{"id":390526,"date":"2026-04-09T21:21:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/390526\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T21:21:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T21:21:16","slug":"best-medicines-josh-charles-doesnt-have-the-magic-formula-for-success-but-fox-has-good-news-after-the-season-1-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/390526\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Medicine’s Josh Charles Doesn’t Have The ‘Magic Formula’ For Success, But Fox Has Good News After The Season 1 Finale"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"<\/p>\n

Credit: Francisco Roman\/FOX<\/p>\n

Warning: spoilers are ahead for the Season 1 finale of Best Medicine on Fox in the 2026 TV schedule<\/a>, called \u201cNorway No How\u201d and available streaming with a Hulu subscription<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The first season of Best Medicine has come to an end, after thirteen episodes of drama, comedy, and just enough rom-com to start a love story on Fox<\/a>. While there were plenty of similarities to Doc Martin, the British show that inspired the new American series, Josh Charles has led the cast into making this version unique in its own way. And I don\u2019t just mean because the last two episodes of the season heavily involved Norway and salmon!<\/p>\n

The Good Wife cast<\/a> vet opened up to CinemaBlend during Season 1 about what makes Best Medicine work, as well as his role as the straight man in a town full of shenanigans. Taken alongside some good news from Fox, fans have a lot to be happy about\u2026 even if they had to leave off the Season 1 finale on some cliffhangers.<\/p>\n

Josh Charles Doesn\u2019t Have A Magic Formula<\/p>\n

I spoke with Josh Charles at SCAD TVfest<\/a> in Atlanta this year about Best Medicine, which joined Doc to give Fox a double dose of medical TV shows on Tuesday nights. Although the newest series didn\u2019t break records quite like Doc did<\/a>, it built a healthy audience as the American version of a beloved British show. So, why does that translation from British TV to American work so well for Best Medicine, when it hasn\u2019t necessarily worked for other shows? Charles shared :<\/p>\n

I don’t know. It’s not a question that I really feel like I can answer, because I don’t have the magic formula. But I think certainly, around this time in the world, I think just having a show that isn’t violent. It’s just sort of a place where you could just enjoy sitting with for an hour a week, with warmth and kind of humor and lightness that seems [great.]<\/p>\n

Just because Josh Charles is the star doesn\u2019t mean he has a secret recipe for what has made Best Medicine resonate with audiences, but I have to agree that the charm of Port Wenn does deliver some very welcome \u201cwarmth\u201d and humor. As somebody who spends many of my other weeknights of primetime watching grisly crime dramas, I can\u2019t help but look forward to my hour of Best Medicine.<\/p>\n

\"Martin<\/p>\n

Credit: Francisco Roman\/FOX<\/p>\n

But what about Charles, who doesn\u2019t generally portray any of the zany shenanigans of the town, other than the blood phobia that the EP wanted to avoid making \u201ccartoony\u201d<\/a> in Season 1? I asked the actor that very question, and he shared:<\/p>\n

It’s fun. I mean, I think he’s kind of a mixed character, because I think he’s part straight man, part kind of the engine that his actions can drive a lot of the townspeople’s comedy, and I think he’s kind of a bit of a fool at times, and physically. I think it’s just trying to ground it in his truth so these all feel like real people.<\/p>\n

Martin does deliver plenty of laughs even as the straight man of the series, and Best Medicine does it in a way that doesn\u2019t necessarily make him the butt of the joke. The show wouldn\u2019t be as entertaining if the good doctor was just as goofy as the townspeople all the time, so hopefully that won\u2019t change moving forward.<\/p>\n

Because thankfully, Best Medicine is moving forward.<\/p>\n

Fox’s Great News For Best Medicine<\/p>\n

Fox isn\u2019t making fans head into summer hiatus on the question of whether or not Best Medicine will be back to settle whether Louisa and Mark will have a baby together, what the future holds for Martin and Eden, and \u2013 most worryingly of all \u2013 what consequences Martin (and Elaine) will face for her drawing blood for him without a license. The show has already been renewed for Season 2.<\/p>\n

Best Medicine was in fact renewed for Season 2 a full month before the Season 1 finale aired, with Deadline<\/a> reporting back in early March that the show would be back for 12 more episodes in the 2026-2027 TV season. While that means a slightly shorter run than the 13-episode first season and a likely return in early next year rather than the fall with Doc, it\u2019s good news to be able to count on more episodes.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, you can always revisit the full first season streaming on Hulu. The show is episodic enough to enjoy just one installment at a time, but I\u2019m tempted to see just how much fun it is as a binge-watch over summer hiatus<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[93827,102073,30081,103,61,60,102074,371],"class_list":{"0":"post-390526","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-best-medicine","9":"tag-doc-martin","10":"tag-fox","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-josh-charles","15":"tag-medication"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}