Chicago Med Season 12: How Baby Mabel Will Affect Asher's Hospital Work Explained By Jessy Schram

Published Oct 22, 2026, 10:45 AM EDT

Adam has been writing in the entertainment news space for over a decade. Beginning his career of covering film and TV at CinemaBlend, he has also appeared on The Flash Podcast and done several radio spots. 

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Chicago Med star Jessy Schram delved into how Dr. Hannah Asher’s new daughter will affect her duties at the hospital in season 12.

In the Chicago Med season 11 finale, Hannah gave birth to Mabel, her daughter with Steven Weber’s Dr. Dean Archer. Although Asher was still on maternity leave when the season 12 premiere began, by the end of the episode, she decided to end it early and resume working at the Gaffney Chicago Medical Center as an OB/GYN. Archer also still works at the hospital as an attending physician.

In the episode “Third Rails,” Hannah and Archer dropped Mabel off at Gaffney’s daycare center, which marked the first time the baby was being looked after by people other than them. Though Mabel is in safe hands there, Hannah, now being a mother, marks a momentous new chapter of her life. That will in turn impact what regular days at the hospital look like for her.

In an interview with ScreenRant’s Adam Holmes, Schram addressed what Hannah’s headspace is like going back to work in these early Chicago Med season 12 episodes. The actor acknowledged that while Mabel is never far from her character’s mind, she’s also able to “compartmentalize” enough so that it doesn’t affect her ability to treat patients. At the same time, Hannah’s approach to her professional and personal relationships has also adjusted after having the baby:

“I think that she's always been great at compartmentalizing. That's definitely a strong suit of Hannah's, but this is definitely unchartered territory. I think because Mabel's in the hospital, I'm sure she's checking on her every time she gets a chance. I think when Doris came to the hospital, the reason she was concerned she was late originally was because she wanted her to check on her. I don't think Hannah's doing a great job when it comes to Mabel being out of sight, out of mind.

But at the same time, obviously she's able to compartmentalize and prioritize because these are life and death situations, and she gives everybody the time and the chance that they deserve. But having Mabel has made her… I wouldn't say a little bit more soft, but what keeps coming to mind is less of an ability to mask. I think that her priorities have shifted. Sleep is less than it used to be, and she doesn't have time for, for the lack of a better word, bullshit. I think that we see things get to her a little bit more quickly because there's different priorities now in life.”

Schram also talked about how Hannah’s history of addiction will play into her parenting choices for Mabel on Chicago Med. The pressure she feels to be the best mother she can be to Mabel and give her a better childhood than what she had serves as a counterweight to Hannah dealing with any health issues that may hit Mabel with a cooler head than most, given her experiences as a doctor:

“I think it affects things so much. I think that Hannah's definitely in that classic part of ‘I'm going to do everything different with you that I wish would have been different with me.’ And also, I think one of the positive things about her being in recovery is that there's a lot of self-awareness, and she's constantly checking herself, but that also puts a lot of pressure on her. So in parenting Mabel, the doctor element is kind of like … I have family that are first responders, and when their kids are sick, it's absolutely no big deal because they see this day in and day out.

So I think there's an element of that, but then when it also comes to the addiction side of Hannah, the addictive side, anything can throw her. So she puts even more pressure on herself to be in a space that's the best she can be, and to be as available for Mabel or doing the best that she can for her. So I think you have a very casual side of her in being a doctor. Because what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. At the same time, I think that she's overly sensitive to how she's parenting.”

Why Hannah And Archer’s Relationship Remains Complicated While Parenting Together

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ScreenRant: What’s Hannah's biggest challenge after returning from maternity leave?

“I think it's the balance. I think it's the balance of you know her and Dean are both at the hospital. They are doing a great job co-parenting with each other, and at the same time, it's still not … it’s a version of a relationship, but it's still not the traditional kind. So I think she still balances that relationship, but the hardest part is just where you’re giving your time to. So we get to see her mainly at the hospital, but I think she is definitely in the struggle of where you put your time the most.”

