2 Original ‘Chicago Med’ Cast Members Exit Ahead of Season 7

Chicago Med will be heading into Season 7 with two fewer cast members. According to Deadline, both Yaya DaCosta and Torrey DeVitto have opted not to return for the upcoming season of the NBC medical drama, on which they have portrayed original characters ER nurse April Sexton and emergency pediatrics specialist Dr. Natalie Manning. At this time, neither of the actresses have publicly addressed their exits, which came as the initial contracts of Chicago Med‘s original cast are set to expire at the end of the currently airing Season 6. According to sources who spoke to the outlet, other original cast members are expected to return. S. Epatha Merkerson has reportedly already closed a new deal, and both Nick Gehlfuss, Brian Tee, and Marlyne Barrett are believed to be in various stages of negotiations.

While no official statements have been made regarding their exits, DaCosta and DeVittoa reportedly both have new projects lined up. After DaCosta reportedly decided to leave Chicago Med, she was quickly offered a lead role on Our Kind of People, Fox’s upcoming drama series from writer and executive producer Karin Gist, executive producer Lee Daniels, 20th Television, and Fox Entertainment. The series will reunite the actress with Daniels after co-starring in his 2013 feature The Butler. The series is inspired by Lawrence Otis Graham’s book Our Kind of People: Inside America’s Black Upper Class and follows DaCosta’s AngelaVaughn “as she sets out to reclaim her family’s name and make an impact with her revolutionary haircare line that highlights the innate, natural beauty of black women. But she soon discovers a dark secret about her mother’s past that will turn her world upside-down and shake up this community forever,” the synopsis, per Deadline, reads.

DeVitto, meanwhile, is slated to appear in the indie feature Skelly. The feature follows Jonah, an 11-year-old boy whose grandfather dies, which plunges “his dad into a state of grief that Jonah can’t comprehend. It triggers an obsession with mortality for Jonah as he and his friends put together the annual haunted house.” DeVitto is set to portray Jonah’s mother, with the film’s production company, Walk Like A Duck Entertainment, saying in a statement that the actress “embodies the warmth and encouragement of a Mom supporting her son and his friends and brings a world class talent to what we expect to be an inviting and fun film for Halloween this year.”

Our Kind of People does not yet have a premiere date. Skelly is set to begin filming in Berkshires, Massachusetts on May 20. New episodes of Chicago Med air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. The series, as well as the two other Chicago universe shows, is currently one year into a three-season pickup.