Best Medicine is an American medical comedy drama television series based on the popular British television series Doc Martin created by Dominic Minghella. The show premiered on Fox on January 4, 2026. In March 2026, Fox renewed the series for a second season which is slated to premiere on September 20, 2026.
Contents
Premise
Brilliant but brusque Dr. Martin Best moves from a prestigious hospital position in Boston to a private practice in the small fishing village of Port Wenn, Maine, where his aunt lives and where he summered as a child. As he solves mysteries behind unusual health conditions affecting the townsfolk, he struggles to integrate with them, as well as dealing with his past: he walked away from being a surgeon in Boston after developing a pathological blood phobia, resulting from an operation on a young girl that reminded him of his older sister, Rosemary, who died in a car accident as a child.
Cast
Main
Josh Charles as Dr. Martin Best, MD, a successful and brilliant Harvard Medical School-educated heart surgeon with a lack of bedside manner and a severe blood phobia. He is straightforward with patients, delivering diagnoses and advice without protecting their feelings, though he is no less concerned about their health. He had an older sister named Rosemary who died in a car crash when they were children, inspiring him to pursue medicine, and he developed his phobia when operating on a young girl who reminded him of Rosemary. He is based on Dr Martin Ellingham.
Abigail Spencer as Louisa Gavin, a schoolteacher. She is based on Louisa Glasson.
Josh Segarra as Mark Mylow, the town's sheriff and Louisa's ex-fiancé.
Cree as Elaine Denton, Dr. Best's administrative assistant who wants to become a YouTube influencer.
Annie Potts as Aunt Sarah, Dr. Best's aunt and the local lobster woman
Recurring
Stephen Spinella as Greg Garrison, the proprietor of The Salty Breeze, the village's seafood restaurant, who refers to himself and his husband, with whom he owns a pet pig named Brisket, as the "Dynamic Duo"
Jason Veasey as George Brady, Greg's husband and the executive chef of The Salty Breeze
Carter Shimp as Al Large, Bert's son and coworker who becomes interested in Elaine
John DiMaggio as Bert Large, a local contractor
Clea Lewis as Sally Mylow, the town's pharmacist and Mark's mother
Michael Potts as Gilbert Carlisle, Dr. Best's first patient upon arrival in town
Didi Conn as Geneva Potter, a senior Port Wenn resident
Ben Lewis Doherty as Peter Cronk, one of Louisa's students who loves astronomy and with whom Dr. Best has much in common
Patch Darragh as Glendon Ross, Dr. Best's childhood bully and current archenemy
Cindy De La Cruz as Jeannie
Alexandra Sica, Leah Janae, and Josh Hoon Lee as Harley, Amelia, and Liam, three intimidating teens from Port Wenn
Wattson as Copernicus, an initially unnamed stray dog who repeatedly enters Dr. Best's house against his wishes, causing locals to mistake him as Dr. Best's pet. He is given the name Copernicus by Peter.
Jack Cutmore-Scott as Parker (season 2), Louisa's new love interest
Episodes
Production
Development
On May 9, 2025, Best Medicine received a straight-to-series order from Fox. The series is wholly owned and produced by Fox Entertainment. Doc Martin was brought to the United States by Propagate Content, alongside All3Media. The American adaptation is written and executive produced by Liz Tuccillo. Propagate's Ben Silverman is an executive producer with Rodney Ferrell, Tuccillo, and Doc Martin executive producers Mark Crowdy and Philippa Braithwaite.
On March 2, 2026, Fox renewed the series for a 12-episode second season, which was later expanded to 14 episodes.
Casting
The cast is led by Josh Charles as Dr. Martin Best. In July 2025, Abigail Spencer, Josh Segarra, Annie Potts, and Cree joined the main cast. In September 2025, Didi Conn, Clea Lewis, Stephen Spinella, Jason Veasey, John DiMaggio, Carter Shimp, Cindy De La Cruz, and Wattson (a dog) were cast in recurring roles. In October, it was announced that original Doc Martin star Martin Clunes would appear in the role of Martin Best's father. In August 2026, it was reported that Jack Cutmore-Scott joined the cast in a recurring capacity for the second season.
Filming
On August 5, 2025, it was reported that the series began filming in Cornwall, New York.
Broadcast
The series premiered on Fox on January 4, 2026. The second season is scheduled to premiere on September 20, 2026.
Reception
The series holds a 77% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 13 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Best Medicine may not refine the medical procedural genre, but it does offer something far more enchanting; compassion, heart and a charming lead that graces all." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 56 out of 100 based on five critics, indicating "mixed or average".
