‘Chicago Med’ Boss & Oliver Platt Preview ‘Book of Charles’ Episode

In January, Chicago Med showrunner Allen MacDonald told TV Insider that this season would include “The Book of Charles,” with “the whole episode locked into Charles’s point of view and he will be in every scene.” Now, on Wednesday, April 1, that episode, centered on Oliver Platt‘s character, is here.

In this next episode, NBC teases, “Dr. Charles grapples with his own mental health following a harrowing experience working the suicide prevention line.” His beginning to work on the prevention line as well as last season exploring Charles’ family history with suicide was the “set-up” for this arc, MacDonald says.

As Platt points out, Charles, this season, after his daughter’s (Hannah Riley) suicide attempt last season, says, “You know what? Ever since that happened, just doing this somehow makes me feel just karmically like … It just helps me deal with that because let’s face it, it’s not like, ‘Oh, she’s OK.’ That just goes away for a parent. And I think it just helps me somehow. It feels like, at the very least, some sort of karmic deposit in the bank for him, but it helps him. He’s trying to gain understanding also.”

MacDonald agrees with Platt, praising Charles’ performance in the Season 10 finale.

Related

'Chicago Med' Season 12: Cast, Premiere Date, Trailer, More Details

“Oliver absolutely killed it in where he uses the story of his father’s suicide to impart to Anna that this is a family legacy and it’s nothing to be ashamed of, but it’s probably not something that she could have avoided. And it’s the story about him finding his father dead in a car from asphyxiation from car fumes in a garage that gets her to finally open up and say, ‘Yes, I tried to kill myself and opens the door for healing and moving forward,'” the showrunner says, adding that he and Platt discussed that while talking about what’s to come for Charles.

Chicago Med, Wednesdays, 8/7c, NBC

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or dial 988. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.