It’s All About The Details

If there’s one thing I’m going to do on a set visit, it’s peek in a fridge, and I can officially report that Aunt Sarah takes the award for Best Fridge Interior of Best Medicine Season 2, with a bunch of apples and two bottles of wine inside. Martin’s fridge revealed a love of eggs, fruit, and olives. And the award for Best Fridge Exterior goes to Greg and George. Real photos of the actors and charming personal touches are hanging on the fridge in The Salty Breeze’s kitchen, on the walls inside the restaurant, and throughout each individual set we visited. The attention to detail is remarkable. Cabinets and junk drawers are filled! Graduate certificates are framed! Pairs of reading glasses are stashed throughout Aunt Sarah’s house, while a stack of handwritten mail sits by her door. And two new Season 2 locations — the Salty Breeze guest room and a beauty salon —  were in the process of being built to take Best Medicine‘s set design to the next level in Season 2.

Here’s What The Salty Breeze Is Serving Up

Speaking of details, we know about the famous lobster rolls, but if you’ve ever wondered what else The Salty Breeze is serving up, we finally got eyes on the menus. From everyday small plates and salads to the $250 per person uni tasting menu, here are some of Port Wenn’s best eats.

Martin And Louisa Are Endgame

If you’re still in line for Martin and Louisa endgame, stay in line! Sure, Season 2 opens with Martin and Eden still together, and we know that Louisa will have “sparks” with an upcoming guest star (more on this below), but Charles told Decider, “Obviously, Martin has feelings for Louisa that he’s not always fully conscious of all the time, or he’s trying not to be,” and Best Medicine‘s EPs agree.

“No matter what happens, no matter if she gets another love interest, I don’t think any of us have to worry that there’s still something there,” Ferrell told Decider. “She’s patient with him, and listens, and doesn’t judge him. She’s actually okay with who he is. And I think that’s the kind of person he needs. Eden is not patient with him. Eden wants results. So I think Louisa services something for him that he actually needs.”

“There might be another love triangle that Louisa is involved with, because she can’t just be sitting around pining for Martin for a whole other season,” Tuccillo said. “But I think Louisa is the love of his life, and everything that he does besides that is just not right. He’s so damaged, it’s going to be a hard road to get them together. But they really are meant to be together.”

Didi Conn Wants A Love Interest

Speaking of love, after Geneva’s husband cheated on her with her sister, it’s high time she finds love again. Don’t you think?! Didi Conn sure does! “Tell the writers!” she urged during our Season 2 chat. “Maybe Geneva and Aunt Sarah, we go do a dating service. Oh my goodness, that would be pretty crazy.”

Tuccillo told Decider that in the beginning of the season, Aunt Sarah will be more focused on worrying about Martin, but “hopefully the last half she’s going to realize that it’s time for her to start thinking about love as well.”

We’re officially adding “Geneva and Aunt Sara love interests” to our Best Medicine wish lists, but in the meantime, Conn is perfectly content sharing scenes with her “long-lost sister” Annie Potts. “Annie and I have known each other kind of parallel, by living in LA, having similar friends, hearing about each other’s work… We belong to a mutual admiration society, my Annie and me.”

Best Medicine‘s Stars Aren’t Begging For Karaoke Scenes

While Josh Segarra crushes karaoke again in Season 2 and several fresh faces grab the mic, not everyone on the Best Medicine cast is a real-life karaoke fan.

“Cree’s karaoke song, if she must — which she tries to avoid generally — is probably ‘Bust a Move.’ I’m singing every line of that song,” Cree told Decider. “Elaine’s would be ‘You Outta Know’ by Alanis Morissette. I think she would love the angst in that, the drama of it.” 

Despite her iconic role in Grease, Conn said a big “No. Nope! Nope, no. I don’t think so. I think she’s a very good audience, but she’s shy,” when asked if she wanted a karaoke scene for Geneva one day.

And though Spinella and Veasey chose potential songs for their characters, they’re admittedly fine staying behind the bar. “I am too anxious about the singing. I never do karaoke, because I’m just too anxious about it, so that’s the answer for Steve,” Spinella said. “I think Greg leans toward the comedic numbers. Like ‘Brush Up Your Shakespeare,’ those kind of Cole Porter numbers that are meant to be fun and not perfectly sung.”

