It has been confirmed that Brian Tee as Dr. Ethan Choi left Chicago Med to spend time with his family and to pursue his other creative ambitions.
Chicago Med is the NBC medical drama series which is part of the Chicago Wednesday programming on the channel alongside Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.
The medical drama has seen many walk in and out of the Gaffney Chicago Medical Centre in its eight seasons to date.
But the most recent exit confirmation of a long-standing main cast member and fan-favourite is that of Brian Tee, who played Dr Ethan Choi, and it left many wondering about his exit.
It seems that Tee is looking to spend more time with his young family and to pursue other creative ambitions as he has started directing and producing.
The significance of Dr Ethan Choi
In recent years, the television and film industry has taken representation of different ethnicities to heart. This includes Asian representation outside of their stereotypical roles.
Dr Ethan Choi is part of this push for representation as the actor was initially typecast to play “Asian bad guy” like his roles in Legends and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
Playing Dr Choi allowed the actor and others like him to dream bigger as his character went from a military veteran and successful Asian doctor to becoming the ED’s chief resident and later becoming Chief of Emergency Medicine at Gaffney Chicago Medical Centre.
Why did Ethan leave Chicago Med?
Considering how instrumental his role was in terms of representation, along with being touted as the moral compass of Gaffney Chicago Medical Centre, the confirmation that Brian Tee was leaving the series in season eight came as a surprise.
Choi has been a fan-favourite character since making his debut on the series in season one in 2015.
The reason for his departure is not because of any bad blood between Tee and the series. Tee simply decided not to renew his contract after he fulfilled his standing six-year contract with Chicago Med. His reasoning was two-fold.
Firstly, Tee confirmed that he decided not to renew his contract in order to spend time with his young family. Tee is married to fellow actress Mirelly Taylor, who had their daughter, Madelyn Skyler in 2015.
Just five weeks after the birth of their daughter, Tee started working on Chicago Med. The second reason for his decision was to focus on other creative endeavours.
Currently, the actor is touted to be part of the upcoming television series, Expats, where he will play the character of Clarke.
Moreover, Tee is looking to expand his entertainment skill sets as he works on his budding career as a director and producer, and not just talent on a set.
When is Ethan leaving Chicago Med?
Since Brian Tee has made his intentions clear about wanting to leave his role as Dr Ethan Choi, the writers of the medical drama ensured that they rolled out the red carpet for his exit.
They have created a fitting storyline to usher the character out. This included April’s surprise return after leaving at the beginning of season seven.
But the rest of the details have been kept mum as Choi will leave the medical drama in season eight, episode nine titled “Could Be The Start Of Something New” on Wednesday, 23 November 2022 on NBC.
Brian Tee already confirmed to return to Chicago Med
While it will be bittersweet to bid Dr Ethan Choi farewell in season eight, episode nine, fans can take solace in knowing that Brian Tee’s return to the medical drama has already been confirmed. However, this time, offscreen.
Tee is scheduled to make his directorial debut as he will direct his first ever Chicago Med episode in the upcoming season eight, episode 16, which will most likely air in 2023. The title of the episode has yet to be announced.
Brian Tee on leaving and possible Chicago Med return
When the news of his exit was confirmed, Brian Tee had an interview with Deadline and he spoke about the impact that Chicago Med has had for him professionally by sharing:
“Playing Dr. Ethan Choi on Chicago Med has been such a gift and a blessing. I am forever grateful to our fans and my colleagues both in front of and behind the camera as I embark on a new journey”.
Moreover, while it has been confirmed that he will return to make his directorial debut, whether he will return in the future or not is a matter that Tee was noncommittal about.
Though this is not a surprise, as we have yet to see if Ethan Choi is killed off or is just written off the show.