FOX’s medical dramedy Best Medicine returned to air on September 20 after nearly six months off, opening its second season with a mermaid washing up in the fictional town of Port Wenn, Maine, guest star Andrea Martin, and Dr. Martin Best (Josh Charles) finally admitting his blood phobia to the townspeople. Ahead of the premiere, cast and crew gave a set tour in the Hudson Valley, walking through the show’s sound stages and answering questions about where the season is headed.
The visit included interviews with Josh Charles, Jason Veasey, Stephen Spinella, Cree, Didi Conn, executive producer Rodney Ferrell, who plays Stick, and showrunner Liz Tuccillo, known for Sex and the City, Divorce and Sweetbitter.
Martin and Louisa: still unresolved
Season 2 opens with Martin still together with Eden, and Louisa is set to have “sparks” with an incoming guest star. But Charles made clear the door isn’t closed. “Obviously, Martin has feelings for Louisa that he’s not always fully conscious of all the time, or he’s trying not to be,” he said.
“No matter what happens, no matter if she gets another love interest, I don’t think any of us have to worry that there’s still something there,” Ferrell said. “She’s patient with him, and listens, and doesn’t judge him. She’s actually okay with who he is.”
Tuccillo added that Louisa may end up in “another love triangle” this season since “she can’t just be sitting around pining for Martin for a whole other season.” Still, she said, “I think Louisa is the love of his life… he’s so damaged, it’s going to be a hard road to get them together. But they really are meant to be together.”
Geneva looking for love, Elaine headed to New York?
After Geneva’s husband cheated on her with her sister, Didi Conn is pushing writers for a new romance for her character — possibly with Franklin, the board president seen dancing with Geneva at a wedding. Tuccillo said Aunt Sarah will spend the early part of the season worried about Martin before turning her attention to her own love life in the back half.
Elaine, meanwhile, is dealing with a Juilliard rejection while her boyfriend Al (Carter Shimp) prepares to move to New York. Ferrell teased that Elaine “might actually even go to New York with Al in the season,” though he wouldn’t say how long she stays or whether she returns.
Karaoke, comfort shows and who breaks who
Actors weighed in on their characters’ karaoke picks: Cree said Elaine would sing “Bust a Move” and George would go with “I’m Still Here.” Veasey said Jason Veasey personally avoids karaoke unless paid, joking he’d perform “Ain’t No Sunshine” for a cash prize. Spinella said Steve is too anxious to sing, while Greg leans toward comedic Cole Porter numbers. Conn said flatly she wants no karaoke scene for Geneva: “No. Nope! Nope, no.”
Asked who makes them laugh most on set, Cree and Conn both named Josh Charles and Josh Segarra. Cast members also named who they’d like more scenes with, including Cree wanting more time with Veasey and Spinella’s characters, and Spinella wanting more with Annie Potts and Cree.
Comfort-show picks ranged from New Girl (Cree) and A Different World (Veasey) to old Mary Tyler Moore episodes and Seinfeld (Spinella), with Spinella praising Julia Louis-Dreyfus as one of the best living actresses.
New storylines and guest stars
Cree confirmed Elaine finally gets a medical ailment of her own this season, something she didn’t have in Season 1. Veasey said he’s hoping George develops foreign accent syndrome. Producers teased a magician-related episode, a town event called the Crate Race, and possibly Revolutionary War reenactors later on.
Guest stars include Andrea Martin as Judith, Aunt Sarah’s stubborn, chain-smoking friend; a Brooklyn pizza truck owner named Gina who cuts into The Salty Breeze’s business; and Jack Cutmore-Scott as Parker, one of Martin’s monitors who develops chemistry with Louisa. Martin Clunes returns later in the season as Dr. Robert Best, Martin’s father. Tuccillo said his return matters because it revisits “Martin’s original wound” tied to his mother, Rosemary. Charles said the character comes back alone around Episode 10 after some trouble at home.
Greg and George, now series regulars
Following their wedding in the Season 1 finale, Spinella and Veasey were promoted to series regulars. “To me, selfishly, it felt like it wasn’t just a wedding for Greg and George. It felt like the show was saying, ‘We really like you, Stephen and Jason, enough to do this and write this,'” Veasey said. Spinella added, “And an interracial, intergenerational, gay couple. We’re like triple transgressive!”
Tuccillo previewed more depth for the couple this season: “George might get sick for a minute. Greg might get deeply insecure. A family member of George’s might come to town and stir things up. Greg might do something shady, and George will be furious with him.”
Mark’s search for purpose, and trouble ahead for the town
Tuccillo said Mark will be “looking for love in all the wrong places this season” but should get “a win by the end of the season.” Ferrell described Mark questioning his role in town: “I’m the sheriff of this town. Am I taken seriously? What am I doing with my life?” Ferrell hinted at a more stable love interest possibly on the horizon for the character.
Port Wenn opens the season riding high on a uni boom that’s boosted The Salty Breeze, but Ferrell warned of turbulence ahead. “People are starting to get a little more comfortable,” he said, “but by the end of the season, there may be a storm.”
The Salty Breeze’s menu, spotted on set, includes a $250-per-person, five-course uni tasting menu. And in a lighter detail from the set visit, Port Wenn’s local paper is called The Port Wenn, Where, Why, And How — published weekly for $1.00 an issue.
