The changes in “Chicago Med” are not only taking place in front of the camera. Season 10 will not only see different, but can feel different, as longtime showrunners Diane Frolov and Andy Schneider left at the end of season 9.

Allen MacDonald, who has previously worked on ER, CSI and 13 Reasons Why, among others, will be stepping into the big shoes – and bringing a new tone to the series.

“I feel like the show has always been very emotional, and that was a wonderful foundation that Andy and Diane built and maintained for nine seasons. And I just want to build on that because I love telling emotional stories,” he says. diversity. “But I think if I bring a unique type of storytelling to the show, it’s to continue the characters’ emotions in their interactions, but I also like to bring humor in. I’m not saying the show didn’t have humor at all before. I’ve always loved drama, and I’ve always especially loved drama when there was always humor sprinkled in. And when I say humor, I don’t mean jokes, but recognizably human moments that people laugh at because they recognize them in themselves or someone they know. Laughter is an emotional response. It’s almost self-protective, because they laugh because it also kind of makes them cry.”

Although MacDonald was familiar with the One Chicago series and had seen some episodes, he had watched all 176 by the time he got the job.

“I fell in love with the world and the characters that were created there. It was basically a kind of sandbox that I really enjoyed playing in,” he says.

This season will also feature new characters: Sarah Ramos as Dr. Caitlin Lenox and Darren Barnet as Dr. Frost.

“Lenox is not a warm, cuddly person. She is very efficient and wants to get things done on a budget. Many people mistakenly think of her as indifferent, but she is not cold-hearted, she just looks at everything from a bigger picture perspective and doesn’t believe that spending too much time talking to patients and getting to know them helps the bigger picture,” MacDonald suggests.

Dr. John Frost is a pediatrician at a nearby hospital that is closing. “Frost is very charming and very good-looking. He knows both and uses it to help his patients,” he adds. “But unfortunately, the first person he meets is Maggie Lockwood, and she sees through all of this and brings him back down to earth very quickly.”

The new cast members joined after Dominic Rains left; viewers didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to Dr. Crockett Marcel at the end of last season, but “there’s always the possibility that he and others will make a cameo later,” MacDonald says. “One thing I love about the world of One Chicago is that someone who has left the show is still part of the world. And I like to check in with people.”

“Chicago Med” premieres Wednesday, September 25 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.