The long wait for One Chicago to return is nearly over, with the winter premiere of Chicago Med arriving in the 2026 TV schedule to reveal Lenox's fate after the fall finale cliffhanger. When last seen in late 2025, she was caught in the home of an abusive husband, and her efforts to save his wife ultimately left her own life in jeopardy. Showrunner Allen MacDonald spoke with CinemaBlend about Lenox's story in Season 11 so far, and I'm particularly intrigued by his tease about a time jump.
The winter premiere of Chicago Med Season 11, called "Triple Threat," will air on Wednesday, January 7 on NBC and stream next day with a Peacock subscription. The doctors still have fallout to deal with from their choices during the power outage in the fall finale, and one of those choices concerns Lenox's decision to go to Faye's house to check on her.
Med ended 2025 with Lenox on the verge of being captured (or worse) by Devin. When I spoke with Allen MacDonald ahead of the winter return, he opened up about her decisions:
She put herself into obviously a dangerous situation, a potentially tragic situation… I think that one thing to remember with Lenox is that why she put herself in this situation, on one level, is because she cares about her patients, and it infuriates her that this man is abusing his wife in this manner, and she doesn't put up with any bullshit.
Most of Lenox's increased recklessness since she tested positive for a genetic prion disease was more or less harmless; that's not the case with her decision to try to save Faye by putting herself in danger. She discovered a bloody and battered Faye being kept in the basement by Devin, only to run out of time for them to escape before he came home. The showrunner went on to address the doctor's diagnosis motivating her decisions:
But I also think because of her prion disease, she has been trying to embrace life to its fullest, and she's been taking some big risks. I think on some level, she went over to that house, because when you know you're going to die anyway, even if you don't know when, I think there's a temptation to push it along a little bit, and she puts herself into dangerous situations.
I think it was clear enough in the fall finale that even though Lenox was making risky decisions, she didn't have a death wish. There really wasn't a good choice when it came to whether she should check on Faye herself or wait on a welfare check. Unfortunately, Lenox's choice led to her being attacked by Devin. MacDonald elaborated on what the ticking clock of her diagnosis means for her:
She doesn't know what that clock is set for. It's not like one of those things where it's for sure that she's gonna die in a year. She could. I mean, as soon as she starts showing symptoms, it's probably going to be a pretty quick decline over a year and a half, but that could show up in six months, or it could show up in fifteen or twenty years, and that's part of the mental torture that she lives with.
It remains to be seen how Chicago Med will resolve the storyline, as Devin had the upper hand after he seemingly knocked Lenox unconscious while his wife was too injured to help. On the other hand, Ripley at least knew that she planned to check on Faye, so there should be somebody to raise the alarm if she doesn't return. So, I was particularly intrigued by the showrunner's response when I asked if there would be a time jump between the fall finale and winter premiere. Allen MacDonald said:
That's an interesting question. Yes, there is a time jump, but it's only a few days.
A time jump between seasons is the norm for Chicago Med, but I wasn't expecting to learn that there would be a time jump between the end of the fall finale when Lenox was in such imminent danger. The scariest possibility is that the doctor will be in Devin's clutches for those few days, perhaps stuck in the basement with Faye. The more optimistic possibility is that Lenox has already escaped Devin by the time the winter premiere picks up.
Unfortunately, the promo for the winter premiere doesn't shed any light on Lenox's fate, although it does tease some complications for Hannah when her dad arrives in the ED. Take a look:
Considering that Hannah's dad and Archer are closer in age than Hannah and Archer are, I'm not surprised to see some tension! Fans learned a bit about how Hannah's sister feels about the Dasher bun in the oven, and Sean's reaction to the pregnancy news was one of my favorite moments from the fall finale. So, what does her dad's arrival mean for the next stage of what Jessy Schram described as Hannah's "pregnancy journey" in Season 11?
Find out when Chicago Med returns with the winter premiere on Wednesday, January 7 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC, followed as usual by Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. ET.
