While all eyes might have been on Fox’s overly promoted and flashier Rescue Hi-Surf heading into the 2024-25 TV season, it’s been another new Fox drama that has been the true victor this season and its efforts are being rewarded with a major renewal order! We’re referring to Fox’s new medical drama Doc, which has been quietly winning audiences over this season becoming a breakout hit for the network surfing past fellow newcomer Rescue Hi-Surf to take the crown as Fox’s No. 1 new series of the season!
Following the success of the show, Fox has handed out an early renewal to Doc just weeks before its season 1 finale, currently scheduled for March 18. In announcing the show’s renewal, Fox revealed the pickup is for a 22-episode season which is more than twice the number of episodes the show did in season 1 and is a major vote of confidence in the show.
“We are thrilled that audiences have embraced Season 1 of Doc,” Fox Television Network President Michael Thorn said in a statement. “Barbie and Hank have done an outstanding job bringing one of the most emotionally powerful series on television to life. Renewing for a second season was an easy decision, thanks to this incredible team, our partners at Sony, and an exceptional cast, led by the talented Molly Parker.”
While 22-episode orders used to be standard for broadcast, the episode count is becoming increasingly rarer in today’s industry with many broadcast shows’ seasons consisting of 13-18 episodes on average. In fact, Fox has not ordered a 22-episode season for a scripted original since its 2021-2022 season when it ordered 23 episodes for The Resident. What makes the 22-episode renewal order even more noteworthy is that Doc launched as part of Fox’s midseason lineup and it’s quite common for midseason originals to be renewed for a smaller second season rather than being given an extended pickup.
With Doc being renewed for a 22-episode second season, it seems to suggest that Fox will likely land a spot on Fox’s fall lineup rather than being held for midseason. CBS took a similar approach with Tracker a few seasons back with the show dropping during the midseason slate, becoming a breakout hit, and then landing a larger 22-episode season making the move to fall the following season.
Starring Molly Parker, Doc centers around Dr. Amy Larsen, whose life is turned upside down after she’s involved in a car accident that results in a brain injury that causes her to lose the memories of the last eight years of her life, and the doctors at Family Medicine at Westside Hospital who together must navigate the fallout that comes from her new reality. The series also stars Anya Banerjee, Jon Ecker, Omar Metwally, Amirah Vann, Patrick Walker, and Scott Wolf.
Fans who haven’t yet started the series can stream episodes of Doc on Hulu, and the series is definitely worth a watch bringing a little bit of everything set against the backdrop of the show’s unique storyline told through Dr. Larsen and the loss of her memories. There's a fun love triangle storyline, hospital scandals, and fun medical cases of the week that test the show's doctors in fun ways.