‘Chicago Med’: Colin Donnell Lands Major TV Show Role 2 Years After His Exit

Chicago Med alum Colin Donnell has a new role on the horizon. TV Line reported that Donnell will play Imposter Pastor Mack in Peacock’s Irreverent. The role comes about two years after Donnell departed Chicago Med after the Season 5 premiere. 

Donnell will portray Paulo Keegan, a criminal mediator who flees the United States after a “mediation gone wrong.” He then travels to Clump, Australia, and assumes the identity of Reverend Mackenzie “Mack” Boyd. Clump, Australia is billed as a “small, eccentric beach town hundreds of miles away from civilization and phone reception.” Keegan must convince everyone that he is the real Mack all while trying to come up with an “exit strategy” before his “past catches up to him.” In addition to Donnell, the series also stars PJ Byrne (who will portray the real Mack), Kylie Bracknell, Briallen Clarke, and Tegan Stimson. 

Paddy Macrae created the series and will also be the showrunner. Irreverent is a co-production between Peacock and Netflix Australia. It will begin production in Queensland, Australia soon. On Instagram, Donnell addressed the news by sharing a screenshot of an article about his casting. Alongside the screenshot, he wrote, “Incredibly excited and very grateful to be part of such a phenomenal ensemble.”

As Chicago Med fans know, it’s been some time since Donnell’s character, Connor Rhodes, departed from the series. In the Season 5 premiere, both Donnell’s Rhodes and Norma Kuhling’s Ava Bekker were accused of murdering Rhodes’ father. In the end, it was Bekker who killed Rhodes’ father and, when confronted about it by him, she took a scalpel and slit her own throat in front of him. While the events surrounding Rhodes’ exit were tragic, Donnell did tell Us Weekly that he was “happy” with how everything concluded. 

“I think it’s always emotional when a character dies,” he said. “It’s always tough on a set because we’re saying goodbye to this person in a very real way. I loved working with Norma. She’s amazing. She did a wonderful job navigating what was a very layered and troubled character.” Donnell added that he was also happy with how his character’s story wrapped up, explaining, “He left on his own terms, which I thought was really lovely for the character and for me personally.”