Fox lands Sky and a wave of global buyers for Doc Martin remake Best Medicine

Fox Entertainment Global has closed a broad slate of international deals for Best Medicine, the American remake of the long-running ITV comedy drama Doc Martin. In the UK, Sky has taken the series for its channels and its NOW streaming platform, bringing the transatlantic reimagining home to the country where the original became a fixture of cosy primetime viewing.

The wider rollout spans Canada, where Bell and TVA have acquired rights, alongside buyers across Scandinavia, the Netherlands, central and eastern Europe, southern Europe, Israel and Hong Kong, underlining the comfort-viewing format's broad appeal. The breadth of the deal is a striking endorsement of a property that began life in a small Cornish fishing village two decades ago.

For Fox, the international pickups validate a strategy of building remakes of proven international formats and then monetising them through onward global distribution. Rather than gambling on untested concepts, the approach leans on stories that have already demonstrated they can hold an audience, reducing risk while opening a second revenue stream through territory-by-territory sales.

A transatlantic transplant

Best Medicine relocates the premise to the United States, with Josh Charles playing Dr Martin Best, a Boston surgeon who decamps to small-town practice. Martin Clunes, who originated the role in the British series, appears as Best's father, giving the remake a thread back to its source and a knowing nod to the audience that made the original a hit. The casting bridge is a neat piece of continuity, acknowledging the heritage of the format while staking out new ground.

The original Doc Martin, which ran on ITV from 2004, built its appeal on a familiar but durable formula: a brilliant but socially graceless medic, a picturesque rural setting, and a rotating cast of eccentric locals whose ailments and entanglements drove gentle, character-led comedy. That mix of warmth, place and mild misanthropy proved unusually exportable, and Best Medicine is betting the same chemistry can be recreated for an American small town.

“Best Medicine continues to resonate with broadcasters globally because of its uplifting storytelling and broad audience accessibility.”

— Fox Entertainment Global

Why comfort formats travel

The Best Medicine sale illustrates a broader truth about the international television market: gentle, character-driven comfort dramas are among the most reliably tradeable properties in the business. They demand no prior knowledge, carry little risk of alienating audiences, and slot easily into the schedules broadcasters use to build dependable, returning viewership.

Several qualities make formats like this attractive to buyers across very different markets:

• Self-contained, episodic stories that are easy to drop into and require little commitment.
• Warm, low-jeopardy tone that suits a wide range of audiences and time slots.
• Universally legible settings, such as a small-town doctor's surgery, that need no cultural translation.
• A proven track record that reassures commissioners weighing the cost of acquisition.
• Flexibility to be remade locally or aired in original form depending on a market's appetite.

For territories taking the finished American version rather than producing their own, the appeal is a ready-made, polished property with a recognisable lineage. The presence of Clunes lends the remake a stamp of authenticity that sets it apart from a generic relocation.

Background: British formats as an export engine

The UK has long punched above its weight as an exporter of television formats and remakeable scripted properties, from quiz and reality concepts to dramas and comedies reworked for foreign markets. Doc Martin sits firmly in that tradition, and Best Medicine is the latest example of a British original generating value well beyond its first broadcast through adaptation and resale. The model has become a significant pillar of the UK's creative economy, turning domestic hits into long-tail international assets.

What happens next

The series premiered on Fox in the US in January and was renewed for a second run before returning this autumn with 14 episodes. The volume of overseas pickups illustrates how established British formats continue to generate value through remakes and onward distribution, and a successful UK launch on Sky and NOW would close a satisfying loop, returning a homegrown concept to British viewers in new clothing. Should the remake build momentum across its international footprint, expect further territory sales and a strengthening case for additional series.