Dr. Stevie Hammer has left the building.
Actress Kristen Hager has reportedly exited Chicago Med after half a season, TV Line reports.
Hager joined the cast in the seventh season, but her last appearance was midway through in March. At the time, Stevie, a potential love interest for Will Halstead, informed him that she would be giving her marriage another shot after she finally got closure on a storyline involving her bipolar mother.
However, it wasn’t an “official” goodbye and felt rather abrupt as her absence hasn’t been explained since.
It seems as though that’s what the executive producers wanted as Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov told TVLine in a statement that “her story arc with her mother ended. But we all really liked Kristen and would welcome her character coming back in the future.”
While some might think that’s a stretch, the series isn’t opposed to reviving character as Will’s ex-girlfriend, Hannah (Jessy Schram), returned to Med and will be a series regular.
When they say that the door is always open, they truly mean it.
Of course, Stevie’s exit and Hannah’s return make for some messy storytelling when it comes to Will Halstead’s love life, which is already pretty messy post-Natalie Manning.