ScreenRant: Along the lines of the non-traditional relationship, why does she think Hannah is more hesitant to define her relationship or her feelings with Dean than in past relationships?

“I think because this relationship is different. It's different from anything she's ever had. This is based in a deeply rooted friendship. It's a trust that I don't think she's ever developed with anyone before, and vice versa. I think this one came from a solid space because, obviously before her addiction … I mean, she was young when that all began. So I think that those relationships were always just your learning relationships of learning who you are and how you are in a relationship.

But I think everything that she's had in the past has always been like butterflies and maybe a little bit more lust-filled or a little bit more exciting, and this really comes from a rooted, deep place. And they started as friends, and they started as two broken people that found each other. And I think that there is more concern about … it's the classic thing of if you get with your friend, is it going to ruin the friendship? But also, too, wanting to make sure that that she's not hurting anybody, including herself. I think that she cares about Dean deeply and wants to give him everything that he needs. And at the same time, now it's all about Mabel. So everything with Mabel is: Will this relationship work for Mabel? Is this the right relationship for Mabel?"

What’s Coming Up For Hannah In Chicago Med Season 12

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ScreenRant: With Sharon having resigned as the hospital’s executive director and now being a charge nurse, how will this status quo shift affect Hannah?

“It affects all of us. What's really fun with Goodwin now being on the nursing level is we've got more scenes with them together. But Goodwin is somebody that was the reason that Hannah was able to come back to the hospital when she went away. She kept in touch with her. She's the one that gave her a second chance to come back. So there's a deep-rooted respect and regard, and I feel like a natural hierarchy that will always happen between the two of them because Hannah probably feels so in debt in certain ways and so taken care of by Goodwin.

So now her being on the floor level, I think is really fun to get to play with the two of them on the floor. But I don't know. It shifts Goodwin. Goodwin coming to the nursing level shifts everything for everyone. But you'll see the respect, and you'll see this amazing friendship in the way that it kind of plays through in this week's episode where it begins.”

ScreenRant: I know there were plans to bring back Hannah’s sister Lizzy last season that ended up being scrapped. Now that Mabel is out in the world, could we see these sisters reuniting and reconciling?

“I was going to say very much so when you asked if we could see them, but then you kept going … Even though I haven't seen it yet, I think that we can very much expect to see Hannah's sister Lizzie come back. I don't know to what degree that reconciliation or rehab of the relationship will be, but I know that there are plans to have Lizzie back, and I think that that's going to be a really interesting and incredibly dynamic and heavy meetup, whatever that might look like.”

ScreenRant: There’s a “Book of Hannah” episode coming later in the season. What can fans look forward to from this?

“I'll mainly leave that up to Allen MacDonald because, one, I'm still waiting to know a little bit more of what's happening, but I also don't want to ruin anything for anybody, so I'll leave those questions to Alan. But I do know when we had the “Book of Charles” or the “Book of Archer,” we get to see a little bit more in depth to the life outside of the hospital. But I do know that there are plans to kind of touch base on Hannah's history a little bit more."

ScreenRant: Later this season, Colin Donnell is returning to reprise Dr. Connor Rhoades for a few episodes. Will Hannah interact with him at all, and if so, what will that dynamic be like?

“Yeah, he's coming back to the hospital, so we all interact to some degree, but he has more of a storyline with one of the other doctors in the hospital that's very profound.”

What Jessy Schram Would Like To See In Hannah’s Future

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ScreenRant: Will we finally learn this season what started Hannah’s addiction? Is that something you’re already in the know about?

“Sometimes it's hard to answer questions like that in a deeper or more revealing way, when the origin hasn't been discussed or shown onscreen yet. I never want to trap a story in one space or be completely wrong. The fun and also annoyance of TV, is that you need to be able to pivot whenever a new script comes out with information that's different from what you thought!

But obviously, in playing Hannah for seven years now, I've done my own backstories and made the reasons why things are the way they are to support the stories currently being told. So I can share that I've based Hannah's past in a few things. Her mother passing when she was born created a guilt and a loneliness for her within her family dynamic. She never really felt seen or like she belonged. She's always been under constant pressure, whether it's the outside world's or her own. I think pressure lends to different sides of her rebelling, pushing people away while also having deep connections and empathy. Due to the pressure and self-worth dents, perfectionism is a strong trait of hers.

