Doctor Odyssey’s fate is in purgatory at ABC, but any future developments need to keep a few major issues in mind. Though there were loose ends after the Doctor Odyssey finale, there are currently no plans for season 2 on ABC’s fall 2025 primetime schedule. As such, it’s possible we’ve already seen the last of the Odyssey’s melodramatic medical crew.
Yet, the onus of Doctor Odyssey’s season 2 status rests on creator Ryan Murphy, who reportedly didn’t confirm his interest due to uncertainty regarding the procedural’s creative direction. An understandable concern, considering the memorable mishaps of the drama’s pilot year. Regardless, Doctor Odyssey still deserves a season 2— if for no other reason than to learn from its past mistakes.
7
Ignoring Vivian’s Character
She Could Have Added So Much To The Plot
Doctor Odyssey started with an intimate focus on four main characters— Joshua Jackson’s Max Bankman, Phillipa Soo’s Avery Morgan, Sean Teale’s Tristan Silva, and Don Johnson’s Robert Massey. In Doctor Odyssey season 1, episode 3, however, Vivian Montgomery (Laura Harrier) joined the ship as its new chef. Subsequently, her appearances were rare but felt deeply important to the overarching plot.
Vivian offered a breath of fresh air as Tristan’s secondary love interest, but Tristan and Vivian’s romance in Doctor Odyssey disappeared almost completely in the second half of the season. In fact, Vivian had only one appearance in the second batch of episodes: “Crew Week,” where it seems as though she and Tristan are in a healthy, somewhat exclusive relationship.
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Vivian then gets vulnerable, asking Tristan to take their relationship to the next level. The chef wraps the request in a loaded speech about how much Tristan has grown, which ironically prompts Tristan to realize how little he has grown in reality. Doctor Odyssey never shows the end of their relationship, but it’s implied that Tristan broke her heart.
Sadly, Vivian is never seen again after the breakup, leaving her character to be remembered as nothing other than Tristan’s former fling. Doctor Odyssey did Vivian a disservice by limiting her to being a mere accessory to Tristan, especially since she could have offered so much depth as a full-blown character, head chef, and member of the ship’s crew.
6
Wasting Phillipa Soo’s Broadway Background
Avery Even Mentioned Theater Camp
Doctor Odyssey’s cast was filled with familiar names and faces, but Phillipa Soo had a particularly large following due to her history as a Broadway darling. Soo originated the role of Eliza in the smash-hit musical Hamilton and has had leading roles in Broadway productions, such as Amélie Poulain in Amélie, Cinderella in Into The Woods, and Guenevere in Camelot.
Doctor Odyssey even includes a nod to Soo’s impressive career in episode 6. When the medical trio discuss their bucket list items, Avery mentions her theater camp past and how she wanted to be on stage. While the conversation could have simply been a reference to Soo, it seemed to suggest a Doctor Odyssey musical episode was a future possibility.
Unfortunately, Doctor Odyssey never let Avery sing. I’d understand not wanting to commit to the production of an entire musical episode, but they could have easily incorporated a karaoke night or musical theater week aboard the Odyssey. Aside from flexing Soo’s amazing vocal ability, Doctor Odyssey could have returned to Avery’s childhood dream and given her a chance to perform.
5
Having Multiple Two-Parters
It Took Time Away From More Important Plots
As a freshman procedural, Doctor Odyssey needed to build a strong foundation if it had any hope of long-term success on ABC. Considering it directly followed 9-1-1, a beloved first-responder procedural, Doctor Odyssey already needed to work twice as hard to set itself apart and prove its merit. Rather than perfect the basics, however, Doctor Odyssey employed multiple two-part episodes.
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The issue with breaking up storylines into two parts is that it leaves the series at a standstill until it returns, robbing other plots of their development. Sadly, neither of the two-parter in Doctor Odyssey season 1 was effective. The shark/orca attack saga introduced exciting new characters, only to write them off immediately and never mention them again.
Similarly, the earthquake/tsunami final emergency seemed more like a ploy for action sequences than an actual high-stakes disaster. Doctor Odyssey tried to bend its genre via two-part events, but it only resulted in a confusing mix-match of storylines and tones.
