Megan McLachlan talks to the cast of Doc on FOX about the very complicated character of Amy Larsen (Molly Parker) and how her accident affects everyone in her world.
Everyone knows Molly Parker from her stellar supporting work in House of Cards and Deadwood, but now on Fox’s Doc, she’s front and center, playing a doctor who’s lost 7 years of her memory after suffering a head injury.
“Every show, you find the qualities you can really lean into and have a good time with,” said Parker on the red carpet at SCAD TVfest. “We’ve been so lucky with this show. We have an incredible company of actors. People stand on red carpets and say, ‘We’re family,’ but we get along so well. And being the lead is creating that trust. It’s a wonderful role because I feel like I get to play two or three or four women all in one because we see her at all these different points in her life.”
What it was Like Shooting Doc’s Museum Reveal
When Parker’s Amy wakes up from her injury, she discovers the son she shares with her ex-husband Michael (Omar Metwally) has died — something she doesn’t remember. In a particularly poignant scene, Michael replays what happened the day tragedy struck at the natural history museum.
“It was a very challenging day,” said Metwally. “First, right out of the gate the fire alarm went off. There were dozens of children running around who would occasionally interrupt a take because they would have something to say,” he laughed. “There was construction and jackhammers.”
“It’s hard when you have really emotional work to do and you know it’s coming up,” said Parker. “Sometimes those obstacles can actually help in a weird way. You learn that in indie filmmaking. You gotta make it work for you.”
“The obstacles heighten the focus in a way,” echoed Metwally.
Doc’s Love Triangle Between Amy, Michael, & Jake
When we meet Amy in the pilot, she’s biting, angry, and bitter, with her entire medical team grumbling behind her back. It’s something the Fox promos didn’t necessarily lean into — that our protagonist is kind of an antagonist.
“I think that makes her human,” said Amirah Vann, who plays her bestie, Dr. Gina Walker. “The beauty of all the flashbacks is that we get to revisit so many times and periods of her life. We have access to all of who she is. I, as her best friend, have been through all of it.”
“It’s so fascinating to be working with a character who has secrets with herself,” said Anya Banerjee, who plays Dr. Sonja Maitra. “My character is trying to suss out this new relationship with the new Amy and have some opportunities for forgiveness and development.”
But one character who misses the old Amy — and maybe the only one who does — is Jake, played by Jon-Michael Ecker. When Amy wakes up, she doesn’t remember that they were a thing. How did he fall in love with her at her worst?
“We haven’t explored the backstory too much,” said Ecker. “I think she was a mentor to my character, so there’s that work side by side for a long time. There’s a little bit of that obstacle of cracking that hard shell and being the person who sees through that. It creates a connection that most likely builds over the years.”
Based on a True Story and an Italian TV Show
Doc is actually based on a true story — and also the Italian show Doc – Nelle tue mani.
Showrunner Barbie Kligman wanted to take that show and remake it with everything that made it special the first time, while also adapting it for American audiences — and its original.
“The Italian audiences can watch it and it’s like a whole new adventure for them,” said Kligman.
However, they made the hero a woman for a very specific reason, said executive producer Hank Steinberg.
“In the Italian version, the man was kind of a jerk,” said Steinberg. “The first thing I thought when I saw the material was let’s make it a woman, and let’s give a female character a chance to do that and not be more harshly judged than a man.”
Doc airs on Fox on Tuesdays at 9PM.
Been getting more into this show, Parker is terrific.