The past week likely felt like a long one for fans of Chicago Med after the previous episode, called “The Book of Charles,” ended on Dr. Charles collapsed in his office and having a stroke. That doesn’t mean Oliver Platt is going to spend all of the next episode just playing an unconscious body, however, as Dr. Charles will be experiencing some dream sequences in the second half of his two-parter in the 2026 TV schedule. Executive producer Allen MacDonald opened up to CinemaBlend about the goal with these episodes, and why fans will be “captivated” by Platt in the next installment on April 8... for better or worse.
It was clear even before “The Book of Charles” aired that it was going to be a deep dive into what makes Dr. Charles tick, after “The Book of Archer” did the same for Dean Archer last season. (You can find both “Book of” episodes streaming with a Peacock subscription.) The new episode on April 8 is called “Altered States,” and the promo (seen below) makes it pretty understandable why. So, what was the showrunner’s goal in going in-depth on Charles after “The Book of Archer” was so pivotal last year?
After promising more “Book of” episodes in the future now that NBC has renewed One Chicago, MacDonald explained:
Article continues belowThe idea is to really get underneath the character's psychologically. And in this case, it wasn't just limited. This was always conceived as a two-part episode, maybe not in the traditional sense, because the first episode is completely tied in just POV, and then the second episode has some other stories going through it, but it's mainly about Charles' surgery, and the dreams he's having while he's having these surgeries, where he's working all these issues out. That, to me, is all of a piece. I just really feel like these episodes give you an opportunity to do that.
It was evident by the end of “The Book of Charles” that viewers were probably in for a pretty trippy follow-up with “Altered States,” with the psychiatrist dreaming of his late mother while he was having a stroke on the floor of his office to really double down on why this was, as Oliver Platt described it, the worst day of his life. The showrunner went on:
When I did 'The Book of Archer,' I created all these rules in my head for when I do the next one, and I knew it was gonna be 'The Book of Charles,' that I was going to always have a sequence where you see the person in the morning and doing their morning routine. When I wrote the outline, I had all that for Charles. And then there was a shorter scene where he's on the suicide hotline, and that was just all part of his morning, and it traumatized him. But what I learned is that each character requires a different kind of style and approach for the 'Book of' episode.
While the two “Book of” episodes so far have been similar insofar as they’re a deep dive into what makes one of Gaffney’s most complicated characters tick, the Dr. Charles-centric story went in some different directions. And not just because Dr. Archer’s episode ended with Captain Crunch and Dr. Charles’ ended with him having another medical emergency! MacDonald elaborated on why viewers didn’t need to see the whole beginning of Dr. Charles’ day like we did with Archer in 2025:
At a certain point I'm like, 'We don't need to see his morning tradition. We just need to start this episode and spend the whole teaser with him on the phone, with Gio.' And with an actor as talented, as skilled as Oliver – I like to make him blush – you're going to be captivated. Not to take anything away from the actor who plays Gio, who is fantastic, but you're really put into Charles's head from the go.
Sign me up for “captivated”! Of course, it’s never a surprise to get a standout performance from Oliver Platt, not least because he and S. Epatha Merkerson are the last series regulars standing from the very beginning of the show. Still, given that his performance in the Season 10 finale, which MacDonald at the time described as a “powerhouse,” was a key part of one of the few Med storylines to ever make me cry, it always seems like a fair bet that a great episode for the actor will be a rough one for his character.
And if you’re not already convinced of that by the showrunner’s comments, check out the promo for “Altered States” below:
On the plus side, Dr. Charles has Goodwin and Anna on hand to support him if he pulls through, and Dr. Abrams makes up for being a difficult coworker by being an absolutely phenomenal brain surgeon, so Charles is seemingly being treated by the best of the best. But will that be enough, when Season 11 has seemingly been planting the seeds that Charles could be exiting the series one way or another?
Find out with the next new episode of Chicago Med on Wednesday, April 8 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, ahead of Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. ET. As always, you can also stream episodes next day on Peacock
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