Checking Back in With Doc Martin of ‘Best Medicine’

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“Martin has sort of settled back with Eden. He feels pretty content with it to start,” Charles explains, but “she has maybe unintentionally, or intentionally, taken Martin back a few steps from the growth we had seen with him.” The people of Port Wenn would agree: “No one is on team Eden in this town,” executive producer Liz Tuccillo says.

And if you’re not either, don’t worry: “It’s definitely not over for Louisa and Martin,” executive producer Rodney Ferrell promises, with Charles adding those feelings are “always there.” They’ll continue to be drawn together, but Tuccillo teases, “More serious things come up to keep them apart that are going to be very real and relatable.”

As Ferrell points out, even with “the hope that the ones we want to be together are going to be together,” Martin has some things he needs to work through. “It’s not going to happen in one episode,” he warns. That includes his blood phobia, which the series will continue to deal with.

Louisa won’t be waiting around with him. She has a new love interest, with sparks flying between her and one of the monitors sent by the medical board to watch Martin after his childhood bully Glendon (Patch Darragh) alerted them that he lets his assistant Elaine (Cree, with an infectious energy) draw blood. Jack Cutmore-Scott (Frasier) plays Parker, and it takes Louisa a moment to realize why he’s in town. “He sweeps her off her feet,” Spencer says. “When she finds out there’s more to the story, she immediately goes to Martin and you see that he’s her priority.”

Parker is the second monitor sent to oversee Martin, whom it maddens “to have someone looking over his shoulder to do stuff he’s more than capable of doing,” but he also “feels some shame,” admits Charles. “They don’t know exactly why he did it.”

At the beginning of the series, Elaine was the only one who knew about Martin’s blood phobia, but that number is growing. “There was a moment where she was the closest person to him in the town in a way because she had that secret,” agrees Cree. “Now she’s not the only one, they’re not sticking together out of necessity. This season, we see a lot more of their shorthand and comfort with each other.”

Meanwhile, Mark is “looking for love in all the wrong places” and “making a lot of bad romantic choices” in Season 2, says Tuccillo. Also look for some fun with him and a “mermaid” in the premiere. “Mark is fascinated by mermaids,” Segarra says with a grin. “He’s living his own fairytale of getting to meet [one] finally.”

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Looking ahead, there’s a karaoke night coming up, but don’t expect Grease‘s Didi Conn, who plays resident Geneva, to belt out a number. “I think she’s a better audience than a singer,” Conn shares. “She would only sing something if there was a reason to, if someone was so sad and to crack them up.”

The original Doc Martin himself, Martin Clunes, also returns as Dr. Best’s dad Robert. That’s when the show will dig deep into the death of Martin’s sister, Rosemary, a topic that Robert refused to touch during his Season 1 visit. Just like Charles expected once he heard about the return, the episode will “have some heart.” Ferrell previews, “There are unsaid things for both of them about grief and fault, and we’re going to go there this time because a lot of what’s holding Martin back from things is never having dealt with this.”

Robert’s sister and Martin’s aunt, Sarah (Annie Potts, always a joy onscreen), is heading into the season in a good place after discovering sea urchins at the end of the finale. Simply put: It means money. “She’s not going to lose her house,” Potts says. (This is also now a set on the stages, and it feels cozy.) “When your livelihood depends on the sea, things can come and go with the tide. For now, she has a little stability and that makes her happy.”

She’s not the only one thriving in Port Wenn. The owners of the Salty Breeze are, too. The five-course uni tasting menu is $250 per person! “We are figuring out how to run at that capacity in a new way,” says Veasey. Adds Spinella, “[George] is a genius, and geniuses need to express. He’s constantly trying to spread his wings, and we’re constantly coming up against what the town will allow.”

With all this coming up, we’ll be calling ahead to reserve a table at the Salty Breeze. Where else will we overhear the best gossip?

Best Medicine, Season 2 Premiere, Tuesday, September 22, 8/7c, Fox