Chicago Med interview: EPs talk season 6 plots, Will Halstead surprise

Chicago Med November 9, 2020

Come Wednesday night on NBC, the Chicago Med season 6 premiere will be here — and it has a lot to address. While every show within the One Chicago universe will be taking on the pandemic in some shape or form, the biggest challenges await at the franchise’s famous hospital. There is going to be pain here, but all indications suggest that the writers are also finding a way to include hope. The Chicago Med you know and love is not changing, and there will be personal stories to accompany some of the medical ones.

For some more discussion, check out what executive producers/showunners Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov had to say in a recent interview.

CarterMatt – What has been the greatest challenge of planning out this season so far? I can imagine a laundry list of them, whether it be logistically in these uncertain times or in terms of the creative.

Andrew Schneider – Of course, figuring out how to safely shoot our show has been a huge challenge. But creatively, integrating the pandemic into our hospital and deciding how each of our staff has been affected by [the pandemic] has likewise been very challenging.

It’s inevitable for the show to tackle the pandemic in some form, but how are you both approaching it? Are we starting off in the early days of it or addressing it where we are now?

Diane Frolov – We are playing the pandemic as it is now. And of course, with ours being a hospital show, it has profoundly affected all our staff both physically and emotionally.

What is going to be the emotional impact on the doctors and nurses, who have to be dealing with more trauma and exhaustion than ever before?

Frolov – The drive to help all these gravely ill patients over so many months has been at times overwhelming for many of our staff.

In terms of relationships, where do we pick up in terms of Ethan and April? What about Will and Hannah?

Schneider – Ethan and April are close friends but no longer lovers. There will be a big surprise for Will and Hannah in the first episode of season six.

These are very different times, and while there will be a lot of darkness presumably with the subject matter early on, are you working for places to instill hope? Will there be some positive, lighter moments early on amidst what the characters are tackling?

Frolov – Absolutely. We always strive to include lighter moments to leaven the mood. You’ll see that in Dr. Charles, a brilliant psychiatrist, who often has no clue in how to deal with his difficult adolescent daughter.

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Through all of this, you can get a picture of a season looking to accomplish a number of different things. There are some hard times coming, but this is a show about perseverance and hope. You will continue to see much of that throughout.

Also, what will this “big surprise” for Will and Hannah be? We’ve got a lot of questions about that already…

What do you most want to see when it comes to Chicago Med season 6?

Be sure to share right now in the comments! Also, stick around to ensure that you don’t miss any other news related to the series. (Photo: NBC.)

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