How should Chicago Med season 3 handle its time-jump problem?

When Chicago Med season 3 premieres on NBC at midseason, it’s going to be clear that there is one primary issue: Continuity. Because of the network holding the show to midseason, there’s going to be so much that likely happened to the doctors and the nurses during that time we’re not immediately privy to. This is the first time that a returning show in the One Chicago franchise has not premiered in the fall, so we could be wondering what’s become of characters like Will Halstead and Connor Rhodes, who we’ve already come to know and love. What do you do with them, given that they are still major parts of the franchise when the other two shows are on the air?

Ultimately, we think the struggle for the writers is unique and challenging, but it probably starts off with Chicago Fire and Chicago PD only visiting the hospital in small doses during the fall. Stop by when there’s a medical emergency, and maybe share a scene or two with some characters. Don’t stick around for longer than you really need to. Don’t give any personal updates, but remind everyone that the characters still exist and you’re going to see them at some point more.

If Chicago Fire / PD don’t include these characters at all, it’s going to be strange for a number of different reasons, with the biggest one being that you’re still going to see a Chicago Justice character in Valdez on Chicago PD and that show was canceled! It would be beyond strange to not feature anyone at all.

Now, the other question comes in how to deal with the time jump on Chicago Med itself. It’s possible that relationships like Will/Natalie and Ethan/April could be in full swing for many months at the time the show comes back. Our advice would to include a number of flashbacks in the premiere to the past several months to offer up some context, coupled with what is going on now in the present. Another idea is to just start the premiere with 5-10 minutes in the past before jumping forward and focusing on the present then. The show does have a number of different ways to tell the story, but often we as viewers like to be shown things rather than told. If they are just going to inform us via dialogue of relationships, medical cases, and more, then the dialogue needs to be above top-notch.

Oh, and don’t forget that the show needs to come up with a way to handle the Dr. Charles cliffhanger from the season 2 finale — at least here you’ve got an opportunity to tell a story when he could be better and back at the hospital, provided that he survived.

What do you think Chicago Med season 3 should do when it comes to its time jumps?

Be sure to share your thoughts now in the attached comments! Meanwhile, be sure to head over here in the event that you do want to get some additional insight on Dr. Ethan Choi, courtesy of our latest character spotlight. (Photo: NBC.)