Doctor Odyssey is coming back after a long midseason break so here's what to remember about the hit ABC drama!
Premiering in September 2024, Doctor Odyssey has become a nice success for ABC on Thursday nights. The show last aired in December before going on a long midseason break. Thankfully, it returns on March 6 and, even better, will air the latter half of its first season without any breaks!
So far, there's no word on if the show is getting a second season, but we do have some fun to get to, so here's a quick reminder on what to know before Doctor Odyssey returns!
Welcome to the Odyssey
The show is set on the cruise liner The Odyssey, which does regular "theme" cruises centered around anything from fashion shows to wedding pirates to conventions. As the show opens, nurses Avery Morgan (Phillipa Soo) and Tristan Silva (Sean Teale) are preparing for another season when Captain Robert Massey (Don Johnson) informs them that the previous ship's doctor has been fired when his misdiagnosis of a patient led to an outbreak that forced the ship to be cleaned and mass refunds.
Replacing him is Dr. Max Bankman (Joshua Jackson), a top-notch surgeon. It seems odd that he'd join the ship, but Max's backstory explains it. He'd been "Patient Zero" for the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., hovering between life and death for weeks before recovering. He thus feels like taking an easier job.
It's not long before Max discovers that ship emergencies can often be quite serious and life-threatening and needs his skills and the aid of Avery and Tristian to save the passengers.
A romantic triangle unlike any other in Doctor Odyssey
From the start, sparks fly between Max and Avery and they do end up hooking up. They try to keep it professional with Tristian put out as he's long carried a torch for Avery himself. Even as all three try romances with various passengers, they're pulled into each other's orbit.
This led to the wildest romantic scene of 2024 TV. After a night of drinking and swapping stories, the trio sure enough hooked together in a "throple"." They tried to brush it off later as just one night, but it's obviously shaken up their dynamic.
Oh baby!
Things took a wild turn when Avery discovered she was pregnant but had no idea which of the men was the father. Max was eager to be part of a child's life, pushing Avery with help and questions.
In contrast, Trisitan wanted nothing to do with this, an attitude that threw Avery off. She's still keeping the kid and continuing her work but the clashes with the dads (and which one is the father) is going to be a big plotline.
Is it a dream in Doctor Odyssey?
There's an elephant in the room on Doctor Odyssey and that's the fan theory that's been growing since the show premiered: This is all a dream.
Viewers have latched onto how crazy the show is with the various medical disasters, the strange characters coming and going and how dreamlike it is. They thus believe this whole thing is a coma-stricken Max imagining the cruise. Or that the ship is somehow ferrying souls into the afterlife.
The cast themselves have noted the theory but are tight-lipped on whether it's true or not. Still, it adds a unique touch to the show and puts Doctor Odyssey ahead of other ABC dramas.
What's coming in the second half of Season 1?
The show returns on Thursday, March 6 with the start of a two-part tale where the ship is attacked by a wave of sharks. That will involve Adrianne Palicki as Dr. Brooke Lane, a trauma surgeon who helps the crew out.
Down the road, Shania Twain reprises her role as a guest romancing Massey, there will be a "Casino Week" episode and, biggest of all, Angela Bassett will guest-star as her 911 character of cop Athena. Also, it looks like some sort of illness hits the ship.
There will also be more of the relationship between the three main characters as Avery's pregnancy grows and more fun guest stars are still present. So get ready to set sail again as Doctor Odyssey continues its wild journey on ABC!
Doctor Odyssey returns on Thursday, March 6 at 9/8c on ABC.