How Sarah Rafferty's Dr. Pamela Blake Left Chicago Med - But Will She Return?

NBC's "One Chicago" group of shows has been running fairly smoothly for nearly 10 years now. That doesn't mean that "Chicago Fire," "Chicago P.D.," and "Chicago Med" haven't said goodbye to their fair share of characters, though. However, plenty of actors have left the "One Chicago" franchise over the years, including Sarah Rafferty. The actor, who is likely best known for her role as Donna Paulsen on USA's "Suits," appears throughout "Chicago Med" Season 7 as Dr. Pamela Blake, the chief of transplantation surgery at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center.

"Chicago Med" Season 7 ends, however, with Dr. Crockett Marcel (Dominic Rains) forced to choose between saving Blake's life or putting her at risk to restore full mobility to her hands. He ultimately picks the former option. Consequently, Blake leaves Gaffney behind early in "Chicago Med" Season 8 to focus on recovering her motor skills, and she cuts off all ties to Crockett. It's later revealed that Blake recovered from her surgery and accepted a new position at a hospital in Boston.

It was, in other words, the fallout of Blake's operation and dissolution of her relationship with Crockett that led to Rafferty's character exiting "Chicago Med." So far, there's been no reason to suspect that Rafferty's departure was partly due to any disagreements between her and the "Chicago Med" creative team. Instead, Blake's story just seems to have organically run its course, though it's worth noting that the door has been left open for her to return in a future season or episode.

In a September 2022 interview with Variety, "Chicago Med" co-showrunner Diane Frolov noted that it's possible Sarah Rafferty could reprise her role as Dr. Pamela Blake in the future. "If the character's alive, the character can and very often will come back," she told the outlet. Rafferty, notably, hasn't appeared on "Chicago Med" since its Season 8 premiere. Nonetheless, Frolov's comment suggests that there's always a chance Dr. Blake could return.

That may not only depend on the "Chicago Med" writers' interest in bringing Rafferty's character back but also her availability. In April 2022, the actor was cast as Dr. Katherine Walter in the teen drama series, "My Life with the Walter Boys," which premiered on Netflix in December 2023. A few weeks after its premiere, Netflix renewed the show for a second season. Rafferty may, therefore, not be able to work on "Chicago Med" in a recurring capacity again anytime soon. 

Considering that she signed on to star in the Netflix series several months before her character was written off "Chicago Med," it's even possible that her departure from the NBC show was a byproduct of her joining the cast of "My Life with the Walter Boys." That hasn't been confirmed by anyone with knowledge of the situation, but it is a possibility.

Whether she does or doesn't ever grace the halls of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center again, though, fans of Rafferty's work can at least take comfort in the knowledge that she could still one day make a surprise "One Chicago" comeback.