ER season 6

The sixth season of the American fictional drama television series ER first aired on September 30, 1999, and concluded on May 18, 2000. The sixth season consists of 22 episodes.

Plot
In the first major cast change in ER, the sixth season sees the addition of four new characters: Dr. Luka Kovač; nurse, later third-year medical student, Abby Lockhart; Dr. Cleo Finch; and Dr. Dave Malucci. Paul McCrane's Robert Romano is now billed as a series regular and we also see the return of Deb Chen from season one, now preferring to be called Dr. Jing-Mei Chen. Physician Assistant Jeanie Boulet leaves to care for her HIV-positive child. Lucy Knight and John Carter are attacked and stabbed by a psychotic patient. The ER staff work to save Carter and Lucy. Despite everyone's best efforts, they are unable to save Lucy who succumbs to her wounds and dies.

In addition Croatian doctor Luka Kovač joins the team and struggles to gain the respect and trust from his new colleagues in the ER. Hathaway struggles to begin parenting on her own, then decides to leave Chicago to begin a new life with Doug Ross. Greene and Corday begin their relationship and he deals with the death of his father. Abby Lockhart begins her third-year-med-student rotation. While still recovering from the violent attack that left him near death and killed Lucy, Carter develops an addiction to pain medication, forcing Greene, Chen, and Weaver along with Benton and the other doctors into an intervention to get Carter to realize that he's an addict. Carter then accepts that he's an addict and checks into a rehab in the season finale with Benton accompanying him. This season saw the exits of Julianna Margulies, Gloria Reuben and Kellie Martin as series regulars.

Main cast

 * Anthony Edwards as Dr. Mark Greene – Attending Emergency Physician
 * Noah Wyle as Dr. John Carter – PGY-3 ER Resident
 * Julianna Margulies as Carol Hathaway – RN and Nurse Manager (episodes 1–21)
 * Gloria Reuben as Jeanie Boulet – Physician Assistant (episodes 1–6)
 * Laura Innes as Dr. Kerry Weaver – Chief of Emergency Medicine
 * Alex Kingston as Dr. Elizabeth Corday – Associate Chief of Surgery
 * Kellie Martin as Lucy Knight – Fourth-year Rotating Medical Student (episodes 1–14)
 * Paul McCrane as Dr. Robert Romano – Chief of Staff and Chair of Surgery
 * Goran Visnjic as Dr. Luka Kovač – Attending Emergency Physician
 * Maura Tierney as Abby Lockhart – Third-year Rotating Medical Student and Registered Nurse (episodes 12–22)
 * Michael Michele as Dr. Cleo Finch – PGY-2 Pediatrics Junior Resident
 * Erik Palladino as Dr. Dave Malucci – PGY-2 ER Junior Resident (episodes 2–22)
 * Ming-Na as Dr. Jing-Mei Chen – PGY-3 ER Resident (episodes 10–22)
 * Eriq La Salle as Dr. Peter Benton – Trauma/SCC Fellow

Supporting cast

 * Doctors and Medical Students
 * Alan Alda as Dr. Gabriel Lawrence – Attending Physician
 * Sam Anderson as Dr. Jack Kayson – Chief of Cardiology
 * Amy Aquino as Dr. Janet Coburn – Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology
 * John Aylward as Dr. Donald Anspaugh – Surgical Attending Physician, Hospital Board Member
 * John Doman as Dr. Carl DeRaad – Chief of Psychiatry
 * Michael Buchman Silver as Dr. Paul Meyers – Psychiatrist
 * Scott Jaeck as Dr. Steven Flint – Chief of Radiology
 * David Brisbin as Dr. Alexander Babcock – Anesthesiologist
 * Tom Gallop as Dr. Roger Julian – Chief of Genetics
 * Perry Anzilotti as Dr. Ed – Anesthesiologist
 * Megan Cole as Dr. Alice Upton – Pathologist
 * Stephanie Dunnam as Dr. McLucas
 * Randy Lowell as Dr. Dan Shine


 * Nurses
 * Ellen Crawford as Nurse Lydia Wright
 * Conni Marie Brazelton as Nurse Conni Oligario
 * Deezer D as Nurse Malik McGrath
 * Laura Cerón as Nurse Chuny Marquez
 * Yvette Freeman as Nurse Haleh Adams
 * Lily Mariye as Nurse Lily Jarvik
 * Gedde Watanabe as Nurse Yosh Takata
 * Dinah Lenney as Nurse Shirley
 * Bellina Logan as Nurse Kit
 * Kyle Richards as Nurse Dori Kerns
 * Suzanne Carney as OR Nurse Janet
 * Lucy Rodriguez as Nurse Bjerke
 * Morris Chestnut as ICU Nurse Frank "Rambo" Bacon
 * Jeannie Lee as Nurse Vivian
 * Elizabeth Rodriguez as Nurse Sandra
 * Mary Heiss as Nurse Mary


