The following post contains spoilers for the “Doc” Season 2 finale.
It’s very possible that Joan Ridley and Richard Miller will appear in Season 3 of Fox’s “Doc” — but we’ll likely see much less of them.
Following the medical drama’s sophomore finale on Tuesday (read our post mortem here), co-showrunner Hank Steinberg is setting viewers’ expectations for the potential returns of Felicity Huffman’s and Scott Wolf’s characters. Interestingly, it’s Huffman’s Joan — who was receiving end-of-life care in the finale’s closing minutes, after performing one last, life-saving surgery on Amy — who might pop up more frequently in Season 3, despite succumbing to her illness at the end of this season.
“Joan is pretty much at home in hospice care at the end,” Steinberg confirms. “That’s meant to be her swan song, and she’s bestowed her last pearls of wisdom onto Amy, and she injected herself with medication that knocked her out big time. That’s the heroic sacrifice, and that’s what we always conceived for her character.”
That said, “the good news is the show has flashbacks,” he adds, “and Joan is so woven into the fabric of Amy’s past that there’s always opportunities to bring Felicity back in the backstory.”
Dr. Miller’s return isn’t as certain
The future is a bit more unclear for Scott Wolf’s Dr. Miller, who appeared in only the second half of Season 2 after litigating his way back into a job at Westside Hospital. Though Richard seemed to have good intentions upon returning to work — that’s how Wolf saw it, anyway — he wondered in Tuesday’s finale if the Westside chapter of his career might have run its course.
“Whatever you do feel [toward me], I don’t think you’ll have to put up with me much longer,” Richard told Amy as she recovered from her aforementioned surgery. “I think it’s best if I just move on.”
“Don’t leave on my account,” Amy countered. “Everyone deserves a second chance, Richard. I just got a third.” The two smiled at each other, but Richard’s next move was ultimately left as a question mark.
“We adore Scott, we love the character of Richard Miller. He’s come to an interesting arc at the end there, and we’re still discussing internally,” Hank Steinberg shares. “If there’s an organic way to bring him back, we absolutely intend to do that. We’re still figuring it out.”
“Doc” was previously renewed in March for Season 3, which will again span 22 episodes. A premiere date will be announced later this year.
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