By Gary Levin | Gannett News Service
The doctors are in.
NBC has given the go-ahead for “Chicago Med,” the next “Chicago Fire” spinoff from producer Dick Wolf. The series, promising “unique new cases inspired by topical events,” will join the network schedule next season.
S. Epatha Merkerson, a regular on Wolf’s original “Law & Order series, and Oliver Platt are among the stars of this latest spinoff, which was teased in a “Fire” episode in early April and joins “Chicago P.D.,” already renewed for another season.
Like the other series, it will film in Chicago, an NBC spokeswoman confirmed.
Read our past “Chicago Med” stories
Co-starring are Laurie Holden (“The Walking Dead”), Nick Gehlfuss (“Shameless”) and Yaya Dacosta (“Whitney”), who appeared with Merkerson and Platt on the April “Chicago Fire” episode.
NBC describes the new show as:
An emotional thrill ride through the day-to-day chaos of the city’s most explosive hospital and the courageous team of doctors who hold it together. They will tackle unique new cases inspired by topical events, forging fiery relationships in the pulse-pounding pandemonium of the emergency room, and through it all, familiar faces from the Chicago police and fire departments will intertwine as this third team of Chicago heroes hits the ground running.
“Chicago Med” is one of three dramas NBC picked up Friday in the first wave of new-series orders ahead of its 2015-16 season announcement on May 11.Also on tap is “Blindspot,” a thriller from Northwestern alum Greg Berlanti (“Arrow,” “The Flash”) about a woman discovered in Times Square, with no clothes or memory but covered in mysterious tattoos, including the name of an FBI agent. It’s revealed that each mark represents a crime to solve. Jaimie Alexander (“Kyle XY”) and Sullivan Stapleton (“Strike Back”) star.And “Heartbreaker” is another medical series based on the life of Dr. Kathy Magliato, and stars Melissa George as a “stubborn and fearless” heart-transplant surgeon with a “racy” personal life, NBC says. Dave Annable and D.L. Hughley are among the co-stars.Contributing: Darel Jevens
