New series Dr. Odyssey by Ryan Murphy with Joshua Jackson ordered by ABC

Ryan Murphy is quickly expanding his presence on ABC. The network has given a straight-to-series order to its Dr. Odyssey. As with any Ryan Murphy series, no details about the premise are revealed. As the title suggests, Dr. Odyssey is a medical series. According to sources, it takes place on a cruise ship. That was the setting of Murphy's disaster-themed premiere episode of 9-1-1 this season on ABC, and it also harkens back to television classic The Love Boat.



Jackson (pictured) stars in the lead role and is executive producer. The drama, which launches in the fall, comes from 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television.

Dr. Odyssey was written and produced by Murphy, Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken. The latter two have collaborated with the prolific creator, writer and director on several projects, including American Horror Stories and Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans. The duo is also working together on an upcoming legal drama and horror series Grotesquerie with Kim Kardashian.

Murphy associate Paris Barclay is affiliated with Dr. Odyssey as director and executive producer. Barclay has earned multiple Emmy nominations for his work with Murphy, including most recently for Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and previously for the Fox musical series Glee.

Eric Paquette, Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson and Nissa Diederich also produce.

This marks the first new ABC series assignment for Murphy since the award-winning showrunner reunited with Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden last year when he returned to his previous studio at 20th Television, now an affiliate of ABC and part of Disney TV Studios.

Murphy's first series on ABC, 9-1-1, which moved to the network after six seasons on Fox, got off to a strong ratings start with the start of season seven, which drew 8.85 million viewers after three days of viewing on ABC, Hulu and others digital platforms.

Murphy, known for successful series such as Nip/Tuck, Glee, Monster and American Horror Story and its offshoots, is interested in classic procedural stories and wants to expand his presence in the genre beyond his first effort, the successful 9-1-1 franchise, which also includes 9-1-1: Lone Star, heading into its fifth season on Fox.

A medical procedural series for ABC would be a natural next step for him. These procedural series are also gaining traction on streaming. Murphy's first greenlit series since returning from Netflix to 20th TV was a legal drama for Hulu starring Kardashian, described as a high-end, glossy and sexy adult procedural.

He also recently announced Grotesquerie, a new horror series for FX starring Niecy Nash-Betts, Courtney B. Vance and Lesley Manville.

At Disney, Murphy also has American Horror Story: Delicate starring Kardashian and Emma Roberts, the second part of which releases on Wednesday, April 3, and the upcoming Gladiator: American Sports Story, starring Josh Andrés Rivera as Aaron Hernandez – both for FX.

On Netflix he has the second season of the horror drama The Watcher and the anthology series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story about the brothers of the same name who were convicted in 1996 of murdering their parents.

Jackson comes from the Paramount+ Original series Fatal Attraction, based on the 1987 film of the same name. Jackson played Dan Gallagher, a character played by Michael Douglas in the film, opposite Lizzy Caplan. Before that he played the real-life serial killer Dr. Christopher Duntsch in the Peacock anthology series Dr. Death.

This marks a return to television for Jackson, who got his break as Pacey Witter on the WB drama Dawson's Creek and later starred in Fox's Fringe. Other series include Hulu's Little Fires Everywhere, Netflix's When They See Us and Showtime's The Affair.