“Jason Veasey does not like karaoke. I only like to sing if I’m getting paid,” Veasey said with a chuckle. “So if there’s a prize, if there’s a cash prize for karaoke, I’ll sing ‘Ain’t No Sunshine.’  And George, as we know, loves ‘I’m Still Here.’ And then second choice, something on the complete opposite end. Something really nasty and raunchy that you could never air on Fox.”

Is Elaine Headed To The Big Apple?

In Season 2, Elaine will be navigating next steps post-Juilliard rejection as her boyfriend Al (Carter Shimp) preps for New York. When asked if Best Medicine would ever follow the two to the city, everyone got intriguingly cagey, but even if we don’t witness the trip, it sounds like Elaine is headed to The Big Apple.

“Could be. You never know. I mean, we are upstate. We’re so close to the city, who knows?” Cree told Decider. “But Alan and Elaine are cute as ever. I think Season 1 was defined by a lot of big declarations and relationship milestones. In Season 2 they’re established; they’re settled in their relationship, so we get to see them be a little bit sillier, looser, more domestic, a little bit more mature with one another, which has been really nice to play.”

“She’s trying to get an agent. She is making a big decision if she’s going to move to New York with Al,” Ferrell told Decider. “She might actually even go to New York with Al in the season. Now, I can’t tell you how long she stays there, and I can tell you that she doesn’t come back. But she is going to explore this relationship with him and see what the potential is.”

Who Causes The Biggest Laughs On Set?

Ever wonder who makes the Best Medicine cast break the most? We asked them!

“The person that makes me laugh the most on set is either Josh Charles, Josh Segarra, or Carter Shimp,” Cree told Decider. “Definitely Josh,” Conn added, shouting out both Charles and Segarra. “Both actually, now that you mention it. “Both in different ways. Segarra is another gorgeous one. He is so funny. And every utterance out of his mouth comes from his heart.”

Conn got several shoutouts herself from The Salty Breeze boys. “Without even trying, this one,” Veasey said, pointing to Spinella. “And with trying, Didi… Dirty Didi.” Spinella echoed his scene partner, adding, “Didi Conn. She kills me… and Clea Lewis as Sally Mylow. And Mark. Josh Segarra is hilarious. There are so many. And Annie. And because Josh [Charles] has like the straight man part, he has some really funny comebacks.”

Dream Scene Partners

The Best Medicine cast loves to mix and mingle, but here’s who the actors on set would love to share more scenes with in the future.

“I want to share a lot more scenes with Jason Veasey and Stephen Spinella, who play Greg and George,” Cree said. And the feeling was mutual! “Annie Potts and Cree. I really wanna do a lot of stuff with them,” Spinella said. “I think it’s a travesty thus far that Elaine and her biggest fan, George, have not had a full side story episode together,” Veasey added.

And remember when Didi Conn advocated for a love interest for Geneva? I think she may have someone in mind already. “Oh, Franklin. He’s the president of the board. At the wedding, we were having some nice dancing going on,” Conn said when asked who she’d like to see her character connect with more.

Cast Comfort Shows

Since Best Medicine is such a feel-good comfort show for so many people, we asked the cast about their own go-to comfort shows.

“I love New Girl, it’s one of my favorite comfort shows, and I re-watch it constantly,” Cree told Decider. “It’s always A Different World for me,” Veasey said.

“My husband and I actually started exploring the old Mary Tyler Moore episodes. Those were really fun,” Spinella said. “I’ll have to say, Seinfeld. I cannot get enough of Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I honestly think Julia Louis-Dreyfus is one of the best actresses alive today. I think she is just extraordinary. There was nothing they threw at her on Seinfeld — and remember, she had to be the girl in that guy show — and she never wanes for a second. She holds her own with those three brilliant people. She holds her own for eight years. She never wanes. Julia Louis-Dreyfus.”

More Quirky Illnesses And Town Events

Season 2’s premiere started strong with a mermaid in Port Wenn, but that’s just the start of the quirky medical issues and town happenings that await. Cree confirmed that Elaine “finally — not that it’s a great honor — gets the chance to have an injury, illness, or ailment this year, which she did not in the first season.” And Veasey is hoping that George gets foreign accent syndrome. “Some sort of thing where I wake up and I’m either fluent in another language or have a completely different accent,” he explained.

“We have this great episode where magicians are coming to town, and something happens with one of the magicians,” Ferrell teased. “The Crate Race is the one we’re the most excited about,” Tuccillo added. “And there might be some very passionate Revolutionary War reenactors [later on].”

