Primetime Emmy Winner and Academy Award nominee Felicity Huffman recently discussed her character, Dr. Joan Ridley, in the hit Fox medical drama series Doc, and her relationship with the series protagonist, Molly Parker’s Dr. Amy Larsen. Huffman is slated to make her debut as Dr. Ridley in Season 2 Episode 2, which airs tonight.
Felicity Huffman on why she agreed to play Dr. Joan Ridley in Doc Season 2
Huffman previewed Dr. Ridley during a new interview with Deadline, referring to her character as an “outlier” and an “iconoclast” with “a varied and questionable past.” The actress humorously added, “I think she probably slept with one of the Rolling Stones and was in Somalia for Black Hawk Down.”
Reflecting on what sets Doc apart from other medical shows, Huffman noted, “It’s the premise,” and pointed toward the show’s origin. Notably, the series is based on the Italian show Doc – Nelle tue mani, which itself drew from the incredible true story of Dr. Pierdante Piccioni.
Dr. Ridley’s storyline will continue at least throughout the rest of the season, which has 22 episodes in total, 12 more than the 10-episode first season. Huffman clarified that even if the season had a lesser episode count, she would still have played Dr. Ridley because of the show’s “amazing dramatic premise.” However, she did underscore how rare it was for a show to get 22 episodes in a season these days.
On why Dr. Ridley has returned to Amy’s life and joined Westside Hospital, Huffman observed that her character saw the “David Beckham of the medical field” in Amy and decided to “champion” her, resulting in their friendship.
She continued, “Then there’s an opportunity for her to step into the chief of internal medicine role at Westside, and she picks up the gauntlet because she wants to make that hospital one of the best in the state or in the country, or possibly even in the world.”
Doc Season 2 airs on Fox weekly on Tuesdays.
Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on ComingSoon.
