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One Chicago is once again going through cast shakeups with a cast member from Chicago Med confirming they won’t be returning in season 12.
Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, who has played Naomi since season 9, was asked via TikTok whether she is coming back to the NBC series.
“I haven’t seen in you ages hope you’re doing well:) can I ask will you be returning to Chicago Med?” read a fan comment, to which Chestnut, 34, replied, “Thank you! Hope you’re well too:) And no.”
Chestnut previously appeared in season 9 and 10 before viewers started to question her future on the show. Executive producer Allen MacDonald later addressed concerns that Naomi was written off after she reappeared in season 11.
“I understand the misunderstanding of that. We love Ashlei Sharpe Chesnut; she’s phenomenal. We never intended to write her out,” MacDonald told Deadline in October 2025. “We always knew she was going to be back this season. But with everything that happened with Dr. Hayes and her leaving the hospital, I don’t blame the audience for thinking she was gone.”
MacDonald hinted at plans to expand Naomi’s story.
“I saw in a lot of the articles that I definitely don’t read every night that they thought she had left for good, but that was never the intention,” he continued. “And as you know, she’s back, and for the season.”
Chestnut isn’t the only one not coming back within the One Chicago franchise. Before season 15 of Chicago Fire, multiple outlets confirmed that Joe Miñoso was leaving the hit NBC series, but he is still expected to appear in several episodes when the show returns.
Showrunner Andrea Newman also exited after spending more than a decade behind the scenes. Newman, who worked on Chicago Fire for its entire 14-season run, confirmed her departure in April, with coexecutive producer Victor Teran taking over the role.
Newman joined Chicago Fire after the pilot as coexecutive producer before being promoted to executive producer. She was then named coshowrunner and became the sole showrunner in 2023.
“Working at Chicago Fire, with the absolute best cast and crew in the business, has been the highlight of my career,” Newman said in a statement. “Like so many others, I was inspired to get into TV writing because of Dick [Wolf], so what a thrill it’s been to work with him and the amazing Wolf team of Peter Jankowski, Rebecca McGill and Anastasia Puglisi. I’m so grateful to them, Derek Haas and the NBC and Universal execs who have been so supportive of the show all along the way. After 14 years, you really do become a family and working with this group will always feel like home.”
News later broke that Dermot Mulroney is also leaving following his brief return in the season 14 finale earlier this year. Mulroney’s Dom Pascal was noticeably missing for several episodes throughout the season, with Rob Morgan (Andre Hopkins) taking over his position as chief at Firehouse 51.
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