Best Medicine has Abigail Spencer caught in a fictional love triangle between Josh Charles and Josh Segarra — but how will it continue to play out on screen?
While speaking exclusively with Us Weekly during a set visit, Spencer, 44, discussed how Best Medicine differs from Doc Martin, which is the inspiration for the Fox show.
“So much of that is in the calibrating of the writing. I think [executive producer] Liz Tuccillo is doing a great job. You will see differences from the original Doc Martin. That show was not really built on a love triangle with a will-they, won’t-they,” Spencer, who plays Louisa, noted. “It’s much more spread out and earned. I think great TV is will-they, won’t-they. So how do you really believably do that over time and navigate that?”
The actress praised the show for pulling off a heartwarming story.
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“It’s great. It’s inherently in the scripts. It’s just finding those details. Like Liz and I labored over, ‘When does she go from calling him Dr. Best to Martin because of that familiarity?’” Spencer recalled. “So we’re still navigating that. But I love that the detail is top of mind all the time. I think hopefully that’s what people will feel is that nuance.”
Best Medicine, which airs on Tuesday, January 6, follows a doctor who “moves from the city of Boston, Massachusetts, to a small practice in the East Coast fishing village where he vacationed as a child,” according to the official synopsis.
“Everybody loves Louisa. She’s the town schoolteacher. I would say she’s also the town’s tempest,” Spencer teased to Us. “Louisa has always played by the rules, done the right thing and she’s kind of shaken things up by calling off her eight-year engagement with the sheriff.”
Spencer hinted that Louisa’s recent decisions will be “disruptive to the town” of Port Wenn, adding, “It’s fun to see her in an interesting pivot in her life. It makes space to maybe meet someone new. … But there is inherent conflict in the fact that they just broke up and then constantly see each other all the time because that is how small the town is.”
She continued: “Also they are best friends, so I think it’s painful. They love each other and they’re like two peas in a pod. But they just might not be the right fit for each other romantically.”
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There’s also Charles’ Dr. Martin Best, who finds himself drawn to Louisa after moving to Port Wenn. Outside of her personal life, Louisa will grow as the town’s schoolteacher.
“There is a big reveal of Louisa getting promoted — potentially. That’s what I love about it is there might be something really good happening but also something kind of bad happening at the same time, which is funny and how everyone deals with it,” she hinted. “You see her at school a lot. You see her with people and it is really a community — seeing people interacting. People do things together but you can’t get away from everyone. The show really is about community. How do you navigate relationships — positive and negative — and keep them healthy?”
Best Medicine airs Tuesdays on Fox at 8 p.m. ET.
