Best Medicine Season 2 Release Date: Josh Charles Returns in the Hit Doc Martin Reboot

Fans of Best Medicine will not have long to wait for another visit to Port Wenn.

The hit medical comedy-drama returns for Season 2 on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026 at 8/7c on FOX, with a new 14-episode season bringing Dr. Martin Best and the residents of his small Maine community back to our screens. New episodes will also be available to stream on Hulu the following day.

It is a quick return for a show that only premiered in January 2026. FOX has good reason to bring it back so soon, with the network saying the show attracted 16 million multiplatform viewers with its debut.

But there is another reason Best Medicine has caught the attention of so many viewers. The series is the American adaptation of the much-loved British show Doc Martin, and the connection between the two versions has become even stronger thanks to the involvement of original star Martin Clunes!

What Is Best Medicine About?

Josh Charles stars as Dr. Martin Best, a talented surgeon who leaves a successful career in Boston and moves to Port Wenn, Maine, the small fishing village where he spent summers as a child.

Martin may be brilliant when it comes to medicine, but dealing with people is another matter entirely. He is blunt, impatient and not especially interested in making his patients feel good about themselves.

Unfortunately for Martin, the residents of Port Wenn are exactly the sort of people who expect their local doctor to become involved in every part of community life.

There is also one rather serious problem. Martin has developed a phobia of blood.

It is hardly ideal for somebody who could be called upon to deal with an injury, accident or medical emergency at any moment, and it gives Best Medicine one of the central ideas that fans of Doc Martin will immediately recognize.

The show mixes medical stories with comedy, romance and the lives of the people around town. Port Wenn itself soon becomes almost as important as Martin, with familiar faces appearing again and again as their lives become mixed up with that of their increasingly frustrated doctor.

Who Is in the Best Medicine Cast?

Josh Charles leads the cast as Martin Best. I may be showing my age here but I first fell in love with him in Dead Poets Society in 1989 (surely it can’t be that long ago!!), and years later when he turned up as Will Gardner in The Good Wife, my inner teen was overcome with joy.

In Best Medicine however, he has the chance to play a very different type of character – but one that is no less lovable.

Abigail Spencer stars as local schoolteacher Louisa Gavin, whose relationship with Martin is one of the main stories running through the show.

Josh Segarra plays Sheriff Mark Mylow, Louisa’s former fiancé, while Young Sheldon and Designing Women favorite Annie Potts plays Aunt Sarah, Martin’s aunt and a local lobster woman.

Cree plays Martin’s assistant Elaine Denton, with Stephen Spinella and Jason Veasey appearing as Greg Garrison and George Brady, the married couple behind local restaurant The Salty Breeze. Both Spinella and Veasey have been promoted to series regulars for Season 2.

The supporting cast also includes Didi Conn (Frenchy from Grease) as Geneva Potter, Clea Lewis as Sally Mylow, John DiMaggio as Bert Large and Carter Shimp as his son Al.

There is even a scene-stealing dog named Copernicus who has decided that Martin’s attempts to be left alone simply do not apply to him.

The American Version of Doc Martin

The whole idea behind Best Medicine comes from the hugely successful British series Doc Martin.

The ITV show began in 2004 and starred Martin Clunes as Dr. Martin Ellingham, a gifted but bad-tempered doctor who leaves London and becomes the local GP in the fictional Cornish village of Portwenn.

Ellingham also suffers from a phobia of blood and has very little patience for social niceties, and the series also built a long-running romance around Martin and local schoolteacher Louisa, while the strange, funny and sometimes touching lives of Portwenn’s residents became a huge part of the show’s appeal.

Doc Martin eventually ran for ten seasons, with the final regular season airing in 2022 before a Christmas special said goodbye to the characters.

Much of the show was filmed in the real Cornish fishing village of Port Isaac, which became instantly recognizable to fans.

Best Medicine keeps the basic setup but moves the story across the Atlantic. Port Wenn is now in Maine, while Martin Best arrives from Boston rather than London.

There are still plenty of familiar ideas and even some familiar character names, including Bert and Al Large, but the American show has also started to build its own identity.

Martin Clunes Brings Everything Full Circle

Perhaps the best link between the two shows came during the first season when Martin Clunes himself arrived in Port Wenn.

Rather than simply making a quick cameo, the original Doc Martin was given a major connection to the new version, playing Dr. Robert Best, Martin Best’s father.

He first appeared in Season 1 Episode 9, appropriately titled Doc Martin, when Martin’s parents made an unexpected visit. The episode even found father and son having to work together during a medical emergency.

It meant viewers were effectively watching the original Doc Martin standing alongside the actor who has taken over that type of role for a new generation. Even better, it was not simply a one-off appearance.

Martin Clunes will return as Robert Best in Season 2, giving the show more time to explore the uneasy relationship between Martin and his father.

Where Is Best Medicine Filmed?

I personally have a small obsession with finding out where TV shows are made (You’re Killing Me is another one set in an impossibly fabulous coastal town). And, although Port Wenn is supposed to be in Maine, Best Medicine is actually filmed in New York’s Hudson Valley.

The village of Cornwall-on-Hudson is one of the main locations used to create the fictional coastal community, and filming returned there for Season 2 during summer 2026, with scenes shot around places including Donahue Memorial Park and Painters Restaurant.

What Will Happen in Best Medicine Season 2?

Season 2 has plenty to deal with following the events of the first-season finale. Martin’s blood phobia has now created much bigger professional problems, and Josh Charles has confirmed that the doctor will have to deal with monitors sent by the state board of health.

Dr. Eden Montgomery will also have a greater presence in Port Wenn, which is unlikely to make Martin’s already complicated personal life any simpler.

Martin Clunes returning as Robert Best adds another family story, while the larger 14-episode order should give the supporting residents of Port Wenn more time in the spotlight.

That means more medical emergencies, more town disputes, more problems for Martin and, almost certainly, plenty more interference in his life from people he would much rather leave outside his office.