Who Is the New Character Dr. Stevie Hammer on NBC's Hit Drama 'Chicago Med'?

When audiences tuned into the Season 7 premiere of NBC's Chicago Med, two new players were introduced to the emergency department of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center: former cop Dr. Dylan Scott (Guy Lockard) and new attending physician Dr. Stevie Hammer (Kristen Hager).

So, what do we know about Dr. Stevie Hammer and the actress who plays her? Keep reading to find out.

In an interview with ET before the start of the new season, Chicago Med's showrunner Andrew Schneider discussed Stevie's backstory, explaining: "Dr. Hammer is a young woman who fought hard to overcome a difficult childhood to become the person she is today."

Stevie also already has a connection with one of the characters.

Speaking with TV Guide, Andrew said, "There's an interesting relationship with Will. She went to medical school with Will, and they were very competitive. There's a certain kind of friendly rivalry and competition between them."

In the first episode, viewers learn that Stevie has a pretty big secret. When a patient came in, she diagnosed some knee arthritis and figured out it was due to uncomfortable sleeping conditions and homelessness. Stevie knew that because her own mother is homeless.

At the end of the episode, she visits her mom in a tent and tries to care for her. It's clear that this was the first time Stevie had seen her since she got back to Chicago, which leaves so many unanswered questions for viewers.

Chicago Med isn't the first television show that Kristen Hager has been, nor is it her first role as a medical professional. Kristen's screen career started with several films and shows from the mid-to-late 2000s. She appeared in Todd Hayne's 2007 Bob Dylan drama I'm Not There and played a cheating girlfriend in 2008's Wanted. One of her most prominent roles in this era was when she portrayed Jesse Salinger in the 2007 sci-fi horror thriller Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.

After battling monsters, Kristen got the chance to actually be a monster when she played Nora Sergeant on Being Human, which was Syfy's remake of the BBC series of the same name. On the show, Nora begins as a human nurse at Suffolk County Hospital in Boston. However, she gets into a relationship with orderly Josh Levison (Sam Huntington), who also happens to be a werewolf. After werewolf-Josh accidentally scratches her during a transformation, Nora turns into a werewolf as well.

After that, Nora is forced to come to terms with all the possibilities and problems that come with her new powers. In an interview with SciFi Pulse discussing Nora's journey on the series, Kristen stated, "At first, being a wolf, it was scary [for Nora], but then right away this newfound, like, sense of power that she felt inside, it's just like it's very comfortable in her skin. And, you know, right away, that newfound strength was something that she embraced."

Kristen would go on to play another Nora on the Fox superhero drama Gotham after her run as a werewolf came to an end. She appeared in two episodes during Season 2 as Nora Fries. Like in the comics, she played the terminally ill wife of scientist Victor Fries (Nathan Darrow), performing cryogenic experiments to find a cure.

Thus far, Kristen has over 40 acting credits, including popular shows such as NCIS: Los Angeles, NCIS: New Orleans, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

With her new character Dr. Hammer on Chicago Med, it seems that most likely there’s a lot of backstory that will be told through the rest of the season, and we’re excited to see that explored.

Watch new episodes of Chicago Med every Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.