Once upon a time, television was overrun with hot doctors. Seriously, everywhere you looked, every channel you clicked onto, there was a hot doctor waiting for you to feast your eyes upon. But for some reason, that aspect of TV died off for a while. Granted, medical shows in general took quite a backseat for a long time asGrey’s Anatomycatapulted in popularity and basically ruled network television. But now we’re seeing an uptick of medical shows, and with it, more hot doctors and I’m just gonna say it:I think it’s exactly what the world needs right now.
Hot Doctors Were Once the Pinnacle of Television
With streaming services taking over and thus causing network ratings to plummet, one can be a bit apprehensive about starting to watch the latest hit show to hit the air. It’s become pretty clear thatGrey’s Anatomyisn’t going anywhere, for better or for worse, but there was once a time when medical shows and the hot doctors that led them ruled the screen. Perhaps the best example isER, which famously launched the career ofGeorge Clooney, aka one of the most swoon-worthy celebs out there. Alongside Clooney’s Dr. Ross,ERhad no shortage of heartthrobs, from Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) to Carter (Noah Wyle), Lockhart (Maura Tierney), and Benton (Eriq La Salle), Cook County General Hospital had it all.
Obviously, a show needs more than an attractive cast of characters to succeed, especially medical shows, since there’s such a spectacular history of them to live up to, but ultimately, I miss the simplicity of thirsting over the surgeons and nurses.What happened to the days ofMcDreamy(Patrick Dempsey)vs. McSteamy(Eric Dane)? Even the characters themselves were debating it, which brought an added level of enjoyment to the shtick of it.
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‘Doctor Odyssey’ Amplifies the Idea of Hot Doctors — and Sticks Them on a Boat
Like I said, a show,especially a medical show, needs far more than attractive characters to make it nowadays, whereas a series used to be able to skate by on nothing but cast charisma and cheesy storylines. It was simplistic, and while it can be rough to watch those kinds of shows back now, sometimes they’re exactly what is needed.TV is so serious nowadays; everything is true crime, loosely based on a true story, or so dramatic it’s hard to sit through sometimes. And while that seems to be what performs the best and what brings the acclaim now, it makes me miss the simpler days whenshows could balance their drama and mystique with totally off-the-wall storylines just because fans loved the characters.
The hot new seriesDoctor Odysseyseems to understand this, though it’s taking things to a steamy new level. The show has been hinting at romance between the characters Max (Joshua Jackson), Avery (Philippa Soo), and Tristan (Sean Teale), since the beginning. But rather than making the characters choose between one another and dragging out a love triangle — which, let’s be honest, is a little overdone at this point —the show opted to just have them engage in a threesome. It’s the first time a throuple has been depicted on network television andwhile it may be shocking, I admire it.It’s bold in a way we don’t see often anymore. Television plays things safe, which is fine for certain programs, but sometimes it’s nice to see series incorporate such bold storylines, like a throuple. And as controversial as it may be, the show is really playing into the “sexiness” of it in a way that isn’t exploitative but instead feels surprisingly natural. Besides, the worst part of a love triangle is someone always has to lose, butDoctor Odysseymakes sure that won’t be the case with the route it’s taking.
These are the kind of silly things we need on television from time to time. Not always, but every once in a while. Let’s stop taking things so seriously all the time and bring back the fun to medical shows (because yes, let’s admit it, they’re fun to watch). Hot doctors have always been a staple part of television, and if we’re thirsting over them again, I think that’s a good thing. It’s harmless fun, and itbreaks up the tension in what can be otherwise dark and heavy series, and reality in general. So keep on thirsting, shipping, crushing, whatever your heart desires; it’s healing.
Doctor Odysseyairs Thursdays on ABC in the U.S. and can be streamed the next day on Hulu.
Doctor Odyssey
WATCH ON HULU
