Entertainment NOW

TV Media Weekly | November 14 - 20, 2015 knows a lot about infectious dis- eases. Former "Law & Order" star S. Epatha Merkerson oversees the staff as Sharon Goodwin, the head of Chicago Med. She is but one of the show's fierce female charac- ters. Despite being in the third tri- mester of her pregnancy, Dr. Nata- lie Manning (Torrey DeVitto, "The Vampire Diaries") remains com- mitted to her patients. Dr. Sarah Reese (Rachel DiPillo, "Jane the Virgin") is an overachieving fourth- year medical student who may find herself in over her head. Yaya Da- Costa ("Whitney," 2015) rounds out the cast as savvy ER nurse April Sexton, the "lifeblood" of the emergency room. Viewers were introduced to some of these characters in the season 3 episode of "Chicago Fire" entitled "I Am the Apocalypse," in which the members of Firehouse 51 raced to the scene of a gas leak and transported the victims to Chi- cago Med. There, one of the pa- tients claimed to be the carrier of a deadly airborne disease, and the ensuing four-episode storyline in- troduced Dr. Halstead, Goodwin and Sexton. It turns out that Sex- ton is an old acquaintance of "Fire's" Lt. Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney, "Zero Dark Thirty," 2012). She made it clear in the episode "Forgive You Anything" that he was not the greatest of friends, so he may have his work cut out for him if he's hoping to woo her. "The Walking Dead" alum Laurie Hold- en was also introduced as surgeon Dr. Hannah Tramble in the back- door pilot, but she backed out of the series, citing family reasons. By Kyla Brewer TV Media T he TV spinoff isn't exactly a new concept — "The Lucy- Desi Comedy Hour" spun off of "I Love Lucy" way back in 1957. When producers find a formula that works, they tend to capitalize on it, and who can blame them? CBS has been wildly successful with several CSI and NCIS series in recent years. The peacock network has also had its fair share of spinoff hits thanks to the Law & Order fran- chise, but the network is breaking the mold with the new medical drama "Chicago Med," which is slated to premiere Tuesday, Nov. 17, on NBC. Set in a Chicago hospi- tal, the show is a spinoff of the hit drama "Chicago Fire," which also spawned "Chicago P.D." in 2014. Billed as "an emotional thrill ride through the day-to-day chaos of the city's newest state-of-the-art trauma center," "Chicago Med" features an ensemble cast that will, from time to time, mingle with the characters from the already es- tablished Windy City shows. It presents a unique opportunity to explore a storyline from several an- gles at once, something "Chicago Med" star Oliver Platt ("The Big C") told "ET Canada" he was ex- cited about. "A lot of franchises have spun off shows before, but never into an active sort of living matrix of shows where we all get to visit the other shows," said Platt. "Some- times we'll just sort of guest, and other times there'll be big story crossovers, and that's exciting to me. It's a new idea." As in the other Chicago series, "Chicago Med's" ensemble cast will tell the kinds of stories that plague today's society, this time from the perspective of the health- care workers. Platt has nothing but praise for prolific television pro- ducer Dick Wolf's ("Law & Order") ripped-from-the-headlines style. "Ultimately it's entertainment, but I think Dick's always had a so- cial conscience, Dick's interested in talking about what's going on in our daily life," said the actor. With Wolf at the helm as execu- tive producer, alongside co-creator Matt Olmstead, it should come as no surprise that "Chicago Med" is poised to break new ground. The show has an impressive pedigree: not only is it on the network that brought viewers the iconic medical drama "ER," its Windy City prede- cessors also consistently pull in millions of viewers. This will — with any luck — give "Chicago Med" a head start in the ratings department as fans of "Fire" and "P.D." will likely want to check out the new members of the "Chica- go" drama family. Nick Gehlfuss ("Shameless") serves as a link between "P.D." and "Med" as Dr. Will Halstead, a trau- ma surgeon and brother of Det. Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer, "The Mob Doctor"). Dr. Halstead has re- cently returned to the Windy City after practicing medicine for 10 years in New York. He joins new trauma fellow Dr. Connor Rhodes (Colin Donnell, "Arrow"). The hos- pital's brilliant chief of psychiatry, Dr. Daniel Charles (Platt), may pos- sess remarkable insight into his pa- tients' minds but lacks the same kind of perspective when it comes to his own personal life. Dr. Ethan Choi (Brian Tee, "Jurassic World," 2015) is a Navy flight surgeon who Yaya DaCosta as seen in "Chicago Med" 'Med' makes three NBC adds 'Chicago Med' to the Windy City series family 2 | Cover story Tipton Ford 3 x 10" A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" 3830 S LAFOUNTAIN, KOKOMO 765-453-9125 SUN-THURS 11AM-1OPM FRI & SAT 11AM-11PM www.grindstonesrestaurantandpub.com $ 3 00 OFF $15.00 Food Purchase Expire: 11/30/15 One coupon per person, per visit. Not good with any other offer. Taxes & Gratuity not included. Must present this Coupon for discount. TV on display beginning First Friday, December 4 at Kokomo-Howard County Public Library 220 N. Union Street | Downtown Kokomo For more information or to download an entry form go to kokomotribune.com/gingerbread First Annual Kokomo Tribune s rs o ko ne Competition and Display Encouraged donation to Kokomo Rescue Mission *NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Contest open to U.S. residents. Contest will run between 5:30 pm on 12/4/15 and ends at 8:00 pm EST on 12/4/2015. Certain restrictions apply. See Official Rules at kokomotribune.com/rules for details including prize description. Sponsor: Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. and the Kokomo Tribune. Void where prohibited.

• Cover