Fox has given a series order to the one-hour comedy
"Best Medicine", based on the popular British series
"Doc Martin". The US version will star
Josh Charles (
"The Good Wife",
"Sports Night") as the iconic character Doctor Martin Best, famously played by
Martin Clunes for almost two decades. The new show hails from writer/executive producer
Liz Tuccillo (
"Sex and the City",
"Divorce",
"Alaska Daily"). Wholly owned by Fox Entertainment, the series, produced by Fox Entertainment Studios, is slated to premiere during the 2025-26 season.
"Best Medicine" centers on Martin Best (Charles), a brilliant surgeon who abruptly leaves his illustrious career in Boston to become the general practitioner in a quaint East Coast fishing village where he spent summers as a child. Unfortunately, Martin's blunt and borderline rude bedside manner rubs the quirky, needy locals the wrong way, and he quickly alienates the town, even though he's all they've got.
Although Martin can expertly address any medical ailment or mystery in this idiosyncratic town, he's really just desperate to be left the hell alone. Instead, he keeps getting dragged right smack into the middle of their personal chaos, feuds and fantasies. What the locals don't know is that Martin's terse demeanor masks a debilitating new phobia and deep-seated psychological issues that prevent him from experiencing true intimacy with anyone. But tenacity is the creed of everyone in their small village, and the people who live there may be exactly what the doctor ordered.
Tuccillo,
Ben Silverman and
Rodney Ferrell (
"Stick") of Propagate Content will executive produce alongside the original series' producers
Mark Crowdy and
Philippa Braithwaite.
The original
"Doc Martin" was created by
Dominic Minghella and it premiered on ITV in 2004, running for 10 seasons. The series is available in the US on PBS and Acorn TV. The seaside village of Port Isaac, Cornwall where the series was filmed, has since become a popular tourist destination. So far, there have been six other international adaptations of the British series. Its format rights are being held by All3Media International, with France, Germany and Spain among the territories that have launched their own Doc Martin series.
"Doc Martin" was brought to the U.S. by Propagate Content, alongside All3Media International, taking Silverman back to his roots as an agent and then-producer focused on British format adaptations, including
"The Office", whose executive produced the NBC version.
Michael Thorn, President of Fox Television Network said the following:
"The story of Doc Martin has resonated worldwide with its humanity, originality, and humor, and with Best Medicine coming to Fox, that eccentricity gets a small-town America spin, complete with idyllic charm and absurdity. Liz, Mark, Philippa, Ben, and Rodney have done a terrific job adapting this signature character for the Fox audience, especially in casting the terrifically talented Josh Charles as our lead."
Silverman added:
"The entire Propagate team is thrilled to be working with Fox Entertainment on this extraordinary adaptation by Liz Tuccillo of the global hit Doc Martin. Josh Charles is the perfect lead for this brilliantly character-driven comedic procedural. Best Medicine is a world we'll all want to be part of."
