Felicity Huffman joins Fox‘s sophomore medical drama Doc Tuesday night as a ghost from Dr. Amy Larsen’s (Molly Parker) past.
Dr. Joan Ridley may be the new chief of internal medicine at Westside, but she’s also Amy’s former mentor, no doubt providing for an interesting dynamic as Amy works to regain her memory. Huffman calls her character an “outlier” and an “iconoclast” who “has a varied and questionable past” that enticed her to the role.
“I think she probably slept with one of the Rolling Stones and was in Somalia for Black Hawk Down,” Huffman joked to Deadline.
As for why she’s shown up at Westside?
“What she saw in Amy was really David Beckham of the medical field, and [she] wanted to champion her. So they’ve been friends and colleagues for a long time,” Huffman said. “Then there’s an opportunity for her to step into the chief of internal medicine role at Westside, and she picks up the gauntlet because she wants to make that hospital one of the best in the state or in the country, or possibly even in the world.”
As a series regular, audiences can expect Huffman’s Ridley to stick around throughout the season. However, audiences might need to keep an eye on her, since the character description offered by Fox also teases an ulterior motive, explaining that she also has a “secret” reason for being there.
No word yet on what that secret might be, of course. There will be plenty of time to hash that out, though, since Doc has a 22-episode second season ahead of it, up from 10 for Season 1.
Huffman says she would’ve been a “yes” regardless of the episode count, thanks to the “amazing dramatic premise.”
“The fact that we get 22 is certainly rare, and it just means you get 22 shots at doing it a little better and working on a little more and seeing what you did wrong and how you could improve,” she said.
Felicity Huffman is joining Fox’s medical drama ‘Doc’ as a mentor to Molly Parker’s Dr. Amy Larsen. Huffman tells Deadline what to expect from her as she “picks up the gauntlet” as chief of internal medicine at Westside Hospital pic.twitter.com/47gdrDB83Y
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) September 25, 2025
Doc, based on the Italian series Doc — Nelle tue mani, follows the story of Dr. Amy Larsen (Parker), the hard-charging, brilliant ex-Chief of Internal and Family Medicine at Westside Hospital, and her colleagues, loved ones and rivals who must navigate a new reality when she returns to work after a brain injury erases the past eight years of her life. The series mixes medical cases with an amnesia-fueled love triangle.
The series airs at 9 p.m. Tuesdays on Fox and next day on Hulu.