SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Best Medicine Season 1, Episode 1.

FOX‘s Best Medicine is a healthy dose of laughs, prescribed by some of TV’s most underappreciated comic talents. The series premiere “Docked” effectively lays the groundwork for this American version of one of Britain’s most beloved series. But what makes it successful isn’t so much the source material as the people playing it.

First and foremost, it is a pleasure to have Josh Charles back in a leading role on television—particularly in a comedy. Especially off the back of his intense role in The Handmaid’s Tale (and the way it ended), it’s nice to see him in something completely different. But he’s done so well in those dramatic roles that he hasn’t been as recognized for being a master of dry, deadpan humor. Go back to his breakout role in Sports Night and you’ll see how well he was able to deliver sarcasm and then turn on a dime into something incredibly heartfelt and vulnerable. And that duality is what Best Medicine relies on. FOX couldn’t have cast any better than Charles, who also serves as a producer on the series. He even has a few Dick Van Dyke-esque moments of physical comedy.

And Charles isn’t the only Best Medicine star who deserves more credit for their comedy. Josh Segarra’s work as the aloof but well-meaning Sheriff Mark is reminiscent of the great performance he gave as Billy Cepeda in USA’s remake of Sirens, even though audiences will know him better from Arrow or Chicago PD. Abigail Spencer is recognizable from her roles in Grey’s Anatomy and Timeless, and the banter she has with Charles is a more lighthearted version of what she had with Gabriel Macht in Suits. She already understands the assignment of playing Martin’s foil and obvious love interest Louisa. Plus, one can never go wrong with Annie Potts, and Futurama‘s John DiMaggio makes a welcome appearance.

Best Medicine makes no bones about being a remake of Doc Martin; in fact, Doc Martin star Martin Clunes is already booked for a guest spot. And any regular watcher of TV knows the “big-city character returns to their small-town past” concept in general; that’s the general premise of many a Hallmark movie. Even viewers who have never heard of Doc Martin (which was itself based on Clunes’ character in the film Saving Grace) will be able to guess at plot and character developments. That element of predictability may not work for everyone. But this show isn’t meant to be complicated. Its intent is to create a community not only on-screen, but with the viewers as well, and in that sense it’s a rousing success.

That comes down to the cast, who are mostly tasked with playing quirky characters without overplaying said quirks. Cree, for example, portrays Martin’s receptionist Elaine as completely disconnected from her job—so it’s understandable when Martin fires her. As an outsider, it makes perfect sense. Viewers absolutely get Martin’s frustrations with the locals, helped by Charles’ ability to play that growing irritation by degrees. But when it comes time to serve up the expected moment that keeps Dr. Martin Best in Port Wenn despite all of this drama, Elaine is the character who lands it. Audiences see an authenticity to her and a vulnerability in Martin that gives Best Medicine meaning under all the jokes and gags. (Although if the show doesn’t tip its cap to another British classic, Fawlty Towers, and turn the Salty Breeze sign into a weekly gag, it’ll be a huge missed opportunity.)

The series is billed as a dramedy, but the comedy is more emphasized than the drama in this first episode, presumably because the show has to establish the differences between Port Wenn and the big cities of Boston or New York. Best Medicine also has ten seasons of Doc Martin stories it can play with, depending on how much Liz Tuccillo (Divorce) and her creative team want to stick to the source material. But they’ve already accomplished something being able to get the British sensibility to translate to the U.S. screen; just look at the ill-fated NBC remake of Coupling, which failed despite even utilizing the scripts from the British version. Best Medicine succeeds because it has a clear sense of what audiences expect, and a cast more than qualified to pull it off. It’s an awful lot of fun just to watch the actors work, and there’s something to be said for a TV series that feels as comfortable as this.

Perhaps the best compliment I can give Best Medicine is that I immediately went back and watched it again. Even though I’d just seen the premiere two hours earlier, the charm of the cast and the ease of how well the story came together made me want to see it again. Even if Dr. Martin Best isn’t sold on it yet, it does create the feeling of coming back home.

Best Medicine airs Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on FOX. Photo Credit: Courtesy of FOX.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.