Is “Doc” a True Story? Meet the Real Doctor Who Lost Over a Decade of Memories After a Car Accident — and How His Story Inspired the Fox Show

Warning: Doc spoilers ahead!

Fox's new medical drama Doc follows Dr. Amy Larsen (Molly Parker), who wakes up with no memory of the past eight years after a brain injury — and it's not a farfetched story.

In the series, which premiered on Jan. 7 and airs on Tuesday nights, Amy is forced to navigate a vastly unfamiliar reality. At home, Amy's husband is now her ex, her son has died, and she and her daughter are estranged. Meanwhile, Amy doesn't remember her colleagues or former patients at work, who haven't forgotten her harsh bedside manners.

Off-screen, real-life Italian doctor Pierdante Piccioni was involved in a terrible car accident in May 2013 and suffered substantial brain damage. Following a coma, he believed it was October 2001 and couldn't recognize his wife Maria and adult kids, sons Filippo and Tommaso. In addition, Piccioni forgot his medical education and had to confront the fact that he had a bad reputation.

“I was a very cold ... guy, very bad,” he told PEOPLE. “Colleagues of mine gave me a nickname: I was the ‘prince of bastards.’ ”

To this day, he has been unable to rescue more than a decade of lost memories, and a part of him is okay with that. Instead, Piccioni is creating happier ones with his family and peers.

“When you lose [your] memory, you lose the good and bad. Of course, I [would] like to have back the beautiful memories. But life is a bit of both, and I’m not sure I want back the bad memories and emotions,” he explained. “I saw videos, slides, pictures ... that doc was another kind of person, and I didn’t recognize myself.”

Now, the Fox show Doc is captivating audiences. The premiere episode amassed nearly 16 million viewers in its first 11 days — making it the network's best series debut in five years.

Here’s everything to know about the Fox medical drama and the real-life doctor who inspired it.

What is Doc about?

Doc tells the story of Dr. Amy Larsen, chief of internal and family medicine at Westside Hospital in Minneapolis, who suffers a brain injury in a horrific car accident. After waking up from a brief coma, doctors discover that Amy has partial retrograde amnesia and has no recollection of the past eight years.

Amy quickly learns that her life is nothing as she remembers it: She's divorced, her son is dead and she's estranged from her daughter. On top of that, Amy has lost nearly a decade of medical knowledge.

"There's [almost] more than two characters I'm playing," Parker told WTHR. "We see her in the present day. We see who she remembers herself as in the past, but throughout the show, we get these glimpses of who she became."

Is Doc based on a true story?

Yes! Doc is loosely based on the life of Italian doctor Pierdante Piccioni, who suffered a brain injury in a car accident on May 31, 2013. He later awoke from his coma, believing it was Oct. 25, 2001, and was caught off guard when he saw his adult kids.

“They weren’t my guys. I expected to see two children, 8 and 11, and these adults [20 and 23] came to me,” Piccioni told PEOPLE. “I had two cheerful children and these others came in saying, ‘Hi Papa’ and I was like ‘Who are you?’ ”

To understand who he was, Piccioni read over 65,000 emails he'd either sent or received. After realizing that he came across as "cold" in his exchanges with others, he took it as an opportunity to be kinder moving forward.

According to Piccioni, the brain damage he sustained caused “a change of character, a change of personality, a change of way of life.”

While he hasn't recovered the 12 years of memories he lost, he admitted that watching his life depicted on TV was an emotional experience, which opened some old wounds. Still, Piccioni continues to focus on the silver lining.

"I hope when people watch Doc, they feel like they should never give up. It’s a story of hope," he told Fox.

How did Pierdante Piccioni's real-life accident become a show?

While in recovery, Piccioni kept a diary, which evolved into his 2016 memoir Meno Dodici (or Minus Twelve in English), giving a nod to his 12 years of forgotten memories.

The written work went on to inspire the hit Italian drama series Doc - Nelle tue mani that premiered in 2020. Later on, Sony acquired the rights and showrunners Hank Steinberg and Barbie Kligman jumped at the opportunity to make the TV show for American viewers, according to Variety.

The pair ultimately made a few changes to the original show's premise. In the Italian version, the main character is a male doctor who lost 12 years of memories after being shot by an angry patient.

"It’s pretty melodramatic. So I wanted to ground her injury in her character," Steinberg told the outlet, referring to Amy's car accident, which was caused by texting and driving.

He continued, "She’s getting off work late at night. She’s a workaholic. She’s too tired, distracted, and she can’t resist checking her phone for the incoming message."

Where is Pierdante Piccioni now?

Following his life-altering accident, Piccioni had to return to school to relearn how to be a doctor, eventually going back into the field two years later.

After his 2016 memoir, Piccioni released In prima linea (On the Frontline in English) about his experience working as a doctor during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also dabbled in fiction with his book Colpevole di amnesia (which translates to Guilty of Amnesia).

While he set out to be a better doctor and colleague, Piccioni was determined to make new memories with his family as well.

He recreated childhood moments through past activities they once enjoyed together. Piccioni also fell in love with his wife Maria for a second time, an experience he calls "lucky."

“Everybody tells me I’m more empathetic. Not more clever, but a more beautiful person,” he told PEOPLE. “The trauma gave me a second chance.”

Where can I watch and stream the Fox show Doc?

New episodes of Doc air every Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on Fox. Episodes are available to stream the next day on Hulu.

Read the original article on People