Stream or skip?

Chicago Med is the latest series in the A Chicago Universe – where it connects Chicago fire And Chicago PD – but ten seasons are nothing to sneeze at, and MedThe core remains strong while new talent is brought in. law and order Veteran S. Epatha Merkerson returns as chief administrator of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center alongside Oliver Platt, Marlyne Barrett and Steven Weber. But as a mass accident with injuries hits the hospital hard, there will be spontaneous adjustments in the emergency room and new voices – Sarah Ramos (parenthood) and Darren Barnet (I've never done that before) Join the cast – you'll make an instant impression.

CHICAGO MED: STREAM OR SKIP?

Opening shot: //Incoming Trauma//Incoming Trauma//Incoming Trauma// The “brick-and-mortar” patient routing system overseen by ward nurse Maggie Lockwood (Barrett) breaks down in the worst possible way.

The essentials: As Chicago Med Season 10 begins, Sharon Goodwin (Merkerson) gathers the emergency room for a conversation. With the impending closure of another major hospital in Chicago, Gaffney will admit twice as many patients, straining his already limited resources. To cope, she'll be making changes to the ER's workflow, which means everyone will have to be on board, from doctors like Dean Archer (Weber), Hannah Asher (Jessy Schram) and Mitchell Ripley (Luke Mitchell) to the nursing staff . and to the interns who learn part-time with Gaffney.

However, you can address any questions about these changes as a passenger ship capsized off Navy Pier and the emergency room needs to prepare for a major trauma. As the team springs into action – Dr. Daniel Charles (Platt) treats an injured little boy with hemophilia, and Dr. Asher has to give birth early in order to save the child and the mother, who were both injured by shrapnel – it's all about the hand deck, so to speak. Residents like Howard (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) and Hudgins (Conor Perkins) are also in the thick of things, and everyone in the hospital has a chance to shout medical drama meanings like “Full MCI protocol!” and “Get me a 14-gauge angiocatheter.”

Even Goodwin has reached out to help (“There's a reason I keep my RN license active”), and so has Dr. Caitlin Lenox (Ramos). The arrival of Lenox to take on a senior role would have been part of Goodwin's speech to the staff and especially to Archer, as she will be running the emergency room at the same time as the boastful trauma surgeon. But while the hospital is overwhelmed, the rollout is carried out via active stretchers and shouted life-saving commands. “I thought it was going to be a quiet morning,” Nurse Lockwood says as the cases pile up and Archer gives her a small grin. “Then the universe gets you.”

What shows will it remind you of? Medical dramas will never be a part of network television. In contrast, season 10 of Chicago Med joins the new kid on the block Brilliant minds – with Zachary Quinto as House-style neurologist – and Grey's Anatomywhich, incredibly, has just returned for its 20th season.

Our opinion: A small screen medical drama is only as good as the team that builds it. Because while medicine continues to change and evolve, we are all veterans of watching a show like this Chicago Medwhich, like its peers in the genre, tends to keep up with the stories and dramatic beats that work best. When another critical case bursts through those great double doors, we're better off meeting a group of doctors and nurses on the other side, nursing a host of professional and personal issues that are constantly intertwined. And as season 10 of Med starts, it updates its established ensemble heat. S. Epatha Merkerson has a few great scenes as Sharon Goodwin, who trades in her administrator's suit for scrubs as soon as she sees the trauma cases pouring in.

Merkerson has always been a solid anchor for law and orderand it's no different Chicago Med. But it's the addition of Sarah Ramos as Dr. Caitlin Lenox, who seems the most immediately fresh as she literally jumps into action straight away. Whatever Archer thinks about his new colleague – and Steven Weber is very, very good here as the pretentious, arrogant surgeon – Lenox is already winning over the ED staff and us viewers with her hands-on, nonsensical style. Well, most of the emergency room staff. After a stressful, bloody day in the hospital, an incident with a resident not only shows how Dr. Lenox treats the staff. It creates a new channel for exciting drama within an already established team.

Gender and skin: How about epidermal forcing instead? Or be whole underneath the skin? Because with Chicago Medthen we would talk. Most episodes feature at least one overhead shot of some poor guy's exposed internal organs – don't cut the liver with your scalpel! – and, if necessary, a few quick glimpses of horrific wounds and blood splatters.

Parting shot: In a scene that represents an entire series of pilots, Dr. Lenox Dr. Archer explains the how and why of her arrival as the new co-chief of Gaffney's ER.

Sleeperstar: Every medical TV team needs its MVP, and as the pragmatic and prepared head nurse Maggie Lockwood, Marlyne Barrett continues to fill that role.

Most Pilot-y Lines: “Don’t worry about the emergency room. I'm ready for whatever comes.” It's probably true that someone like Dr. Dean Archer would say that exact line even if he knew what was actually coming, which turns out to be unexpected and a whole thing, in more ways than one.

Our call: STREAM IT! Now in the tenth season, Chicago Med operates with a consistent mix of established talent and new faces rotating around the ER, connecting to the One Chicago universe with the kind of propulsive storylines and emotional tones you'd expect from a medical drama.

Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent author and editor living in Chicago. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media and Nicki Swift.