Original regular cast member leaves Chicago Med in season eight finale

NBC's Chicago Med is bidding farewell to another original cast member, it was revealed last night in the season eight finale.

NB!! This news release contains spoilers for Chicago Med's eighth season.

The cast member's departure follows that of Brian Tee whose character Dr. Ethan Choi rode off into the sunset earlier this season after marrying the love of his life, April Sexton (Yaya Dacosta).

After eight seasons on Chicago Med Dr. Having played Will Halstead, Nick Gehlfuss has parted ways with the series one last time after reconnecting with the woman he was always meant to be with, Dr. Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto). Natalie and her son Owen returned for a fitting farewell to two fan-favorite characters who will be sorely missed.

The Chicago franchise will now officially be Halstead-less. Jesse Lee Soffer played detective Jay Halstead on Chicago PD for ten seasons before announcing that he was leaving the series. Med's Will's younger brother, Jay, took a job in the military and is stationed in Bolivia where he leads a full squad of boys who track down the worst drug cartels.



Gehlfuss (pictured, right) spoke to Deadline on April 14 about his decision to leave One Chicago, reuniting with Devitto (pictured, left), and whether he could ever come back. For example, the actor said that his second contract with the series would expire this year and he felt that he had to make the decision for himself whether to start a new contract or not. He made that decision a few months ago.

Gehlfuss: "It was important to me to let everyone know as early as possible so that the writers could come up with a storyline and I had time to make that transition."

On reuniting with Devitto's Nathalie Manning, he said: "It was really so great to see Torrey, too. She called me to let me know she was coming. But you know, you never know how things can play out. They could have the idea but maybe someone won’t be available or we wouldn’t be able to make it work but she was open to coming back. We fell right back into our work rhythm as if we hadn’t had any time off. It was a beautiful moment at the end of the episode that I hope bring some closure to the fans."

And when asked if there might be a return for him and his character in the future, Gehlfuss replied: "We’ve actually talked about that and that was part of the decision in how we exited Will. I wanted that to be the case but of course, I would have been okay with whatever the writers felt necessary for the story. So I’m glad that they preserve that possibility. They said outright, ‘You know, we’d be happy to have you come back whenever you want.’ And it’s really touching."

Finally, the actor thanked the fans of One Chicago for the time and support they have invested in him over the years. "I’ve been so flattered by the number of people that have come up to me to say something positive about One Chicago and my work. That is the best confirmation of the contract between the audience and the storyteller. While Will Halstead is leaving, One Chicago is not. Enjoy the seasons to come."