Joshua Jackson explains his character’s backstory inDoctor Odyssey.Doctor Odysseyis a new medical series by legendary TV creator Ryan Murphy. It features Jackson as a cruise ship doctor named Doctor Max Bankman, who works with a medical team to solve various problems that happen miles off of the coast.Doctor Odysseyaired its pilot episode yesterday, on September 26, and will continue to air episodes weekly through December. In addition to Jackson,Doctor Odysseyfeatures a leading castincluding Don Johnson, Phillipa Soo, Sean Teale, and Noah Fearnley.
In an interview withTheWrap, Jackson speaks on his character inDoctor Odyssey, including his backstory. He delved further intothe connection between the main character and COVID-19, saying that Dr. Max’s place is “a metaphor for where we all have been.” Speaking more on the common experience of COVID-19, he referred to the pandemic as a “traumatic event” that we as a society have gone through “collectively together.” As a result, he felt that theDoctor Odysseypilot was “a beautiful launching episode for the show.” Check out the full quote from Jackson below:
Speaking of that specific character beat, it’s both a specific reason why he’s doing the thing that he’s doing. But I think it’s also, in Ryan’s eyes, a metaphor for where we’ve all have been. Nobody got out untouched by COVID, and whether you were in a pod with other people, whether you were isolated, whether you got it early, whether you got it late or God forbid you lost somebody — we all have gone through this radical and, just to use therapy speak, traumatic event collectively together. I don’t know anybody who didn’t, at some point during that, reassess their life.
I think it’s a beautiful launching episode for the show, because I just feel like we all were there. Not all of us decided to go work on a cruise ship, but all of us thought about it, “Maybe I do need to just start again” or “Maybe I’ve just been quietly getting through but not really living my life.” Everybody’s been in the spot that Max is at, and that’s what launches the show. That’s the mission here: Let’s all collectively exhale, turn the page and commit to life.
What This Means For Jackson’s Doctor Odyssey Character
Max’s Backstory Could Be A Throughline
During this quote, Jackson is speaking specifically about an aspect of Max Bankman’s backstory that was revealed in the first episode ofDoctor Odyssey. During the pilot, it is revealed that part of Dr. Max’s impetus to work on the cruise ship and seek anewfound joy in his life was because of his history of surviving COVID-19. This was not something that was known about in the series based on theDoctor Odysseytrailers, but it is a surprising aspect of his character that instantly recontextualized things for the character.
Taking the personal approach with Dr. Max is working so far, and it will be interesting to see how this unfolds throughout the season.
Jackson’s description suggests that this backstory might keep coming up throughout the rest ofDoctor Odyssey. While Jackson says specifically that it is “a beautiful launching episode,” he spoke at great length regarding the gravity of these themes. Said themes include the thought process that “Maybe I do need to just start again,” which is exactly what Max Bankman does inDoctor Odyssey. This theme of renewal and recovery from collective trauma could easily be a motif throughout the season.
Doctor Odyssey Adapts To COVID-19 Well
The Medical Setting Pushes Them To Address COVID
Making a medicalshow post-COVIDis a challenge, and I think thatDoctor Odysseyseems to be taking a good approach to the challenge. As I watched shows throughout the pandemic, I witnessed shows likeSuperstoreaddress these issues while other series tried to pretend that they weren’t there.Doctor Odysseyis in an interesting spot as it takes place after COVID, but tackles an industry hugely affected by this pandemic. Taking the personal approach with Dr. Max is working so far, and it will be interesting to see how this unfolds throughout the season.
Doctor Odyssey
Cast
Doctor Odyssey is set aboard a luxury cruise ship where Max, the new on-board doctor, and a small, resourceful medical team confront unique medical crises and interpersonal dynamics while isolated miles from shore.
