Don Johnson addresses the Doctor Odyssey dream theories and if they're true!

Don Johnson is opening up about Doctor Odyssey’s “dream” fan theory and if it’s true!

It’s been 40 years since Don Johnson exploded to stardom playing Sonny Crockett in the groundbreaking NBC hit Miami Vice. Johnson became one of the hottest actors on television in the cop drama with his terrific style and made the show iconic. 

Johnson would score another TV hit in the CBS cop series Nash Bridges. He’s added a few TV shows since, like Eastbound & Down, Watchmen, and more, and is still a respected name in television circles. 

Johnson is now enjoying a new act in his life, starring in the new ABC series Doctor Odyssey. He plays Captain Robert Massey, the head of the cruise ship who puts a good face on the various weekly antics. He has had some good banter with the guests, including one played by country music star Shania Twain. Massey has also handled things like a guest dying on the ship and casting a pall on things.

The latest episode put a bit more focus on Massey when his younger brother Craig (John Stamos) boarded as part of a Gay Week Cruise. Massey was thrown to find Craig was involved with two men at once, which echoed a similar “throple” occurring between Max (Joshua Jackson), Avery (Phillipa Soo), and Tristan (Sean Teale). Robert helped when Cragi seemed to be drinking again, only to find it was a side effect of new medication. 

Speaking to TV Insider, Johnson shared he was pulled into the show by creator Ryan Murphy and relished the part. 

"The most important part for me was to make the captain this compassionate empath figure who commands respect but doesn’t demand it. So often, we get in people of authority this hard-charging [figure]. I don’t see it that way. I see it as a family. I see it as a structure where we all come together, and we have a guy that we trust, and the reason we trust him is that he is authentic. Ryan told me I could do whatever I wanted with him, and I don’t think anybody was prepared for what I’ve actually designed here, but I’m very pleased with it, and there’s so much room for me to grow.”"

Johnson added that Massey is fully aware of the relationship between his doctors as “Massey knows everything.” Massey looks to be leading the way for the show, which also includes the growing theory among fans. 

Johnson speaks on the “Dream” fan theory in Doctor Odyssey

The backstory of the series is that Max was basically “Patient Zero” for the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. That had him hospitalized for weeks, and he is only now recovering. 

Fans are now speculating that the entire series is all a bizarre dream of Max as he hovers between life and death. They point out how the show unfolds like a dream with constant talk on the journey ahead and even the idea of other guests coming in and out as being shuttled to the afterlife with Massey as their leader. Johnson himself was asked about the theory and teased how true it might be. 

"I love that. I love that narrative. In full disclosure, it wasn’t something that we all sat around and said, ‘Oh yeah, this is a fever dream, and it’s the afterlife, and Max is dead.’ It could be that way … but they’ll find out way down the road. But this is pure fantasy — Doctor Odyssey is a dream. I think that that’s what’s so fascinating about it because we kind of let that work for us where we slide in and out of these dream-like sequences, and then it comes and then it gets very real. And it’s like having a dream.”"

Johnson shared there will be more great guest stars ahead and that viewers “will know they’re in for a hell of a ride.” So while Doctor Odyssey fans continue to debate how real the show is, Johnson seems set to keep up as its skipper for a while. 

Doctor Odyssey airs Thursdays at 10/9c on ABC.