Joshua Jackson has addressed a wild new fan theory that, if correct, would mean a huge twist is in store for his Disney Plus drama, Doctor Odyssey.
The Canadian-American actor stars in Ryan Murphy’s US medical drama as Max Bankman, a new doctor working on board a luxury cruise ship, opposite Phillipa Soo, Sean Teale and Don Johnson.
The show also features a number of guest stars, including Shania Twain,Glee actor Chord Overstreet, Amy Sedaris, Margaret Cho, country singer Kelsea Ballerini, John Stamos and Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson.
While the show has received mixed reviews due to its storyline, fans of the show believe they have uncovered a hidden plot twist.
In a Reddit thread, one viewer speculated that Dr Max and everyone else on the ship are “stuck between life and death” in a kind of purgatory: “When the doc and his crew save a life, that person passes on.”
They noted: “In a recap before episode two, they edit together the captain literally saying, ‘This ship is a dream. It’s your job to keep everyone alive.”
“I think it’s fair to say we don’t know, right?” Jackson, who rose to fame in the Nineties on hit teen drama series Dawson’s Creek, said when questioned about the theory by Radio Times.
“The only brain that has the answer to that question is Ryan [Murphy]. However. As a fan of science fiction, if that is where we go, I fully support it.”
Jackson’s remark about not knowing where the show will go likely refers to the fact that the first season is still in production.
It has proved to be divisive among viewers, some of whom have called out its “incredibly stupid” storyline.
“This show is incredibly stupid, but I love it,” one said.
Critics have also given mixed reviews, as they point out its evident attempt to emulate hit medical dramas such as House, starring Hugh Laurie.
The Guardian called it “hilariously bad” but gave it five stars, writing: “Characters do not develop, shifts in relationships make no emotional sense.” For one scene, critic Lucy Mangan wrote: “I have no words.”
“But at the centre of everything, it has Joshua Jackson performing some kind of miracle; playing his part in absolute good faith, pitching it perfectly no matter what new narrative or tonal bonkersness is unfolding around him, grounding it somehow, and yet transcending it at the same time,” she said.
By contrast, the Evening Standard called it a “shipwreck of a show” in a one-star review that said: “Unless you like serious crap TV, or really enjoy watching those in-flight safety videos, this is not worth watching. Sorry, Dr Odyssey, but your maiden voyage should probably be your last.”
Doctor Odyssey is available to watch now on Disney Plus.
