Steven Weber assured Chicago Med fans that they “will certainly not be disappointed” after the show’s midseason return — but his character, Dr. Dean Archer, still has a lot to sort out.
“I have to give props to the writers for really crafting a true cliffhanger, almost a literal one,” Weber, 63, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, January 7, while promoting Chicago Med’s first episode back from hiatus.
He teased, “If you love S. Epatha Merkerson — and who doesn’t? — you won’t be disappointed at what she delivers and what the show delivers.”
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The last time viewers saw Weber’s Dr. Archer he was sliding his resignation letter under Sharon Goodwin’s (Merkerson) door while, unbeknownst to him, she was being held captive by her season 10 stalker.
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In the final moments of the midseason finale, which aired in November 2024, a bloodied Goodwin broke free from her office and ran toward Archer, who noticed her just as the elevator doors shut.
When Chicago Med returns on Wednesday, January 8, Weber said Archer will have a lot on his proverbial plate after what he just witnessed.
“Because of his background in the Navy and the stuff he did during the war … his kind of instinct to try to take action kicks in,” the actor explained, noting that the surgeon has “always had kinda emotional difficulties getting close to people, but he feels a real bond with this person, this Sharon Goodwin.”
That connection to his boss makes Archer stop thinking and just act. “He’s also moved and scared and frightened for her in ways that [weren’t] tested during his military service,” Weber said. “It’s literally life and death.”
While Archer decided to leave Chicago Med’s Emergency Department (ED) after butting heads with newbie Dr. Caitlin Lenox (Sarah Ramos), Weber said he can’t “just sit down or sit on his hands” after seeing Goodwin badly wounded.
“He’s gonna take action. If we know Archer, we know that he’s going to do his best [to save her],” he continued.
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While Weber played coy about Goodwin’s fate — viewers last saw her stabbed and subsequently bleeding out — he said the attack will show “how emotionally bonded everybody in the ED is.” (He also hinted that “justice” for Goodwin and “consequences” for the stalker’s actions is “coming.”)
“They’re affected by the news that one of their own has been so hurt and so impacted, and everybody begins to take stock in themselves,” he shared, revealing that the doctors and nurses will “spring into action even if they’re overwhelmed by emotion.”
Once the dust settles, Archer will have to decide what’s next for him and his career. “I’m talking to you now, so clearly I haven’t been fired,” Weber teased.
Weber noted that Archer remaining on staff at the ED will continue to be explored throughout the remainder of the season.
“This was a real jolt to him,” he explained. “His emotional arc in these four seasons that I’ve been playing him has been understanding the need for emotional connection to his son, to his family, and to his coworkers, and [trying] to shed a lot of the defensiveness that he had probably before his active duty. So he’s got to figure out what this jolt means to him as a person of a certain age, a certain time of life.”
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Archer will have to ask himself, “Should he stay on? Should he move on? What’s important?” Weber said, reiterating, “This incident really affects him, and it affects him emotionally down the line.”
Although Archer will be reevaluating his life choices, Weber told Us that romance isn’t at the top of his priority list after recently becoming single again.
“I don’t think he’s good at dating. He’s embraced his kind of isolation in a sense. But it can get lonesome,” he confessed. “He’s had a history of not liking himself, so he kind of takes that on and there will be some surprises going forward that address that. In ways that the audience might find both shocking and satisfying.”
Chicago Med returns on NBC Wednesday, January 8, at 8 p.m. ET.
Us Weekly
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