A Chicago has seen several surprise cast departures and shakeups in 2026.
In September 2026, Ashley Sharpe Chestnut confirmed that she would not be reprising her role as Naomi. Chestnut had already appeared in seasons 9 and 10 before viewers began to question her future on the show.
Executive producer Allen MacDonald He later addressed concerns that Naomi was written off after she reappeared in season 11.
“I understand the misunderstanding. We love Ashlei Sharpe Chesnut; she’s phenomenal. We never intended to write her off,” MacDonald told Deadline in October 2025. “We always knew she would be back this season. But after everything that happened with Dr. Hayes and her release from the hospital, I can’t blame the viewers for thinking she was gone.”
MacDonald hinted at plans to expand Naomi’s story.
“I’ve seen in a lot of articles, which I certainly don’t read every night, that they thought she was gone 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 who won’t be going back there A Chicago Franchise. The A Chicago The universe has often faced line-up changes. NBC’s President of Programming Jeff Bader previously mentioned the path Chicago Fire, Chicago Med And Chicago PD have often lost fan favorite characters.
“The cast comes in, the cast goes out,” Bader told TVLine in July 2024. “It’s interesting because every year there are cast changes and every year someone asks the same question about what’s going on in the One Chicago universe. But (these shows) just keep going.”
Noting that each of the Chicago shows continued to have success, Bader added, “We are thrilled with Chicago’s performance on Wednesday. We have no plans to change anything that night.”
Keep scrolling to see which cast members are leaving the One Chicago franchise in 2026:
Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut (“Chicago Med”)
Chestnut, who has played Naomi since Season 9, was asked via TikTok in September if she was coming back to the NBC series.
“I haven’t hoped you were okay in ages 🙂 May I ask if you’re going back to Chicago Med?” read a fan comment, to which Chestnut replied, “Thanks! I hope you’re well too 🙂 And no.”
Dermot Mulroney (“Chicago Fire”)
Mulroney will complete his storyline in the show’s upcoming 15th season, having previously appeared for two seasons.
Joe Miñoso (“Chicago Fire”)
In July 2026, it was announced that Miñoso was leaving the hit NBC series. Since then, Miñoso has played firefighter Joe Cruz Chicago fire premiered in 2012. He is expected to appear in several episodes in season 15.
LaRoyce Hawkins (“Chicago PD”)
Hawkins will be leaving the NBC series after 13 seasons as a series regular. He will conclude his character Kevin Atwater’s arc in the first few episodes of season 14.
