seattle to be with Natalie and her son at the end of season 8.
Hopefully, his guest star role will become permanent because the ED has not been the same since he left in 2003.
The 11th season premiere of the NBC series will debut on October 1st.
