FOX is starting the new year with a pair of medical-themed series, including Best Medicine, a US adaptation of the long-running British show Doc Martin. The network is positioning it as part of a broader winter lineup that also brings back Doc, the medical drama inspired by Italy’s Doc – Nelle tue mani. While FOX has had success with character-driven medical series in the past, Best Medicine approaches the genre with a more comedic angle, built around the quirks and complications of its central doctor rather than high-stakes hospital politics.
Josh Charles leads the cast as Martin Best, a surgeon who abruptly leaves a prestigious Boston career to return to the small East Coast fishing town where he spent his childhood summers. Instead of joining a busy medical team, he takes on the role of the town’s lone GP, effectively trading workplace clashes for tense patient interactions. According to the show’s synopsis, Dr. Best’s blunt, often abrasive approach quickly alienates many of the residents who depend on him. The premise echoes certain elements of House, though the setting and tone shift the dynamic toward offbeat, small-town friction rather than hospital-based conflict. The character will also take on medical puzzles throughout the season, but the show positions his expertise as a contrast to his desire to avoid getting pulled into the town’s problems.
Best Medicine is scheduled to debut Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at 8 p.m., leading into Doc’s second season at 9 p.m. FOX is also preparing the launch of Memory of a Killer, a thriller centered on a contract killer whose life unravels after a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s. That series marks Patrick Dempsey’s first network-TV role since his long tenure on Grey’s Anatomy, further expanding the network’s midseason roster.
The cast of Best Medicine includes another familiar Grey’s Anatomy alum: Abigail Spencer, who portrayed Dr. Megan Hunt in 15 episodes of the ABC drama. Here she plays Louisa Glasson, a local resident who regularly clashes with Dr. Best. She joins a lineup that features Annie Potts, Josh Segarra, and Cree in series-regular roles. Recurring cast members include Didi Conn, Clea Lewis, Stephen Spinella, Jason Veasey, John DiMaggio, Carter Shimp, and Cindy De La Cruz. In a nod to the show’s origins, Doc Martin star Martin Clunes will appear as Dr. Robert Best, the lead character’s father, though not reprising his original role.
Best Medicine was created by Dominic Minghella, with Liz Tuccillo attached as writer. Executive producers include Ben Silverman for Propagate Content, along with Doc Martin producers Mark Crowdy and Philippa Braithwaite. With a premiere date now set and a first trailer released, FOX is clearly betting that a lightly comedic medical series anchored by a difficult but capable doctor can find space alongside the network’s more traditional dramas.
