The One Chicago franchise consists of Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D., all of which are set in the same city in Illinois and feature familiar faces across the three series. Perhaps it’s a small world in Chicago, but audiences will recognize certain actors who appear in more than one show. Covering the health, fire, and law enforcement fields, the three series are able to chronicle emergencies across the entirety of the city. All three One Chicago shows are produced by Dick Wolf, who’s known for his other iconic franchises, which include Miami Vice and Law & Order.
The One Chicago franchise started with Chicago Fire in 2012, followed by Chicago P.D in 2014 and then Chicago Med in 2015. Despite all three shows being set within one universe, actors have been used by Wolf on more than one show, often playing different characters. It’s not unusual for a franchise to do this — there are actors who have played multiple roles in the MCU — but it’s not always clear why an actor is back, looking the same as their previous role but using a new name. Still, it’s interesting to see who’s active across the franchise, whether they’re playing one consistent character or tackling multiple parts.
4 S. Epatha Merkerson
S. Epatha Merkerson has appeared in all three shows in the One Chicago franchise but has played the same character throughout. Merkerson portrays Sharon Goodwin, the Chief of Patient and Medical Services in Chicago Med. She is currently one of the main characters on the show, and she has a five-episode run on both Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. Unlike the other actors who have been in more than one show, Merkerson is the only one to play the same character across the franchise, assisting both Chicago P.D and Chicago Fire in their One Chicago universe crossover episodes, which see the entire city encountering multiple casualties.
Just like Goodwin, Merkerson also lives with Type 2 diabetes, a prominent subplot through Chicago Med. She is also one of three characters from the original season 1 cast, the others being Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) and Nurse Lockwood (Marlyne Barrett). Out of the casts of all three shows in the One Chicago franchise, Merkerson holds the record for the most appearances. She’ll also return in the upcoming Chicago Med season 9. Given that Goodwin’s character has cropped up in the other shows before, she may appear in Chicago Fire or Chicago P.D. again, too, especially if Wolf has any further plans for franchise crossovers.
3 Daniel Kyri
Daniel Kyri’s primary role in the One Chicago franchise is as Darren Ritter in Chicago Fire. Darren Ritter was only supposed to have a two- to three-episode character arc, but he ended up becoming a recurring guest star before being promoted to a series regular in August 2020. Kyri has also appeared the other two shows in the One Chicago franchise. Before playing Ritter, Kyri appeared as Lane Tucker, a young man supporting his ill father, in a singular episode of Chicago Med season 3.
Kyri also appeared in Chicago P.D. in 2019, once again playing Darren Ritter. The actor showed up in the Chicago P.D. season 7 episode, “Infection, Part III.” The previous two parts were episodes of Chicago Fire and Chicago Med, respectively, with the whole thing making up something of a crossover. The character Darren Ritter has been featured in over 96 episodes of Chicago Fire, starting in season 7, and he continues to be a key player on the show. Kyri is also a Chicago native, and he was named Best Actor by the Chicago Reader in 2017.
2 Brian Tee
Brian Tee is best known for playing Dr. Ethan Choi in Chicago Med and has been playing the role since the show’s start in 2015. Dr. Choi has appeared in all three shows in the One Chicago franchise. Before tackling Ethan Choi, he played a mobster named Jesse Kong in the Chicago P.D. season 2 episode “The Three Gs.” Kong was eventually incarcerated, and no connection between him and Dr. Choi was ever established on-screen. Despite being played by the same actor, the two characters are very different from one another, with Dr. Choi being a stable presence on Chicago Med.
Ethan Choi’s exit story for Chicago Medaired in 2022, with Tee’s character starting a mobile clinic with his wife, April, and attempting to assist those in lower socioeconomic communities. Tee played Dr. Choi from 2015 to 2022, and his exit didn’t mark the end of his work on the show. Tee is returning to Chicago Med for season 9 — but not in an on-screen capacity. Instead of acting, Tee will make his directorial debut in the Chicago Med season 9 (via Variety). Although viewers won’t see him in the next outing, it’ll be interesting to get a feel for his directorial style, especially given his history on the show.
1 Guy Lockard
Guy Lockard currently plays Dr. Dylan Scott in Chicago Med, and the actor has done so since season 7, which premiered in September 2021. Dr. Scott was a new addition to the hospital, having previously been a police officer before making a change to his career path. Although Lockard’s character was previously in law enforcement, however, Scott did not originate in Chicago P.D. Prior to Chicago Med, Lockard held a supporting role in an episode of Chicago Fire season 8, where he portrayed a distraught father who chained himself to a fire engine.
Titled “Light Things Up,” Lockard’s first and only episode of Chicago Fire aired in April 2020, a full year and five months before his arrival on Chicago Med. Dr. Scott’s character eventually decided to leave the hospital and his career in medicine, finding it difficult to separate his work from what he’d seen as an office of the law. This meant that Lockard only appeared in Chicago Med seasons 7 and 8. He also cropped up in Chicago P.D. season 9, so viewers could see more of him in future installments of the Chicago One franchise.
