ER season 15

The fifteenth and final season of the American fictional drama television series ER premiered on September 25, 2008, and concluded on April 2, 2009, in a two-hour episode preceded by a one-hour retrospective special. It consists of 22 episodes. Because actors Mekhi Phifer, Goran Visnjic, and Maura Tierney had been told the 14th season would be the last one, they had no plans or interest in returning for S15. The producers agreed to film two S15 episodes at the very end of the Season 14 production cycle so that all three actors could finish their time on the show and move on to other projects. Tierney would make a one-scene guest appearance in an episode near the end of Season 15.

Plot
The final season opens up revealing Gregory Pratt is the victim of the ambulance explosion. Despite the rallying efforts of his workplace colleagues, he succumbs to his injuries and dies. The season introduces Cate Banfield as new ER chief, a woman with a seemingly mysterious past with County General. Luka Kovač and Abby Lockhart leave for a new life in Boston, Brenner must deal with issues surrounding his childhood, and he comes to a crossroads in his relationship with Neela, Samantha Taggart and Tony Gates' relationship suffers a major setback after an accident involving Alex Taggart while Neela Rasgotra is forced to make some tough decisions, both personal and professional.

To mark the end of the series after 15 years, several former cast members make a return to the show. Mark Greene, Robert Romano, and Kerry Weaver appear in a flashback episode that explores Banfield's history with County General while John Carter returns to work at County although, unbeknown to his colleagues, he is in desperate need of a kidney transplant. Peter Benton, Doug Ross, Carol Hathaway, Susan Lewis, Elizabeth Corday, and Ray Barnett return in various episodes. The series ends with one final multiple casualty incident that brings multiple patients to the ER, and shows that life goes on at County General.

Main cast

 * Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene (in flashback only)
 * George Clooney as Dr. Doug Ross
 * Sherry Stringfield as Dr. Susan Lewis
 * Noah Wyle as Dr. John Carter
 * Julianna Margulies as Nurse Carol Hathaway
 * Eriq La Salle as Dr. Peter Benton
 * Laura Innes as Dr. Kerry Weaver
 * Alex Kingston as Dr. Elizabeth Corday
 * Goran Visnjic as Dr. Luka Kovač
 * Maura Tierney as Dr. Abby Lockhart, Attending Physician
 * Mekhi Phifer as Dr. Greg Pratt, Attending Physician
 * Parminder Nagra as Dr. Neela Rasgotra, Third Year Surgical Resident
 * Linda Cardellini as Nurse Samantha Taggart
 * Scott Grimes as Dr. Archie Morris, Attending Physician
 * John Stamos as Dr. Tony Gates, Third Year Resident
 * David Lyons as Dr. Simon Brenner, Attending Physician
 * Angela Bassett as Dr. Catherine Banfield, Chief of Emergency Medicine

Special appearances
The final season included special appearances by departed main and recurring cast members:
 * Shane West as Dr. Ray Barnett
 * Paul McCrane as Dr. Robert Romano (in flashback only)


 * Returning recurring characters
 * William H. Macy as Dr. David Morgenstern
 * Ellen Crawford as Nurse Lydia Wright
 * Hallee Hirsh as Rachel Greene
 * Thandiwe Newton as Makemba "Kem" Likasu
 * Matthew Watkins as Reese Benton

Supporting

 * Doctors and medical students
 * Amy Aquino as Dr. Janet Coburn, Chief of Obstetrics
 * John Aylward as Dr. Donald Anspaugh, Chief of Staff
 * Leland Orser as Dr. Lucien Dubenko, Chief of Surgery
 * J. P. Manoux as Dr. Dustin Crenshaw, Surgical Attending Physician
 * Gina Ravera as Dr. Betina DeJesús, Radiologist
 * Michael Buchman Silver as Dr. Paul Meyers, Psychiatrist
 * Shiri Appleby as Dr. Daria Wade, ER Intern
 * Julian Morris as Dr. Andrew Wade, Surgical Intern
 * Victor Rasuk as Dr. Ryan Sánchez, ER Intern
 * Emily Rose as Dr. Tracy Martin, ER Intern
 * Sam Jones III as Chaz Pratt, First Year Medical Student/Part Time EMT
 * Alexis Bledel as Dr. Julia Wise, ER Intern
 * Gil McKinney as Dr. Paul Grady, Second Year ER Resident
 * Bresha Webb as Dr. Laverne St. John, ER Intern
 * Julia Jones as Dr. Kaya Montoya, ER Intern
 * Perry Anzilotti as Dr. Ed, Anesthesiologist


