Doctor Odyssey is the only show to not be renewed — or canceled — by ABC but what has caused the delay?
Disney Television Group president Craig Erwich weighed in on the future of the show ahead of the possible series finale on Thursday, May 15, telling TVLine, “Doctor Odyssey is not on our [fall 2025] schedule currently. We’re in talks with [series creator] Ryan [Murphy], and we really look to him about what the next chapter might be.”
Erwich noted that Murphy, 59, had a lot on his plate, which contributed to Doctor Odyssey‘s unclear future.
“Ryan’s extremely busy,” the ABC executive noted. “With 9-1-1, [the upcoming spinoff] 9-1-1: Nashville and he’s doing All’s Fair [for Hulu]. I know he’s working on a bunch of shows for FX that they’re really excited about, too.”
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According to Erwich, it is all up to Murphy. “I really love Doctor Odyssey, I think it’s a wildly inventive show, and we’re doing everything we can to support it,” he continued in a separate interview with Deadline. “That decision ultimately lies with Ryan Murphy, whether Ryan wants to continue to do it, and he feels like there’s stories to tell that he feels confident in.”
The outlet confirmed that a decision would have to be made by June when the options on the cast are set to expire. Doctor Odyssey, which premiered in September 2024, stars Joshua Jackson, Phillipa Soo, Sean Teale and Don Johnson as crew members working on a luxury cruise ship.
ABC’s update on Doctor Odyssey comes after the network announced that 9-1-1 will lead into spinoff show 9-1-1: Nashville on Thursday nights in the upcoming fall TV season. That slot was reserved for Doctor Odyssey as its future at ABC remained undetermined amid speculations that the show is expensive to produce.
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The medical drama marked Jackson’s return to TV with out-of-the-box medical cases and star-studded celebrity appearances.
“[Cocreator] Ryan [Murphy]’s imagination is prolific and bizarre in its ability to hold [space] for the absolutely grotesque and absurd — and then there are his lighter and happier shows. All of that being inside of one man’s imagination is amazing,” Jackson, 46, exclusively told Us Weekly in March. “I will say that for myself, I have wanted to work for Ryan for quite a long time.”
Jackson credited Murphy for being the reason why he joined Doctor Odyssey. “Ryan’s word was sparkle. He said, ‘Make sure that my show sparkles,’” he recalled. “And we have tried to make sure that this show sparkles as much as possible and just hope that the joy that we feel in performing it and doing it all together is what comes across while you’re watching it.”
Doctor Odyssey airs on ABC Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET and is available to stream on Hulu.
