In a shocking tweet on Friday, actor Colin Donnell confirmed his departure from the Chicago franchise. The actor is leaving Chicago Med, Chicago P. D. as well as Chicago Fire, and he is not the only one to do so.

Colin Donnell confirmed his departure via Twitter

Colin joined the cast members of Chicago Med as a series regular in 2015. He played the role of Dr. Conor Rhodes, a cardiothoracic and trauma surgery attending at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, since the series’ inception in 2015. Like many of the franchise regulars, he also made guest appearances in the same role on a few episodes of Chicago P. D. and Chicago Fire.

Deadline reported on April 19 that Colin was moving on from his famous television character. Shortly afterward, Colin confirmed the news on Twitter, retweeting the story from Deadline. He wrote, “Sorry to say that this is true.” 

“I love my #ChicagoMed #OneChicago family dearly. And a special thank you to all the fans that have made these last four seasons so amazing,” he added.

The actor took to the comments section to show his gratitude to the creator team. He wrote, “It’s been an honor to be a part of such a great trio of shows and in the @WolfEnt family.” 

He noted, “I know that there’s great things coming for Season 5 and I can’t wait to see what they are along with all you fans. Xoxo” All three shows of the Chicago franchise were picked up for next season back in February. Reports say that Colin will leave Chicago Med after the current season. 

Former Chicago franchise actress, Sophia Bush, made a fond reply on Donell’s tweet as “A true gentleman, you are, dear sir. Much love ♥️”

Brittany Frederick, an entertainment journalist, also replied to Colin as “I'm heartbroken. Working with you has been one of the great experiences of my career and one of the reasons I started in the #OneChicago fandom. I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me. Hopefully we'll see each other again on the next ride.”

Meanwhile, several fans have shared sad reactions in the comments. 

“My weekend it’s ruined. Not watching anymore w/o you. 😭😭I’m moving on to #TheResident,” replied one of Colin’s fans. 

“I'm heartbroken. your character was all i looked forward to on #ChicagoMed 💔😭 hoping you'll make an appearance at this years one chicago con that @OCEProductions is hosting!” wrote another.

Who else is leaving/staying with the Chicago universe?

Apart from Colin Donnell, actors like Jon Seda and Norma Kuhling too are leaving the franchise.

Jon, who plays the role of Detective Antonio Dawson, was originally a recurring character on Chicago Fire. He was picked as a series regular for Chicago P.D. in 2014, which he left midway through Season 4 to join the new spin-off, Chicago Justice. He returned to Chicago P.D. at the beginning of Season 5 as Chicago Justice was canceled after its first season.

Jon addressed the news of his departure via Instagram, sharing a picture of himself in the character. In the caption, he wrote, “It’s been an honor portraying Det. Antonio Dawson in the #OneChicago world. To my cast & crew #Family, I’ll always treasure the time and stories we shared.” He also acknowledged his fans in the caption as “To all you #chihards out there, THANK YOU for being the best of fans! We’ll Always have CHICAGO 👊🏻”

Norma plays Dr. Ava Bekker and is the original cast member of Chicago Med. She joined the show during the third season. She took to Instagram as well to share the bittersweet message of her departure. 

"Thank you Chicago Med for two amazing years! Really going to miss this family, but feeling nothing but gratitude," Norma captioned her Instagram post.

"A huge thank you to @nbc and @dickwolf for bringing me on board, to the best cast and crew imaginable, and finally to the fans for making these shows what they are. Can’t wait to cheer #OneChicago on in its future seasons with you!" she added.

The network has stated that the actors' departures from the franchise "stem from creative reasons related to the characters' story evolution." But it’s not all sad news coming out of the One Chicago franchise. 

Actors like Jesse Spencer and Taylor Kinney have both re-upped their contracts with their respective show, Chicago Fire. 

Chicago Med, Fire, and P.D. air on NBC Wednesdays at 8, 9, and 10 p.m. ET, respectively.