Guest Stars Galore

With another stacked guest star lineup in store, Season 2 premiered with Andrea Martin’s Judith, Aunt Sarah’s stubborn friend whose love of smoking became a serious safety hazard. But Ferrell also teased a Brooklyn pizza truck owner named Gina, who will steal business from The Salty Breeze. And we know that  Jack Cutmore-Scott is joining the show as Parker, one of Martin’s “charming and friendly” monitors who has “sparks” with Louisa.

Doc Martin’s Martin Clunes is also set to return as Dr. Robert Best later in the season. “I really think that it’s so important for Martin Clunes to come back to this show as Martin’s father, because we’re dissecting Martin’s original wound. So having him come back to really talk about Rosemary again and unpack things — I think it’s really important to remind everybody who Martin is, and how he became who he is,” Tuccillo told Decider.

As for when he’ll be back in town, Charles said, “In Episode 10, I think he comes back, solo. I think there’s been some issues at home with him. He’s by himself, and they’re gonna go to a little bit of a journey. I’m sure there’ll be some hilarity, but we’ll also push their relationship forward in some way or another.”

Greg & George & Stephen & Jason

Season 1 proved that The Salty Breeze is the heart of Port Wenn, so it’s no surprise that Spinella and Veasey were upped to series regulars ahead of Season 2 following Greg and George’s heartwarming finale wedding, which meant the world to the actors.

“To me, selfishly, it felt like it wasn’t just a wedding for Greg and George. It felt like the show was saying, ‘We really like you, Stephen and Jason, enough to do this and write this,” Veasey said, still wearing Jason’s Salty Breeze apron while chatting in Doc’s waiting room between scenes. “[The show] championing inclusivity is fantastic… My younger self would never have thought I’d be involved in a gay TV wedding growing up,” Veasey continued.

Spinella, sitting beside him wearing a Salty Breeze shirt, excitedly jumped in, adding, “And an interracial, intergenerational, gay couple. We’re like triple transgressive!” The Salty Breeze’s Uni Tasting Menu spotted on tables featured five courses at $250 per person, so the couple will undoubtedly spend a chunk of Season 2 navigating the surreal success of the uni boom. But Tuccillo promises a funnier, deeper dive into their lives, too.

“We’re gonna be seeing different, wonderful colors of their relationship,” the showrunner teased. “George might get sick for a minute. Greg might get deeply insecure. A family member of George’s might come to town and stir things up. Greg might do something shady, and George will be furious with him.”

What’s Happening With Mark’s Love Life?

Tuccillo also confirmed that the lovable but lost Mark will “be looking for love in all the wrong places this season,” though “hopefully he’ll get a win by the end of the season.” We’ll also see the lighthearted sheriff engage in soul-searching as he ponders his purpose in town.

“I think when he steps outside of his relationship with Louisa, he’s like, ‘I’m the sheriff of this town. Am I taken seriously? What am I doing with my life? Am I ultimately happy just being the small-town sheriff? Is it okay that I sleep with people and don’t really settle down?” Ferrell teased.  “He’s trying to figure out, ‘What role do I fill here?’ And I think that’s an important journey for him.”

When asked if we could see a more stable love interest for Mark in the future, Ferrell said, “There’s some hints at that coming,” but added, “I also think it’s fun having a character that isn’t always just about settling down. He can be single and still having fun.” So stay tuned!

Best Medicine Book Club

We stressed just how detail-oriented the Best Medicine set is, and the bookshelves prove it! Do any specific titles jump out at you from the thoughtfully selected texts in Louisa’s office and Aunt Sarah’s home?

Elaine’s Desk Is A Viral Dream

Speaking of details, shout-out to Elaine’s desk, the viral dream we expected from Season 1’s aspiring influencer. From squishies and fidget toys to colorful accessories and fun notes about upcoming appointments like “Josh Charles (for the rash),” Elaine knows how to work and play.

There’s Trouble Ahead

Port Wenn is thriving when Season 2 opens because of the uni explosion, but Ferrell teased trouble ahead, saying, “People are starting to get a little more comfortable, but by the end of the season, there may be a storm. There may be something that happens that may disrupt this comfortableness that people are getting accustomed to…” Uh oh!

Shoutout To The Port Wenn Newspaper

Since that was kind of depressing, we figured we’d end on a happy note. This is simply to say that the local Port Wenn newspaper in Best Medicine is called The Port Wenn, Where, Why, And How, and I think that’s beautiful. Published weekly, and only $1.00 an issue! Read some of the hilariously pressing headlines above.