ABC has been making announcements regarding the rest of the 2025 TV schedule and beyond, renewing many shows, including Shifting Gears. So it’s a little concerning for Doctor Odyssey fans that while more 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy are coming, the fate of ABC’s third primetime Thursday series remains up in the air. One executive has spoken out about the network’s recent moves (or lack thereof, in this case), and his comments about Joshua Jackson’s bonkers medical series give me hope.
Ryan Murphy is known for his over-the-top, often-illogical plots, and I’ve grown somewhat fond of Doctor Odyssey, the campy high-seas drama that puts its characters into situations that are somehow both life-threatening and wildly unserious (take the nepo-baby-heavy “Spring Break” episode guest starring Ava Phillippe and Paris Jackson, for instance). Murphy has a lot of coals in the fire at ABC and Hulu these days, and network exec Craig Erwich gave some insight into what’s happening behind the scenes, telling Variety:
We love Doctor Odyssey. We’re still having creative conversations about the show with Ryan and evaluating. Ryan is very busy. He is working on a ton with us right now: 9-1-1, which continues to be one of the No. 1 shows on television. We just gave an expanded order to 9-1-1: Nashville. We have Chris O’Donnell in that. I think it’s a really unique setting for our flagship franchise. We just launched Mid-Century Modern. So, as he should be, he’s quite busy doing excellent work for us.
While it seems like ABC’s priority when it comes to Ryan Murphy creations lies with the 9-1-1 franchise — including the introduction of Chris O’Donnell’s 9-1-1: Nashville — the network is committed to the TV producer, and it sounds like they value his creative input. Craig Erwich continued:
Ultimately, we’re going to take our lead from Ryan about what that next chapter of Doctor Odyssey looks like. But we’re having creative conversations about it right now. He’s an amazing partner.
That’s surprising to me because I would have thought any questions regarding Doctor Odyssey Season 2 would come down to ratings and/or money, especially given the fact that Grey’s Anatomy faced budget cuts in its current 20th season, and viewers may be choosing between ABC’s two medical dramas on Thursday nights. However, Craig Erwich makes it sound like the ball is in Ryan Murphy’s court to decide if and how to proceed.
As the ABC boss said, Ryan Murphy is juggling quite a few projects, including his ongoing series with ABC and Hulu, the new 9-1-1 spinoff, Kim Kardashian’s legal drama All’s Fair (which will be available to stream with a Hulu subscription), and an upcoming FX body horror called The Beauty. I’m not sure if all of this is contributing to the lack of news regarding Doctor Odyssey, but I find hope in the fact that Murphy seems to be involved in and possibly leading the conversation about what comes next.
For now, we can at least enjoy what we have left, with new episodes of Doctor Odyssey airing at 9 p.m. ET on Thursdays on ABC and streaming the next day on Hulu.