Fans of Chicago Med have big questions going into Season 11—none bigger than what’s next for Hannah and Archer now that Hannah is pregnant. Audiences were floored when Hannah learned she was expecting and then turned up on Archer’s doorstep. This news will change both of their lives, but how? And what else is coming in the new season?

In an interview before the season premiere, Chicago Med star Steven Weber and showrunner Allen MacDonald discussed the reaction to Hannah’s reveal. They teased what it will mean for both Hannah and Archer in the coming season, as well as what happens with Hannah’s ex-boyfriend, Dr. Mitch Ripley. Plus, after Archer had to save Sharon Goodwin’s life, will Season 11 see any changes to hospital security?

Brittany Frederick: Chicago Med fans were surprised to see Hannah going to tell Archer about her pregnancy instead of Ripley. Steven, were you equally surprised when you got that script, or what did you think about that development?

Steven Weber: It didn’t have to go that way. It could have gone any number of ways, which would have made as much thematic sense. But Allen being the kind of low-key rogue, he decided to do something that is a little challenging to people’s expectations. I was happy that it seemed to be going in this direction, but also uncertain as to how it will work itself out. That’s the whole kind of juice of this show, is things work themselves out in mysterious ways, in labyrinthine ways. So it was a shock, but I think a good one.

Allen MacDonald: I wrote it the way that I did in the finale, because I thought it did confirm that Archer was the father of the child. I never intended for that to be a secret for the summer. But after it aired and I did interviews like this, everyone was asking me from the first interview, “Who’s the father of the baby?” I stared for a long time at the screen thinking to myself, you don’t know? Isn’t it obvious?

I realized suddenly what was obvious to the whole planet wasn’t obvious at all. And then I go, I don’t know. What do you think? From that moment, I just pivoted to it being a mystery. But I thought that I was confirming that Archer was the father.

Instead of reuniting with Hannah, Ripley was visited by Sadie, the woman whom he rescued in the episode “Down in a Hole.” What can be said about Ripley’s arc, since he’s now clearly off on his own path?

MacDonald: I can confirm that they are dating in the premiere. I think that what was interesting about the actress Holly Curran [who portrays Sadie], was that when we put her in the well episode, we did not have any intention of creating a longer arc between the two of them.

But when we were on set watching them together in this life or death situation, and the humor that they found in those moments, and the humanity and the emotional connection… I was writing the season finale and I was like, who’s going to be at the door when I trick the audience? And then I was like Sadie—that would be the perfect person. So we’ll be seeing a lot of Sadie in the fall.

Speaking of big changes, will Chicago Med Season 11 have any discussions about hospital security, in the wake of Sharon Goodwin nearly dying? That was a pretty big problem, and it’s not the first violent act that’s happened in or around the hospital.

MacDonald: I don’t know, because if we do that, then it’s going to be a lot less fun moving forward… But I don’t disagree with you, Brittany. The hospital security is lax, and you will not feel better about that. [Laughs.]

What happens with Dr. Caitlin Lenox in Season 11, now that she’s received her diagnosis? Does that awareness of her condition change how she approaches her life or her career?

MacDonald: It’s going to have a profound effect on her, and you’re going to see that happening from go in the season premiere. Lenox lived a whole life putting out of her mind the possibility that she had this terminal illness that killed her mother. Now she knows for sure that she has it… and so moving forward, she has to learn how to live with that hanging over her head.

Is she going to fall apart? Is she going to pretend nothing has happened and continue to live her life the way that she always has? Or is she going to start making different decisions than what she’s made in the past? Is she going to start taking risks? Are these risks a step too far for her comfort zone? Of those three questions, I think the third one is going to be playing the most into her arc for the season. She could die in a year and a half. She could die in 15 or 20 years. It’s that indecision that could drive you mad, and that’s the thing that she has to learn to navigate.

Steven, how does Archer move forward, between learning about Hannah, no longer being chief of the ED and everything that happened with his family last season?

Weber: I think he’s going to be affected by Hannah’s state, and he’s going to try to figure out where he fits in and where she includes him. They’ve worked to achieve this relationship that is very important to him. And suddenly, the inclusion of her pregnancy impacts that rather challengingly.

Chicago Med Season 15 premieres Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.