Former Chicago Med stars Colin Donnell and Brian Tee posed for a selfie on the set of the NBC medical drama, raising a big question for Season 9. We already know that Tee, who played Dr. Ethan Choi on the show, is directing the season’s 11th episode. But why is Donnell there, too? Is Dr. Connor Rhodes reporting for work at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center again?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like it. Donnell’s return to the Chicago Med set was only social, apparently, with TVLine reporting there aren’t plans to bring Connor back on screen.
Tee posted the selfie on Instagram on Saturday, writing, “So I’m directing my [episode] of #ChicagoMed, and guess who made a surprise visit… the @colindonnell. Great to see you old friend. The #OG docs.”
Donnell reposted the pic to his Instagram Stories, writing, “The most kismet wonderful happenstance that @brian_tee had his director hat on while I got to pay a surprise visit to the Med set.”
S. Epatha Merkerson, meanwhile, was dismayed she didn’t get to see Donnell. “WHAT???!!!” the actor behind Med’s Sharon Goodwin wrote, commenting on Tee’s post. “Can’t believe I missed Colin’s visit!”
Donnell starred in Chicago Med until the end of Season 4, when Deadline reported he was leaving the series in a creative decision tied to his character’s story evolution. The actor last played Connor in Chicago Med’s Season 5 premiere, when Colin chose to leave the hospital after his drama with Dr. Ava Becker (Norma Kuhling).
“We wanted the audience to feel there was a closure to his story,” executive producer Diane Frolov told TV Insider at the time. “He is leaving the hospital, but obviously, he’s alive and well somewhere else, so we can bring him back.”
Since then, Donnell reprised his role as Tommy Meryln on Arrow and starred in the TV movies Love on Iceland and To Catch a Spy and the series Irreverent, but Chicago Med producers are open to bringing him back.
“There’s a pretty good chance,” EP Andrew Schneider told us in 2022. “It’s a question of logistics, and can we do it? But we would love to see Dr. Rhodes again.”
Chicago Med, Wednesdays, 8/7c, NBC