Chicago Med's Jessy Schram Was Nervous For Asher's Return In Season 8 Episode 7
A very controversial doctor made their return to the ED at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, and it could have some interesting ramifications for the rest of the hospital's staff. Dr. Hannah Asher (Jessy Schram) returned to "Chicago Med" after successfully completing a stint in rehab and presumably bucking the heroin addiction that plagued her throughout previous seasons on the show. The choice to return was interesting, seeing that Dr. Asher deliberately decided to leave Chicago when she first opted to go into rehab while dating Dr. Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss). The last time we saw her, she asked Dr. Halstead to leave with her, but he refused the invitation.
It wasn't clear if Dr. Asher would ever return to the show, but her familiar face rejoined the ranks of the hospital's ED in Season 8, Episode 7 of the hit Dick Wolf series. But when she made her return to the ED, it came after some fundamental changes to her life — changes that would need to be carefully portrayed by Schram and ones that made her somewhat nervous.
Schram had to reinvent Asher's character without her addiction
When Dr. Asher finally made her return to "Chicago Med," she had a lot of history and baggage waiting for her at the hospital, and Jessy Schram recognized that the character was going to be very different than what she was used to playing. "It was a little nerve-wracking at first because I was like, 'Who is Hannah when we're not focusing on her addiction? Who is she when she's in a better space or has overcome something?'" Schram told Parade. Dr. Asher was first introduced on the show in Season 5, and most of her character's storylines have dealt with her addiction to heroin and the struggles that resulted from it. Now, the doctor appears to be recovering from her addiction and is set to create a new place for herself in the hospital and on the show.
"It's been this uncovering of who Hannah is through the scripts that I've been given, but also just me as Jessy trying to take some of that past and then meld it into who I hope Hannah will be," Schram revealed in the interview. But how will Dr. Asher's new life play out on the set of "Chicago Med?" Will she be able to completely put her addiction in the past and focus on the opportunities ahead of her, or will something trigger her? Per her comments to Parade, Schram is already looking into the head of Dr. Asher and trying to figure out what is truly motivating her character.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).