FOX Orders American “Doc Martin” Remake
FOX Entertainment has announced that it has ordered a brand new one-hour comedy series called “Best Medicine”, which is an American version of the critically acclaimed and beloved British show, “Doc Martin”. The series will star Multiple Emmy Award-nominee Josh Charles (The Good Wife, Sports Night) in the lead role as the peculiar and brilliant Doctor Martin Best.
The series centres on Martin Best, a brilliant surgeon who abruptly leaves his illustrious career in Boston to become the general practitioner in a quaint East Coast fishing village where he spent summers as a child. Unfortunately, Martin’s blunt and borderline rude bedside manner rubs the quirky, needy locals the wrong way, and he quickly alienates the town, even though he’s all they’ve got. Although Martin can expertly address any medical ailment or mystery in this idiosyncratic town, he’s really just desperate to be left the hell alone. Instead, he keeps getting dragged right smack into the middle of their personal chaos, feuds and fantasies. What the locals don’t know is that Martin’s terse demeanour masks a debilitating new phobia and deep-seated psychological issues that prevent him from experiencing true intimacy with anyone. But tenacity is the creed of everyone in their small village, and the people who live there may be exactly what the doctor ordered.
Michael Thorn, President of FOX Television Network, said in a statement regarding the new series:
“The story of Doc Martin has resonated worldwide with its humanity, originality, and humor, and with Best Medicine coming to FOX, that eccentricity gets a smalltown America spin, complete with idyllic charm and absurdity. Liz, Mark, Philippa, Ben, and Rodney have done a terrific job adapting this signature character for the Fox audience, especially in casting the terrifically talented Josh Charles as our lead.”
Propagate Content’s Ben Silverman added:
“The entire Propagate team is thrilled to be working with Fox Entertainment on this extraordinary adaptation by Liz Tuccillo of the global hit Doc Martin. Josh Charles is the perfect lead for this brilliantly character-driven comedic procedural. Best Medicine is a world we’ll all want to be part of.”
Wholly owned by FOX Entertainment, the series comes from executive producers Ben Silverman (The Office, U.S.), Rodney Ferrell (Stick), Howard T. Owens (Stick) Liz Tuccillo (Sex and the City), Mark Crowdy (Doc Martin) and Philippa Braithwaite (Doc Martin), and is set to debut in the 2025-2026 season. Based on All3Media International’s successful format Doc Martin, which was produced originally in the UK by Buffalo Pictures in association with Homerun Film Productions, and brought to American audiences by Propagate Content.
The show will premiere on the FOX channel during the 2025/26 season and due to a multi-year agreement between Disney and FOX, the show will be available the day after it airs on Hulu and Hulu On Disney+.
Roger’s Take: “Doc Martin” is one of the most popular drama series in the UK and has become an international sensation, with the local coastal town near me where they film it becoming a tourist destination with folks coming from around the world to see where it’s filmed. While not every British series remade by US studios works, occasionally they hit gold, such as “The Office”.
Are you looking forward to watching an American version of “Doc Martin”? Let me know on social media!
