(Photo: Disney/Pari Dukovic)
The doctor is “out” and won’t be back for ABC‘s 2025-26 TV season. Doctor Odyssey has been essentially cancelled as the cast’s second season option expire. The first season of 18 episodes finished airing last month.
A medical drama series, the Doctor Odyssey TV show was created by Ryan Murphy, Jon Robin Baitz, and Joe Baken. The series stars Joshua Jackson, Don Johnson, Phillipa Soo, and Sean Teale. In the story, Dr. Max Bankman (Jackson) is the new on-board doctor for a luxury cruise ship. On board, Captain Robert Massey (Johnson) and his staff work hard and play even harder. It’s all-hands-on-deck as Max and his small but mighty medical team — Nurse Avery Morgan (Soo) and Nurse Tristan Silva (Teale) — navigate unique medical crises and each other, miles from shore. Guests in the first season include Shania Twain, John Stamos, Gina Gershon, Kelsea Ballerini, Chord Overstreet, Cheyenne Jackson, Laura Harrier, and Justin Jedlica.
Airing on Thursday nights, the first season of Doctor Odyssey averaged a 0.26 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 3.05 million viewers (includes DVR playback through 3:00 AM).
The series started strong (in today’s ratings world), but it lost steam over the course of the season. Of the Alphabet Network’s nine scripted series this season, Doctor Odyssey ranked eighth in the demo and seventh in viewers. The series is reportedly expensive to produce, so given the ABC ratings, it’s not a surprise that the network has let the cast options expire.
According to Deadline, the show from Ryan Murphy could return at some point, on ABC, Hulu (it’s popular for the streamer), or elsewhere. Murphy is said to be weighing his options but regardless will continue to have two shows on ABC next season — 9-1-1 and new spin-off 9-1-1: Nashville.
What do you think? Have you stuck with the Doctor Odyssey TV show? Are you disappointed this series wasn’t renewed for a second season on ABC?
Check out our ABC status sheet to track the alphabet network’s new series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.