 * Nurses
 * Deezer D as Nurse Malik McGrath
 * Laura Cerón as Nurse Chuny Marquez
 * Yvette Freeman as Nurse Haleh Adams
 * Lily Mariye as Nurse Lily Jarvik
 * Dinah Lenney as Nurse Shirley
 * Nasim Pedrad as Nurse Suri
 * Angel Laketa Moore as Nurse Dawn Archer
 * Mary Heiss as Nurse Mary
 * Mónica Guzmán as Nurse Marisol


 * Staff, paramedics and officers
 * Abraham Benrubi as Desk Clerk Jerry Markovic
 * Troy Evans as Desk Clerk Frank Martin
 * Tara Karsian as Social Worker Liz Dade
 * Emily Wagner as Paramedic Doris Pickman
 * Montae Russell as Paramedic Dwight Zadro
 * Lyn Alicia Henderson as Paramedic Pamela Olbes
 * Brian Lester as Paramedic Brian Dumar
 * Demetrius Navarro as Paramedic Morales
 * Louie Liberti as Paramedic Bardelli
 * Brendan Patrick Connor as Paramedic Reidy
 * Justina Machado as Officer Claudia Diaz
 * Christopher Amitrano as Officer Hollis
 * Demetrius Grosse as Officer Newkirk
 * Eddie B. Smith as Officer Jones


 * Family
 * Hallee Hirsh as Rachel Greene
 * Chloe Greenfield as Sarah Riley
 * Courtney B. Vance as Russell Banfield
 * Ellaraino as Marie Banfield
 * Daylon Adkison as Daryl Banfield (in flashback only)
 * Sam Jones III as Chaz Pratt
 * Dominic Janes as Alex Taggart
 * Amy Madigan as Mary Taggart
 * Shannon Woodward as Kelly Taggart
 * Andrew Gonzales and Aidan Gonzales as Joe Kovač
 * Kasey Mahaffy as Johnny Morris

Notable guest stars

 * Tony Hale as Norman
 * Brent and Shane Kinsman as Curly and Larry Weddington
 * Chadwick Boseman as Derek Taylor
 * Carl Weathers as Louie Taylor
 * Garry Marshall as Harry Feingold
 * Debra Mooney as Barbara Feingold
 * Christa B. Allen	as Jody Nugent
 * Leonard Roberts as Police Officer
 * Louis Gossett Jr. as Leo Malcolm
 * Ariel Winter as Lucy Moore
 * Wallace Shawn as Teddy Lempell
 * Judy Greer as Tildie Mulligan
 * Susan Sarandon as Nora
 * Rooney Mara as Megan
 * Ernest Borgnine as Paul Manning
 * Tom Arnold as The Big Kahuna
 * Noah Munck as Logan
 * Marilu Henner as Linda

Crew

 * Christopher Chulack – Executive producer
 * Michael Crichton – Creator/Executive producer
 * John Wells – Executive producer
 * David Zabel – Executive producer
 * Joe Sachs – Executive producer
 * Janine Sherman Barrois – Executive producer
 * Lisa Zwerling – Co-executive producer
 * Tommy Burns – Producer
 * Wendy Spence Rosato – Producer
 * Charles M. Lagola – Production designer
 * Arthur Albert – Director of photography
 * Martin Davich – Music
 * Randy Jon Morgan, A.C.E. – Editor
 * Mimi Leder, a frequent director during ER first two seasons, returned as a director for the episode "A Long, Strange Trip"
 * Rod Holcomb, the director of the 1994 pilot episode as well as several other early episodes, returned to direct two episodes in this season, among them the series finale
 * Paul McCrane, recurring cast member seasons 4 and 5, and series regular seasons 6–10, continues his affiliation with the show as director of two episodes this season