‘Chicago Med’ Star Reveals His Character Was Initially Going to Be Killed Off

Dr. Dean Archer was never meant to make it past a few episodes of Chicago Med.

Actor Steven Weber, who plays the beloved emergency department head on the NBC medical drama, revealed on Thursday’s episode of the One Chicago Podcast that Dr. Archer was originally meant to be killed off after just a couple of episodes after he made his debut in Season 6.

“The character was a guy who was a naval surgeon, who had been to Afghanistan, had been wounded, had PTSD, and in fact, at the end of this arc was going to do some self-harm. He was not good up [in his head],” Weber said, adding, “He was suffering and had untreated trauma, and at the end of this guy’s story, he was not gonna make it.”

Despite Dr. Archer’s original fate, Weber said he was “kind of excited” to take on the role. “That was dark and interesting, and I was going to apply some things that I’d known,” he said, explaining that his father was a Korean War veteran.

The actor continued, “I was going to do some research and do what I thought was going to be just a good, nice little gig.”

Fans might even notice hints of Dr. Archer’s original story arc if they rewatch his first few episodes on the show. “He was doing a couple of things that now, basically in the canon of the show, we’ve sort of conveniently forgotten about,” Weber explained. “I mean, at one point, I think I took out some guy’s kidney without his approval. I sedated him, pulled it out. It was really dark, and that’s why he was gonna kind of end.”

Ultimately, the show’s writers saw there was more to Dr. Archer than they first recognized and “decided that this character had more depth and appeal and possibilities beyond where they were gonna take him.”

“After that, they decided not to end the character, and they brought me back the next season for a number of [episodes],” Weber explained. “And then from there, it sort of got longer.”

Weber was promoted to series regular in Season 7, and he’s gone on to star in five seasons of the drama.

Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m ET on NBC and is available to stream on Peacock.