 * Staff, Paramedics and Officers
 * Erica Gimpel as Social Worker Adele Newman
 * Kristin Minter as Desk Clerk Miranda "Randi" Fronczak
 * Troy Evans as Desk Clerk Frank Martin
 * Andrew Bowen as Desk Clerk Andrew
 * Pamela Sinha as Desk Clerk Amira
 * Jeff Cahill as Transport Dispatcher Tony Fig
 * Emily Wagner as Paramedic Doris Pickman
 * Montae Russell as Paramedic Dwight Zadro
 * Lyn Alicia Henderson as Paramedic Pamela Olbes
 * Demetrius Navarro as Paramedic Morales
 * Brian Lester as Paramedic Brian Dumar
 * Michelle Bonilla as Paramedic Christine Harms
 * Meg Thalken as Chopper EMT Dee McManus
 * Mike Genovese as Officer Al Grabarsky
 * Cress Williams as Officer Reggie Moore
 * Chad McKnight as Officer Wilson
 * David Roberson as Officer Durcy
 * Joe Basile as Officer Tom Bennini


 * Family
 * Khandi Alexander as Jackie Robbins
 * Lisa Nicole Carson as Carla Simmons
 * Matthew Watkins as Reese Benton
 * John Cullum as David Greene
 * Yvonne Zima as Rachel Greene
 * Judy Parfitt as Isabelle Corday
 * Frances Sternhagen as Millicent Carter

Notable Guest stars

 * Rebecca De Mornay as Elaine Nichols
 * Emile Hirsch as Chad Kottmeier
 * David Krumholtz as Paul Sobriki
 * Liza Weil as Samantha Sobriki
 * Shia LaBeouf as Darnel Smith
 * Anton Yelchin as Robbie Edelstein
 * George Clooney as Dr. Doug Ross (uncredited)
 * Randolph Mantooth as Policeman at school
 * Vincent Kartheiser as Jesse Keenan
 * Martha Plimpton as Meg Corwin
 * Mitch Pileggi as Terry Waters
 * Gabrielle Union as Tamara Davis
 * Dakota Fanning as Delia Chadsey

Production
Original executive producers John Wells and Michael Crichton reprised their roles. Lydia Woodward also returned as an executive producer but left the crew with the close of the season. Long-time crew member and fifth season executive producer Christopher Chulack moved on to executive produce Wells' new series Third Watch but remained a consulting producer for ER. Fifth season supervising producers Jack Orman and Neal Baer were promoted to co-executive producers for the sixth season. R. Scott Gemmill joined the crew as a supervising producer and writer. Fifth season producers Penny Adams and Wendy Spence Rosato returned for the sixth season. Fifth season co-producers Richard Thorpe and Jonathan Kaplan were promoted to producers for the sixth season. They were joined by new producers Doug Palau and Patrick Harbinson. Palau left the crew mid-season and Adams and Harbinson left at the end of the season. Michael Salmunovich returned as a co-producer and Teresa Salamunovich joined the crew, initially as a production co-ordinator but was promoted to associate producer mid-season. She was joined by new associate producer Vicki Voltarel who was on staff for the second half of the season only.

Wells and Woodward continued to write episodes and Wells contributed two episodes while Woodward wrote three. Orman wrote four episodes and Baer, Harbinson, and Gemmill each wrote three. Series medical expert and fifth season story editor Joe Sachs was promoted to executive story editor for the sixth season and he wrote a further two episodes. Regular writer Linda Gase replaced him as story editor and contributed a further episode. New writer Sandy Kroopf wrote a single episode.

Producers Kaplan and Thorpe served as the seasons regular directors; Kaplan directed five episodes and Thorpe helmed three. Cast members Laura Innes and Anthony Edwards each directed a further episode. Returning directors were Lesli Linka Glatter, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Christopher Misiano, David Nutter, and Steve De Jarnatt. New directors include Ken Kwapis, Marita Grabiak, medical consultant Fred Einesman, Kevin Hooks, and Peter Markle.