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Chicago Med Star Steven Weber Clarifies The Nature Of Archer & Asher's Relationship In Season 10: "The Writers Are Smarter Than That"

Published 1 month ago7 minute read

returned to NBC on January 8 after taking a hiatus for the holidays. However, the procedural has not aired a new episode since its winter premiere as the time slot conflicted with President Joe Biden's farewell speech. Season 10, episode 10, titled "Broken Hearts" is scheduled for Wednesday, January 22 at 8 p.m. ET, and will see the team prepare to separate conjoined twins. The official synopsis also teases that "Asher reconnects with someone from her past," while "Archer treats a tyrannical boss with a heart problem."

Archer and Asher's bond has continued to deepen throughout Chicago Med, causing fans to speculate about the nature of their relationship. Steven Weber agrees that the possibility of a romance between the doctors is interesting, but emphasizes that they are both fractured people. While nothing is off the table, he believes that Archer and Asher's dynamic is unique due to how the writers have developed their emotional connection.

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ScreenRant interviews Weber about Archer's letter of resignation, his character's relationship with Asher, and what fans can expect from the upcoming One Chicago crossover.

Steven Weber as Dr. Dean Archer being pushed by Jessy Schram as Dr. Hannah Asher in Chicago Med Season 9.

Steven Weber: The universe has intervened at the moment when he's just about to really give up what has amounted to a life's work. I don't think he even knows if he wants to continue in medicine anymore, and yet, he's given this opportunity, this choice to define himself in ways that he's been unwilling to do. And the whole trajectory of his character in this season has been towards a gradual understanding of his behavior in the past.

His attitudes, his defensiveness, his kind of toxic masculinity. And it all came to a head when Lenox, a woman, kind of took his job and he's like, "Eff this, I'm out of here. Forget it." And he's about to leave, even though Hannah says, basically, "What are you doing, man? What is this?" And while no person can convince him, as I said, the universe has placed something in his lap, and he has to respond to it, and he does.

Steven Weber: Here's the thing, while it's interesting and fun to think of that possibility, the reality is for both these characters, as they've been crafted, is that they're both kind of complicated, almost broken, fractured people. They've both had hard challenges in their lives, and it's less about hooking up and more about making a connection. And what we've seen is that Archer and Asher have an emotional connection, an intimacy that has been very hard for him to achieve, to allow somebody to care for him, and not in a physical way, but for something that's even deeper.

It would be easy for an audience to say, "Oh, look at these two characters. They get along. Oh, they're reasonably attractive, although he looks like an old bag of laundry, but hey, let's get 'em together. Let's do that." I think the writers are smarter than that. Not smarter because—it's not that it's dumb, but they're trying to do something else with it. They're trying to earn a relationship with them. If it ever gets physical, I don't know.

It's certainly not going to be Gone With the Wind or anything like that. Again, these are two people who are complicated, and it's hard for them to find safety in another human being. So we'll see. As it stands now, I love working with Jessy Schram. We have great fun, and I like to think there's good chemistry. It is a good and fairly unique relationship on TV. You don't see this type of thing.

Chicago Med Archer carries Sharon into the hospital

Steven Weber: I don't know if what I want would benefit the show. I like having a person who's able to evolve emotionally. I like to think I'm personally capable of that. I think it's good to show that Archer can without losing his strengths. Even the things that define him as being irascible or even a bit of a d*ck can come in handy.

I think it would be to his benefit to understand that he's not a bad person, because I think that he really believes that a lot of the time, to give up resentment, and to see things as opportunities that, even something like Lenox stepping in is actually an opportunity for him to learn the same way he learned to be a healer, the same way he learned to be a doctor and a soldier.

He's now stepping it up a level. And not to judge people so harshly. I would love to see that. I feel like the show is accomplishing that without it becoming too treacly. Nobody wants to see this guy weeping over watching Beaches. Nobody wants to see that, but I think it's good for him. It would be good for him to learn. I think he is, actually.

Steven Weber: I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that I've heard that it's very, very difficult to act while wearing 40 to 50 pounds of gear, oxygen tanks, and masks. This is what I've heard. It's really hard. But the thing is that this particular crossover is the equivalent of the audience going to a One Chicago amusement park and combine that with all these amazing actors.

It's not just a couple here and there mincing through the ER or some doctor shows up at a crash site or something like that. This is like Avengers: Endgame. Everybody comes in and they are going! And the audience is going to be screaming. That's all I'm going to say.

Steven Weber: I think maybe Tim Daly should come onto the show as himself and my TV brother on Wings. I think that he should come in with something embarrassing lodged in his colon or something and I have to take it out.

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“Chicago Med” is an emotional thrill ride through the day-to-day chaos of the city’s newest state-of-the-art trauma center and into the lives of the courageous doctors, nurses and staff who hold it all together.

They will confront Chicago’s most critical medical cases and challenging ethical dilemmas with courage, compassion and state-of-the-art treatment. Inspired by ripped-from-the-headlines cases, “Chicago Med” will weave cutting-edge medicine with the personal drama that comes with working in such a high-intensity environment. Through it all, familiar faces from “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D” will intertwine with Chicago’s finest medical heroes.

Check out our other One Chicago interviews:

Chicago Med is a medical drama television series that follows the lives of the doctors and nurses of the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. Created by Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead, the show is the third series in Wolf Entertainment's Chicago franchise. Chicago Med premiered on NBC in 2015, and occasionally has crossover events with Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.

November 17, 2015

Drama

NBC

Marlyne Barrett , S. Epatha Merkerson , Oliver Platt , Nick Gehlfuss , Brian Tee , Lorena Diaz , Yaya DaCosta , Torrey DeVitto

Darryl Johnson , Dr. Dean Archer , Neva Levine , Dr. Will Halstead , Maggie Lockwood , Dr. Crockett Marcel , Dr. Hannah Asher , April Sexton , Dr. Mitchell 'Mitch' Ripley , Dr. Caitlin Lenox , Dr. John Frost , Sharon Goodwin , Dr. Daniel Charles , Sarah Reese , Dr. Dylan Scott , Dr. Connor Rhodes , Dr. Ethan Choi , Dr. Ava Bekker , Natalie Manning , Zoe Roth , Jessica Chilton , Emilia Bohlen , Dr. David Downey , Dr. Sam Zanetti , Jack Cooper

Michael Brandt , Derek Haas , Matt Olmstead

Matt Olmstead , Michael Brandt , Derek Haas , Arthur W. Forney , Dick Wolf , Peter Jankowski , Andrew Schneider , Diane Frolov , Stephen Hootstein , Rebecca McGill , Eli Talbert , Leigh Cousins , Daniel Sinclair , Anastasia Puglisi , Meridith Friedman , Niki Delone , Jeff Drayer , Danny Weiss , Safura Fadavi , Nicole Rubio , Joe Chappelle , Lauren Mackenzie , Mike Weiss , Andrew Gettens

10

Michael Brandt

Michael Brandt

Netflix , Peacock

Michael Brandt

Michael Brandt

Origin:
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