Dr. Death is undergoing major cosmetic surgery.
Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek, Fringe, The Affair) is set to replace Jamie Dornan (Once Upon a Time, The Fall) as the titular M.D. from hell in Peacock’s forthcoming limited series adaptation, TVLine has learned.
Per a Peacock spokesperson, “Due to production delays relating to the coronavirus pandemic, Jamie Dornan… is no longer professionally available to participate in the production.” Dornan’s initial casting was announced back in Aug. 2019.
Additionally, This Is Us‘ Chris Sullivan, who was set to co-star in Dr. Death, has similarly dropped out due to COVID-related production conflicts. He will be replaced by Dominic Burgess (The Magicians, Santa Clarita Diet).
Jackson most recently co-starred in Hulu’s limited series Little Fires Everywhere. The actor joins a cast that also includes Alec Baldwin, Christian Slater and AnnaSophia Robb.
Based on the popular podcast of the same name, Dr. Death — which is slated to begin production later this fall ahead of a 2021 premiere — tells the “terrifying true story” of Dr. Christopher Duntsch (Jackson), a rising star in the Dallas medical community. “Young, charismatic and ostensibly brilliant, Dr. Duntsch was building a flourishing neurosurgery practice when everything suddenly changed. Patients entered his operating room for complex but routine spinal surgeries and left permanently maimed or dead. As victims piled up, two fellow physicians, neurosurgeon Robert Henderson (Baldwin) and vascular surgeon Randall Kirby (Slater), set out to stop him.”
Patrick Macmanus (Happy!) serves as EP/showrunner.