Jessy Schram has been delivering plenty of drama in primetime during the 2022-2023 TV season as Dr. Hannah Asher on Chicago Med, to the point that the hit medical drama recently dug deeper than ever into her backstory. Soon, however, fans will be able to see a different side of the actress as she comes to Fox’s Fantasy Island to play a character who definitely is not Hannah 2.0. The actress spoke with CinemaBlend about her role on the show and why it was fun to briefly step away from Hannah!
The next new episode of Fantasy Island centers on Laura, who has never felt worse than she does when she arrives on the island in the wake of what was supposed to be her wedding. Jessy Schram plays Laura, and the character’s struggles clearly are not on the same level as what Hannah has gone through on Chicago Med. Speaking with CinemaBlend earlier this year, the actress weighed in on the differences:
The tone is very, very different. You know, we’re not in a hospital setting with life or death scenarios. It’s really fun. There’s a lot of comedic moments. There’s a lot of heart to it, a tear or two. It’s a really fun journey, but it definitely is a completely different tone from Chicago Med.
The comedic moments can certainly be few and far between on Chicago Med, and Hannah was in tears by the end of the latest episode! The island of Fantasy Island isn’t going to be confused for the hospital of Chicago Med any time soon, and the character of Laura should show Jessy Schram delivering a different kind of performance than what One Chicago fans are used to.
All three shows of One Chicago have been renewed for another season (which raises some questions about the 2023-2024 TV season), and hopefully Hannah’s saga will continue! She’s currently involved in what Jessy Schram has described as an “emotional triangle” with Dean Archer and Sean Archer. A different kind of relationship will be central to her role as Laura in Fantasy Island, and the actress explained what drew her to the Fox show after spending so much time on Med:
It’s always fun to get to keep exercising and challenging yourself as an actor. So much of what we’re doing during the ten months of filming is this one character, so getting to step outside of that and play something that’s a little bit lighter and a brand new story is challenging and really fun to get to do. This storyline I loved because I play a jilted bride that comes to the island and her fantasy is to feel loved, just unconditional love. Within that storyline, I have a friend from my past come back, played by Kyla Pratt, who’s just absolutely amazing. We have a really great time and you find the seeds of maybe where that love was lost along the way, and it’s a really fun but intimate journey.
Jessy Schram is teaming up with a sitcom veteran for her episode of Fantasy Island, as Kyla Pratt is a series regular elsewhere on Fox as part of Mayim Bialik’s Call Me Kat, which said a touching goodbye to a different star earlier this year. While viewers will have to wait until the episode of Fantasy Island to see how Jessy Schram and Kyla Pratt work together, it seems very safe to say that Laura’s friend isn’t going to be a carbon copy of Dean Archer or Will Halstead or even Crockett Marcel, the latter of whom she leaned on after opening up about her tragic backstory.
According to Fox’s episode description for the new installment of Fantasy Island – called “Peaches & The Jilted Bride” – ”Peaches” is Laura’s childhood imaginary friend who will take a real human form, which may be exactly what the jilted bride needs. Find out with Jessy Schram’s episode of Fantasy Island on Monday, April 24 at 9 p.m. ET on Fox, following a new episode of 9-1-1 Season 6. You can also find past episodes of the Fox series streaming with a Hulu subscription.
At the time of writing, Fantasy Island has not yet been renewed or cancelled, but the same can’t be said for Chicago Med. The One Chicago medical drama is guaranteed at least one more season, hopefully with Hannah still alive, well, and building her odd but exciting friendship with Dean Archer that I for one am very invested in. Fans of One Chicago will reportedly see less of their favorites in the 2023-2024 TV season, but the stars were celebrating the renewal,