Anything is possible in the world of Dick Wolf. It’s been almost two years since One Chicago’s favorite nurse scrubbed out at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, yet fans still are wondering if April Sexton is coming back to Chicago Med and if Yaya DaCosta could return full-time.
Chicago Med is NBC’s medical drama following the personal and professional lives of doctors and nurses in the emergency department of the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. The series — which premiered in 2015 and is created by Dick Wolf, the same mind behind the Law & Order and FBI franchises — is the third spin-off in NBC’s One Chicago franchise, which also includes Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.
DaCosta played April Sexton, a nurse at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, from Season 1 to Season 6 of Chicago Med. She returned for a three-episode guest appearance in Season 8 for April’s wedding to her love interest, Dr. Ethan Choi, played by Brian Tee. DaCosta told Black Film in 2016 about how she knew nothing about the medical industry before playing April.
“I literally knew nothing. We went through some really intense training. Spending time in the hospital, shadowing doctors and nurses in scrubs,” she said. “We were introduced to the nurses as med students, so we didn’t throw anyone off. Occasionally somebody would recognize you but it was great to be taken seriously as a med student and be able to get really up close and personal to the procedures that were being done. So when it came time to film, it helped me get a little less uncomfortable.”
She continued, “Even though we know that the blood we use is fake, and the skin that we’re slicing open is actually silicone, it looks very real and it can have a real affect on your body. I’m now a little bit more comfortable. I have such respect for people in that field. It’s such a selfless job all the way through. Especially because our show takes place in the ER . . . When you look at these people who dedicate their lives to this, it just makes me so proud to be personifying, on-screen, such a noble profession. I don’t think I could do it in real life and be able to leave all of that in the hospital and go home and be happy. It’s very intense.”
Though April and Ethan had their happy ending in Chicago Med Season 8, One Chicago still want to know if there’s ever a chance they could return. So is April Sexton coming back to Chicago Med? See what DaCosta said about her character’s possible return.
Is April Sexton coming back to Chicago Med?
April Sexton - Chicago Med
Is April Sexton coming back to Chicago Med? The answer is no. Yaya DaCosta — who played April — confirmed in an interview with NBC New York in July 2023 that April’s three-episode storyline in Chicago Med Season 8 was likely her “final” time on the series, though she would “never” say never to what could change in the future.
“It was three episodes, but it was leading up to that one major wedding,” DaCosta said. “It did feel final for me. Obviously, she’s not dead, so you never know. The Dick Wolf universe tends to go on and on. So who knows? But I think having April Sexton and Dr. Choi ride off into the sunset was a beautiful gift for us and for the fans.”
In an interview with Variety in September 2022, Chicago Med co-showrunner Diane Frolov confirmed that DaCosta’s three-episode storyline in Season 8 was only meant for April to temporarily return to the series to give closure to Brian Tee’s character, Dr. Ethan Choi, who also left in Season 8. “We were talking about what we want it to do story-wise, particularly with Ethan and resolving that relationship. We never really got to finish it We really wanted to, so we reached out to see if she would come back for this,” Frolov said. “They’re not sure where the other one stand, so they’re gonna tread softly on that.”
Co-showrunner Andrew Schneider added that DaCosta was “very excited” to return. “She wanted to honor that character, and to give a resolution to April’s relationship with Ethan,” he said.
Why did April Sexton leave Chicago Med?
April Sexton - Chicago Med
Why did April Sexton leave Chicago Med? Yaya DaCosta, who plays April, left Chicago Med as a full-time cast member in the Season 6 finale, “I Will Come to Save You,” in which April learns that she’s accepted into a Nurse Practitioners program and resigns from Gaffney Chicago Medical Center to pursue her degree elsewhere. DaCosta returned in a recurring role as April in Season 8, which saw her marry her now husband, Dr. Ethan Choi.
At a Television Critics Association panel in 2021, DaCosta explained that she left Chicago Med after she was offered the lead role in FOX’s drama Our Kind of People, which was cancelled after one season. “My exit from Chicago Med and the arrival of this show happened really simultaneously. There isn’t much to say about it. There was a window opening and a question mark as to whether I should stay or go,” she said. “And in that window, I fell in love with Our Kind of People and I jumped at the opportunity to work with Lee Daniels again. I first worked with him years ago on The Butler.”
She continued, “The show is a dream in so many ways and it’s saucy and so much fun! And there’s so much about my character that I felt was really important to bring to the forefront of our discussions. We’re just playing with these serious themes and we’re making them fun.”
DaCosta also explained in an interview with InStyle in 2021 what it was like to be the lead of Our Kind of People after being a part of an ensemble in Chicago Med for six seasons. “It feels very big and also very right on time. It’s definitely a different experience,” she said. “Spending six seasons on a show, where fans were constantly writing in my comments or DM-ing me saying, ‘We want to see more of you. We want to see more of you’ — to feel that support from viewers was really wonderful. Now they get to see more of me in a completely different role, in a completely different setting, with a different energy. April Sexton, I think, would probably be uncomfortable with Angela Vaughn as a patient.”
She also noted how her Our Kind of People character, Angela Vaughn, in Our Kind of People was different than April. “[Angela] seems really sweet, but at any moment she could pop off. April Sexton is just like ‘La, la, la, medicine, medicine, medicine. Boys, boys, boys.’ Angela Vaughn has huge aspirations and drive. I think if April had that drive, she’d have been a doctor by now,” she said.
April Sexton, Kelly Severide Chicago Fire
DaCosta also told InStyle how it was different working with the hair and styling teams on Our Kind of People was different than Chicago Med. “We are still in the early stages of really finding and solidifying [Angela’s] style. Let’s just say there are multiple people that I’ve been able to have conversations with, kind of finding Angela’s clothing style,” she said at the time. “When it comes to hair — which I think is really her thing, because Angela is a hairstylist, a haircare entrepreneur, and really uses her own hair, her own crown, as a billboard — she loves to style her hair. And it’s so fun having a role where my character actually gets to express herself through her hair just as much as I do in real life.”
She continued, “I think my last hairstyle on Chicago Med was the same every day, every episode, for the whole season, for one season or maybe two. So, Our Kind of People is very different, and what a blessing it is that my masterful stylist agreed to join me on this project and bring her expertise to this particular role. She’s someone that I’ve collaborated with since about 2007 — she did my weave for Ugly Betty. She created hair pieces for so many different roles.”
Along with Our Kind of People, DaCosta also played attorney Andrea Freemann, a rival to Mickey Haller, in The Lincoln Lawyer Season 2. “Andrea is his longtime nemesis. They’ve been up against each other quite a few times. Andrea has actually always won, so I come into this,” she told NBC New York in July 2023. “That’s where the drama comes in because she is very confident. She’s the Deputy District Attorney. She’s good at what she does. She believes in what she does. It’s really fun because there are a lot of twists and turns. There are a lot of things that come up unexpectedly and these two have real fire between them. He’s insecure because I know a little bit about his personal life too, so there’s double trouble there for him.”
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