But regardless of the how and when for the addiction to begin, something I learned very early on in researching things for this role, heroin changes your cells. It doesn't matter who you are, your predisposition to substances, how you got to the moment in trying it, the first time heroin touches your system, your DNA is changed forever. So, with Hannah's addiction not having a public origin story, those are some key factors that I always come back to. Pressure, perfectionism, self-worth and pain.”

ScreenRant: Are there any lingering plot threads, storylines, relationships, etc. for Hannah from throughout the seasons that you would like to revisit someday?

“Well, you're talking about origin stories, and I was just thinking about [how] we’ve had so many great guest stars and recurring actors come through it, and so many different stories that have definitely tripped my heart. But Hannah did have a friend from [Narcotics Anonymous] that had come to the hospital and eventually had gotten pregnant, and then, after delivering, had OD’d, and that was something that I think that that character would be so great to be able to bring back.

Or the ex-boyfriend that we saw back when she was still dating Will Halstead, and you're like, ‘What are you doing here, sir?’ But for me, I think that what's been really cool is we have this theme of of storylines that have been continuing through, and this season we do have a storyline that we'll be able to follow throughout the entire season, as opposed to just one episode, and I'm really looking forward to that.”

ScreenRant: Is there any character from any of the other Chicago shows you would like to see Hannah either reunite with or maybe meet for the first time?

"She's met quite a few of those characters, but I just keep thinking about how neat it would be to have Hannah exposed to the PD world with what Hannah does as an OB/GYN and ED practitioner, and what they do with solving their cases, [that] could go hand in hand a little bit more SVU-style, I guess you could say. So I think that's less of a character and more of a general show … I think that if there were to be some kind of crossover, I think that would be really neat to see how they could work in tandem with each other."

ScreenRant: You’ve been playing Hannah for eight seasons now. Is there an aspect of the character that you appreciate a lot more now that you didn’t think much about when you first started playing her, or maybe weren’t even aware of at all?

“Yeah, I think when I first joined, I was very fixated, because it was something I was very uncomfortable with, about Hannah's confidence. Hannah was incredibly confident and still is, and I think that that's something that I've really appreciated about her, and I've learned with her, it's less of this hardcore kind of masculine ‘I'm going to defend the world kind of thing,’ and more it comes from a deep place of protective empathy. And I've gotten to realize that about Hannah over the seasons that I've really, really loved. She's not a pushover, and at the same time, she's not pushing anyone over.”

ScreenRant: Hannah is a confident and outgoing character, but also introspective and guarded about her own feelings. What do you think about this aspect of the character and where specifically her walls come from?

“I mean, there's so much with her. I think that her feeling of being alone in the world, without her having her mother, always feeling like her family was upset with her for being the reason why she passed away, I think set her up in a particular place. I think she's always felt alone in the world, and always had this feeling of being scared. If she loves someone or something, it will push them away. If I love this, it'll go away. The shoe is always going to drop. The other shoe will always drop. And I think that that's definitely something for her.

And I think because she's had those darker and deeper places, that's where a lot of the empathy comes out. There's a lot of wiggle room and there's a lot of gray room because she understands everybody's human at the end of the day. I think that because she's put herself in so many different positions, and been in so many different places, judgment is not something that Hannah is attracted to, or I think really carries within herself.”

ScreenRant: Is there anything else you want to tease fans out there to look forward to this season?

“Well, I will say that emotions run high, and the theme that I'm noticing in this season is new beginnings. That's something that I'm really feeling strong for, not just for myself, but for most of the other characters. And with a lot of growth, there's a lot of pain, and with a lot of storms, there's a lot of rainbows. I think we're going to get a huge variety of emotions this season, and I think that we're going through it this season in all the best ways.”

Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

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  Marlyne Barrett

  Maggie Lockwood

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  S. Epatha Merkerson

  Sharon Goodwin