Is Morris Chestnut Leaving The Resident? What’s Going On Ahead Of Season 5

Season 5 of Fox’s medical drama The Resident is going to look a little different as opposed to the previous four. With series regular Morris Chestnut getting cast in another Fox series alongside Chicago Med’s Yaya DaCosta, what will happen with Chestnut’s Dr. Barrett Cain in the upcoming season?

What Happened With Morris Chestnut’s Dr. Barrett Cain At The End Of Season 4

While Cain has always been a sort of villain in The Resident since coming on with Red Rock, he was given a redemption arc at the end of Season 4. Cain performed life-saving surgery on AJ’s mother, finally calling a truce following a nearly season-long fight. Cain admitted to Billie that he’s “never going to do anything that helps me but hurts my patients again.” He told her that he might go to Johns Hopkins, which would play out nicely considering the scheduling conflict Morris Chestnut could be facing with his role on the upcoming Our Kind of People series if Cain stayed at Chastain.

What We Know So Far About His Character In The Resident Season 5

Although not too much is known about Season 5 of The Resident besides the arrival of a big new villain that Chastain will have to deal with, co-showrunner Peter Elkoff assured in an interview with TVLine following the Season 4 finale that Morris Chestnut will still be on The Resident in a recurring capacity. Even though it’s hard to plan with schedules constantly changing, he’s not off the show.

Since Johns Hopkins is in Maryland and Chastain is in Atlanta, that would be a pretty good distance for Cain if he chooses to go with Johns Hopkins. However, to keep him in a recurring role, it’s possible that Cain stays at Chastain but in a lesser role. Or perhaps he does go to Johns Hopkins but flies into Atlanta every once in a while if the doctors need help on a severe case that no one, not even AJ, can handle except for Cain. Now that Chastain is a public hospital, they will be busier than ever, especially if that Big Pharma storyline does play a big part in Season 5.

With Mina’s departure in the middle of Season 4, it would be hard to imagine yet another Chastain doctor leaving so soon after. Even though it looks like for now Cain is staying in some capacity, it will be interesting to see how they write in Morris Chestnut’s decreased presence. Even though it does help that his new show is on Fox, The Resident films in Atlanta whereas new show Our Kind of People likely films elsewhere. The new series will coincidentally be paired with The Resident in the fall, taking the cancelled Prodigal Son’s time slot of 9 p.m. EST on Tuesdays, with The Resident keeping its 8 p.m. EST time slot.

All four seasons of The Resident are streaming on Hulu. Check out our summer 2021 TV schedule to see what shows to look forward to!

Megan Behnke
Freelance TV News Writer

Passionate writer. Obsessed with anything and everything entertainment, specifically movies and television. Can get easily attached to fictional characters.