‘Doctor Odyssey’: Don Johnson on the Show’s Throuple, That Fan Theory & Finally Working With John Stamos

[Warning: The following post contains spoilers about Doctor Odyssey‘s latest episode, Episode 7, “Oh, Daddy!”]

Ever since the maiden voyage of Doctor Odyssey this fall, Don Johnson‘s Captain Robert Massey has been everyone’s cheerful guide to the show’s joyous — and yes, sometimes injury- and illness-prone — escape on the titular ship. Never has the authentic goodness of his character been clearer than in Thursday (November 14) night’s episode, “Oh, Daddy!”

Yes, for Gay Week, the Odyssey welcomes a bevy of out and proud guests who the crewmembers are happy to mingle and flirt with. One of those passengers is Massey’s own brother Craig, portrayed by John Stamos. Though the captain is expecting to meet just one boyfriend of Craig, he brings along two striking beaus — effectively echoing the steamy throuple situation that’s unfolding with the medics after Max (Joshua Jackson), Avery (Phillipa Soo), and Tristan (Sean Teale) decided to give into that all that sexual tension between them in last week’s segment. Though initially surprised, Robert doesn’t miss a beat in welcoming another man into the family. And that’s not even the most charming thing he does this episode.

As we learn, Craig is an alcoholic. His recovery is a major point of pride for Robert, who helped to raise him as a kid but learned more from his younger brother about unconditional love and acceptance thanks to his journey to sobriety. When Craig repeatedly exhibits behavior indicating intoxication, Robert holds his hand and offers understanding and compassion as his lab results indicate a high blood-alcohol content. When his brother still insists that he didn’t drink, though, Robert is the first one leading the charge to — correctly — establish another reason for his brother’s symptoms. 

So why is the captain so quick to believe his brother with all signs pointing to the contrary? As Johnson told TV Insider, “I think he’s probably been through this with him many, many times before. Alcoholism is a very challenging affliction, and it’s a disease of relapse … I imagine Robert has had this experience with his brother before, and I tried to make him not lecture, not be judgmental, not be critical, just be loving and concerned.”

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That attitude is something that’s become the modus operandi of the good skipper and the show as a whole. And that transportative spirit is clearly resonating with audiences, as the show has so far earned 16.5 million pilot views in its first month on air and streaming, with a 169% increase in weekly viewership in the weeks after the premiere. 

According to Johnson, the actor had the green light from creator Ryan Murphy to craft the captain’s persona as he saw fit. “The most important part for me was to make the captain this compassionate empath figure who commands respect but doesn’t demand it. So often, we get in people of authority this hard-charging [figure]. I don’t see it that way. I see it as a family. I see it as a structure where we all come together, and we have a guy that we trust, and the reason we trust him is that he is authentic,” he said. “Ryan told me I could do whatever I wanted with him, and I don’t think anybody was prepared for what I’ve actually designed here, but I’m very pleased with it, and there’s so much room for me to grow.” 

The character’s radiation of radical acceptance may even be part of why his medics have taken their thro-mance to the next level. In last week’s episode, “I Always Cry at Weddings,” he tells the trio, “Everybody needs love — all kinds of love,” which seems like a tacit bit of permission for what’s about to happen between them.

Disney/Tina Thorpe

“The captain knows everything,” Johnson joked about that scene. “He may not have known it at the time, but after the fact, for sure he knows because he knows everything that’s going on on that ship.” In fact, Johnson cautions fans against restricting that polyamorous relationship to just those three guys. “If the show stays on the air for as long as I think it will, you never know about the captain. He’s still pretty vital. You never know. You never know,” Johnson said with a laugh.

Johnson gives all credit to Murphy for assembling such a chemistry-fueled crew. “His genius, if I can be so bold, is that Ryan is a master at identifying compatible energies and putting them together,” he said. “We all have this similar kind of joyful energy where there’s a great trust that we’ve been instantly, and you can only credit that to Ryan’s ability to read the innate energy of people.”

It doesn’t hurt, of course, that the show has become a revolving door of all-star guest stars. “We love it because each week, we get to share our toys and play with our toys with people we love, and it’s very family-like around there,” Johnson explained. “People that come into the show, they all say, ‘It’s the greatest experience of my career’ because we just keep it fun. We keep it moving. There’s not a lot of nonsense because I’ve been around a tick, and Josh has been around a tick, and Pippa and Sean look to us for guidance… Josh and I are so hooked up and so supportive of each other that we just create this environment where, ‘You’re safe here, man. You are safe here. You can do whatever the hell you want barring any other issues.’“

When it comes to this week’s guest stars in particular, it marked a major first for Johnson, who’d somehow never shared the screen with Stamos despite them both being legends of the small screen for decades: “He’s a really good actor and brought some really cool authenticity to the character. And we sort of made something out of things that maybe weren’t necessarily on the page.” Johnson also has high praise for long-time Murphy collaborator Cheyenne Jackson, saying, “He’s just so present. He’s got such a great energy about him.”

Speaking of great energy, the airy nature of some of the scenery and dialogue bits has led to many fan theories, including one in which Captain Robert Massey is some heavenly version of Virgil, leading his passengers into the afterlife. 

“I love that. I love that narrative,” Johnson said in reaction. “In full disclosure, it wasn’t something that we all sat around and said, ‘Oh yeah, this is a fever dream, and it’s the afterlife, and Max is dead.’ It could be that way … but they’ll find out way down the road.”

“I like things where they’re not familiar to me. And Miami Vice was one of those. Nash Bridges was one of those. Even though they were both sort of similar to other cop shows, they were completely different. Miami Vice was much darker and sort of the overwhelming nature of the drug trade, and Nash Bridges was a lot lighter because it was San Francisco, and I formatted it after The Bob Newhart Show, and I designed the dialogue and everything to be more like My Girl Friday, the great Frank Capra film,” Johnson continued. “But this is pure fantasy — Doctor Odyssey is a dream. I think that that’s what’s so fascinating about it because we kind of let that work for us where we slide in and out of these dream-like sequences, and then it comes and then it gets very real. And it’s like having a dream.”

As for what’s next as our collective travels continue through the season? “I can tell you this: As far as I can see, when you get to the end of this season, you’re gonna know that you’re on a hell of a ride.”

Doctor Odyssey, Thursdays, 9/8c, ABC

If you or someone you know has addiction issues, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration‘s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.