The zany ABC medical drama Doctor Odyssey might be pulling into the Port of Cancellation.
Doctor Odyssey, a series so wild that many theorized that the entire story is actually a fever dream, premiered in September 2024. Since then, the ABC program has made headlines thanks to its ethereal silliness and nonsensical logic. But Doctor Odyssey's funky voyage could soon come to a close.
Will Doctor Odyssey Be Canceled?
Deadline reported that, as ABC finalizes its Fall 2025 lineup, Doctor Odyssey stands a fair chance of falling victim to cancellation.
As the outlet explained, Doctor Odyssey's popular stars (Joshua Jackson and Miami Vice icon Don Johnson) don't come cheap. But on top of actor salaries, the series' production costs are astronomical as well.
When Doctor Odyssey premiered, hopes were quite high for a Season 2 renewal. Odyssey did impressive numbers upon its Fall 2024 debut, pulling in 4.2 million live and same-day viewers. That statistic ballooned to over 13 million viewers in the show's first week (via Deadline), which is not something that usually happens with network TV.
But since then, the Ryan Murphy-produced drama staggered, with viewership declining in subsequent weeks. It did get a bit of a ratings bump when Doctor Odyssey crossed over with another Murphy series, 911 on March 20.
But Angela Bassett's star power might still not be enough to rescue Doctor Odyssey from the televisual Grim Reaper. According to data from TV Series Finale, the most recent episode, "Sophisticated Ladies Week," grabbed roughly 3.4 million viewers.
This is a healthy metric, but it still fails to compare to the dazzling ratings of the series premiere, especially when measured against how expensive Doctor Odyssey is to make.
Officially, ABC has not made an announcement on Odyssey's future. But fans of Ryan Murphy's work have virtually no reason to fret; the super-producer has no shortage of projects that are either in development or already enjoying successful runs, including FX's venerable American Horror Story.
In fact, Murphy will have two series on ABC this fall: 911 (which is heading into a Spring hiatus of indeterminate length) and the all-new spin-off, 911: Nashville.
As for Doctor Odyssey, Deadline's sources maintain that the creative team may have seen the writing on the wall. Its May 15 season finale can easily double as a series finale, meaning that ongoing plot threads could be resolved in a somewhat satisfying fashion.
The next episode of Doctor Odyssey, "Spring Break," will air on ABC on Thursday, April 3 at 9 p.m. ET.
