It’s hammer time
Chicago Med’s new doctor Stevie Hammer is clocking in for the shifts of her life – and it’s getting personal.
Chicago Med
Season 7 Tuesdays M-Net (*101) 20:30
The newest attending physician at the Gaffney Chicago Medical Center has barely scrubbed in for work and already Dr Stevie Hammer (Kristen Hager, Mae barber in action series Condor) feels like she’s drowning – and not for the first time in her life. “It’s intense. She’s got patients flooding in and all the meanwhile she is trying to balance her conflicted feelings for
Dr Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss, Lee in drama series Power) – they dated while in medical school together – and the worry for her mom Terri (Bonita Friedericy, Terri in supernatural fantasy series Preacher), who is unwell and homeless,” explains Kristen. But despite her best attempts, Dr Hammer is going to find herself falling short in some spheres of her life…
MOTHER OF ALL WORRIES
Stevie’s backstory is one of inspiration and the producers planned to use it to speak to people in the same position, says the actress. “Stevie comes from a broken home. She never knew her dad and Terri’s bad decisions and psychological instability impacted on her. But while Stevie rose to the top and went to medical school and reached her dreams, she’s being dragged down again.”
Terri is living in a homeless camp and it’s breaking Stevie’s heart because not only is her mom giving up on life, she’s not taking care of her health. “Stevie is trying to help. She knows that her mom isn’t well physically and she’s running out of pills, but Terri’s new stubborn streak worries her too,” says Kristen, adding, “The world has seen a dramatic increase in mental health cases since the COVID-19 pandemic. People have been stressed, overworked, unsupported and in need of care. Stevie doesn’t realise it right away, but her mom is bipolar and she isn’t in the right frame of mind.”
HEART MURMURS
It’s not just Terri keeping Stevie on her toes – she’s getting feelings for Dr Will Halstead again. They dated in medical school and split up to go their separate ways after graduating – she recently left the Beaumont Hospital in Detroit, Michigan after she and her husband Andrew (offscreen) decided to divorce. “She’s come to Chicago in something of a vulnerable position. Her mom drama is weighing on her, her soon-to-be-ex has hurt her, she’s struggling,” says Kristen. And things with Will aren’t going well either at first, says Kristen. “They disagree on the treatment of patients in every episode; sometimes she is correct, sometimes he is correct. They both want the best for their patients but they also want to see each other succeed professionally and to save lives.”
And the pair are able to reconnect again on a personal level in episode 8 when Terri goes missing and Will helps Stevie find her mom. “Will knows how much Terri means to Stevie. It’s not just that he’s a doctor and that he swore the Hippocratic Oath to heal and protect those who’re unwell, he still has a soft spot for her even though Will won’t admit it and he doesn’t want to see her heart break,” adds Kristen. But Stevie’s struggles are far from over because the reason Terri goes missing is part of her mental health storyline. “The situation with Terri is actually going to impact everyone who works with Stevie. It’s a difficult situation for a child to be in, having all the tools to save their parent and not being able to. There’s a chance that Stevie is going to crack and while she wants Will to be there to catch her, he may not,” says Kristen.
HEALING TOOLS
The show’s producers focused on mental healthcare for season 7 but not just in patients, in professionals too. “We zoomed in on doctors like Stevie because they’re under more stress than anyone realises. They were first responders during the start of the pandemic and it never let up,” says showrunner Andy Schneider. “You look at Stevie and you see a hardened, tough, prepared lifesaver on the outside, but on the inside she’s taking knocks around every corner. Her mom, patients, her personal life. We as society need to help the people who kept us alive when they need help most.