4
Following Max To His Hometown
The Cruise Ship Setting Is Doctor Odyssey’s Hook
Considering Doctor Odyssey’s luxury cruise ship setting was its unique aspect, it felt odd when the show suddenly split in two— one storyline aboard the ship and another in the suburbs. The purpose was to show Max’s dilemma between joining a hospital in need or staying on the Odyssey. Following Max onto land, however, completely changed Doctor Odyssey’s feel.
Seeing Max perform emergency care in a hospital rather than a cruise ship, where there’s the constant threat of turbulent waters or marine predators, was uncanny. The entire episode was a strange glimpse into what Doctor Odyssey would be like as a typical medical drama. Arguably, seeing Max in a traditional medical setting took away from Doctor Odyssey’s charm.
3
Writing Off Avery & Heather’s Pregnancies For A Twist
Every Storyline Should Feel Intentional
There were plenty of celebrity guest stars in Doctor Odyssey’s pilot season, but none impacted the plot as much as Shania Twain’s Heather. The widowed passenger first appeared in “Singles Week” and later returned in “Sophisticated Ladies Week” to rekindle her fling with Captain Massey. After a sweet reunion, Heather dropped a bombshell that she was pregnant with Massey’s child.
Likewise, Avery learned she was pregnant in “Quackers,” the midseason finale of Doctor Odyssey. Unlike Heather, though, Avery didn’t know who the father of her baby was, since she had a threesome with Max and Tristan in episode 6. The tight-knit medical team tried to navigate the news peacefully, but the pregnancy only made everything more complicated.
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In one fell swoop, however, Doctor Odyssey wrote off both its pregnancies and abruptly cut off the storylines. Heather experienced a miscarriage and was never seen or heard from again, while Avery discovered she was never actually pregnant in the first place. Doctor Odyssey backtracked with ease, making the storylines feel pointless and cruelly abandoning the plots without true closure.
2
Not Leaning Into Its Absurdity
Doctor Odyssey Shouldn’t Be Afraid Of Its Camp Factor
From the Love Boat-adjacent premise to the ridiculous theme weeks in Doctor Odyssey, there was always something pleasantly absurd about the medical drama. Unfortunately, Doctor Odyssey failed to fully commit to its camp factor, a decision that only worked against the series in the end. Serious storylines felt out of left field, while the silly subplots felt too tame.
As a result, Doctor Odyssey trapped itself in lukewarm waters by forcing a loose sense of professionalism.
Doctor Odyssey could have cemented itself as a modern classic if it had embraced its quirkiness and exaggerated it. Instead, the procedural tried to amp up action, romance, and adventure while taking itself a little too seriously to succeed at any of it. As a result, Doctor Odyssey trapped itself in lukewarm waters by forcing a loose sense of professionalism.
1
Dragging Out The Love Triangle
The Convoluted Romance Got Stale Fast
Without a doubt, the most out-of-place storyline in Doctor Odyssey season 1 was the love triangle between Avery, Max, and Tristan. From the very first episode, Doctor Odyssey set up Max and Tristan as romantic rivals, both interested in Avery. After their threesome, however, Avery wanted to be a throuple, while both men expressed their desire for monogamy.
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The drama continued to unfold with each passing week as Doctor Odyssey’s most pointless subplot continued to regress character development and keep its characters trapped in toxic cycles. Avery would reject Tristan, Tristan would “get over” his crush, Max would deem himself above it all, only to go backwards as Max and Tristan professed their love for Avery yet again.
Doctor Odyssey only freed Tristan and ended the exhausting love triangle in the season 1 finale, which now may be the series finale. There’s always the possibility that Doctor Odyssey will be renewed in future network TV cycles, but there’s honestly no point if the medical drama doesn’t learn from its past and correct its most egregious mistakes.
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Doctor Odyssey
- Release Date
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2024 – 2025-00-00
- Directors
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Maggie Kiley, Crystle Roberson, Jennifer Lynch, Michael Medico, Millicent Shelton, Tessa Blake, Bradley Buecker, Steven Canals, Our Lady J
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Joshua Jackson
Dr. Max Bankman
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Phillipa Soo
Avery Morgan
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