Joshua Jackson Debuts as ‘Doctor Odyssey’ in Trailer for Ryan Murphy ABC Series

Joshua Jackson has boarded the Odyssey.

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In his return to network TV, Jackson plays Dr. Max Bankman in Ryan Murphy’s next ABC series, Doctor Odyssey premiering Sept. 26. The premise of the series has been largely kept under wraps. But now a trailer and synopsis introduces the prolific showrunner’s next TV offering.

Described as a high-octane procedural, Doctor Odyssey follows Max (Jackson), the new on-board doctor for a luxury cruise ship where the staff “works hard and plays harder. It’s all-hands-on-deck as Max and his small but mighty medical team navigate unique medical crises and each other, miles from shore.”

The trailer (below) introduces Max’s on-board medical team played by Phillipa Soo , Sean Teale and Don Johnson, who are joined by star-studded guest stars Shania Twain, John Stamos, Gina Gershon, Kelsea Ballerini, Chord Overstreet, Cheyenne Jackson, Laura Harrier, Stephanie Suganami and Justin Jedlica.

Doctor Odyssey is the first network series for Jackson since Fox’s Fringe ended in 2013. After breaking out on Dawson’s Creek in the late 1990s, he most recently starred in Paramount+’s Fatal Attraction and the first season of Peacock’s anthology Dr. Death .

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The series is the first new broadcast show from Murphy’s production company since 911: Lone Star premiered on Fox in early 2020. Murphy’s ABC slate also include that flagship, 911 . Over at FX, Murphy is launching the latest offering from his American Story franchise with American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez . Next up he has his Monsters anthology for Netflix with Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and FX horror series Grotesquerie .

“It is a beautiful, shiny, glossy fantasy from Ryan Murphy,” Jackson told The Hollywood Reporter at the 2024 Emmys when describing the series. “I’ve just seen the first two episodes and the chemistry of the cast is great, we’re getting along like a house on fire. The storylines are fast. It’s Ryan Murphy dialogue, so it has that sizzle and crackle to it. The situations are outlandish and over the top and the sets are beautiful. The clothes are beautiful. It’s a happy place to be for an hour.”

He also praised Murphy’s “hell of an imagination” and ability to jump back and forth from the two distinct sides of his work, with Doctor Odyssey finding its place in the latter. “He has the very, very dark side and then he has the lighter, comedic, sometimes musical side of him. And he’s able to do both with equal genius.”

Doctor Odyssey is produced by 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television, and is written and executive produced by Murphy, Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken. Jackson and Johnson are executive producers. Paris Barclay directs and executive produces. Eric Paquette, Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson and Nissa Diederich are also executive producers.

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