Best Medicine

:

Season 1
  • Network: FOX
  • Series Premiere Date: Jan 4, 2026
Metascore
62

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11

Critic Reviews

  1. The Guardian
    Reviewed by: Lucy Mangan
    Jun 9, 2026
    60
    Best Medicine is softer than Doc Martin. .... But it does exactly what it sets out to do – soothe viewers’ souls with a celebration of smalltown values, of the secret goodness hidden behind even the prickliest of men and the promise that nothing for the next 42 minutes plus ads will distress us. It’s perfect rubbish and we need it very much.
  2. Collider
    Reviewed by: Billy Fellows
    Jan 5, 2026
    60
    There are lovable characters, strong actors, and interesting ideas at the heart of the show, but Best Medicine struggles to inject these qualities beyond its core cast of Martin, Louisa, and Elaine.
  3. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Robert Lloyd
    Jan 5, 2026
    60
    On the whole, it’s cuter, milder, more cuddly (multiple vomit jokes notwithstanding), more obvious and more whimsical, but less real, less intense and less sharply written than “Doc Martin.”
  5. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Brian Tallerico
    Jan 2, 2026
    42
    Charles and Spencer find brief moments of depth. It’s not until well into the second episode that they get an extended scene together, but they hint at what this show could be with stronger writing.
  6. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Chris Vognar
    Dec 31, 2025
    40
    Charles is not the problem here. .... [The townspeople are] caricatures, not characters, and their antics start to feel a little debasing. “Best Medicine” certainly doesn’t deify small-town life; nor does the show condemn it. Instead, it amps up the quirk factor as high as it can go. Charles, as the straight man, looks on with dismay. So did I.