Joshua Jackson says cruise ship medical drama “Doctor Odyssey” is 'a 1-hour vacation every week'

"You go back into your week feeling just a little bit more relaxed for having gone on a nice cruise with us," Jackson says.

Come sail away with Joshua Jackson's new series Doctor Odyssey.

Ryan Murphy's upcoming medical drama takes the action to the high seas as Jackson stars as Dr. Max Bankman, a brilliant emergency room physician who upends his life to begin working as a doctor on a high-end cruise ship. The show charts new territory for the actor in many ways, with the biggest being the setting.

"I've never actually been on a cruise, so I have to admit that," Jackson tells Entertainment Weekly with a laugh. "When I first heard about the project, I didn't know what the project was about — I only knew that Ryan wanted to talk to me." And when the prolific TV producer wants to talk to you about a project, you take that call without question — especially since Jackson has wanted to work with Murphy for "a couple of decades now."

Related: The Mighty Ducks cast: Where are they now?

The fact that the show films on a set in Los Angeles (and not on an actual cruise ship in the middle of the ocean) was the cherry on top for the actor, since that meant he could live at home and be there for his family. "If we were filming on an actual cruise ship, it would make it very hard for me to drop my daughter off at school in the morning," Jackson says with a laugh. So he was ready to say yes before he even heard what the show or role was. And then Murphy gave Jackson his "soft pitch" on Doctor Odyssey, and he was thrilled.

Doctor Odyssey — also starring Don Johnson, Phillipa Soo, and Sean Teale — follows Max as he and his "small but mighty medical team navigate unique medical crises, and each other, miles from shore," according to the show's official synopsis. Executive producer Jon Robin Baitz says the collision of the gorgeous vacation setting with the harsh reality of injuries and illnesses is part of the fun of the series.

"People spend quite a bit of hard-earned money to go on these cruises, and there's an element of fantasy fulfillment, but with fantasy fulfillment comes risk and danger," Baitz tells EW. "On a boat, anything could happen, no matter how safety conscious you are. There's any number of opportunities for mishaps, and with that comes this wonderful parade of guest stars every episode, like lambs to the slaughter, meekly, joyously walking up the gangplank, not remotely aware of what will befall them."

Related: Fatal Attraction star Joshua Jackson says his Dan 'has to deal with the repercussions of his actions'

But despite the life-threatening medical emergencies that arise in every episode, Jackson says the overall tone of the show is "on the lighter side" and "hopeful and optimistic," which is exactly what he was looking for in a project. "Our mission statement is to be enjoying ourselves at all times so that the audience can have an hour in the week where they can just sit back and enjoy," he adds. "It's supposed to be a one-hour vacation every week. You come aboard this boat as the medical cases happen, but also life happens, and by the end of the hour, hopefully you laughed, maybe even cried, and you go back into your week feeling just a little bit more relaxed for having gone on a nice cruise with us."

In addition to the procedural cases-of-the-week, Doctor Odyssey gets into the personal lives of the staff on the ship, which Baitz describes as "a wonderful upstairs-downstairs quality to the storytelling," like Downton Abbey on the water. "It's one thing to be with the guests on a cruise, people you normally see enjoying themselves fabulously, but we also get to go under the skin of it of the boat and see the workings of a world we haven't seen too much of," he says. "I don't think even in the wonderful and iconic Love Boat did we see too much of the real workings of boats."

Related: Joshua Jackson says he would not play his character on The Affair today

As Max saves lives and begins to enjoy his life on the ship, Jackson found himself enjoying embarking on a new chapter of his career with this role. "It is very nice to play an uncomplicated good guy," he says. "Before I ever knew what the show was, I was kind of putting feelers out into the world [for this type of role], having played nothing but heavy and complicated men for the last 10 years. I like something that is uncomplicated and good, that there's decency in the character, and enter into the fray Max Bankman."

Before the series begins, Max has been living a good life, but then he decides he needs to make a change and enters this new world aboard the ship. "He finds himself in this group of his nurses and the environment of this boat that is completely outside of his comfort zone, and yet, no matter what happens, he treats all of the guests equally and with respect," Jackson says. "And the problems are solvable, and he's there to help. I love that as a core character trait — he's a guy who cares, he's genuine, and because he's a doctor, he's there to fix whatever is wrong."

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Jackson laughs again as he realizes just how hard of a left turn this character is for him after playing more serious roles in The Affair, Fringe, Fatal Attraction, and Dr. Death, to name just a few. "I guess my late 30s and 40s were a dark period, because it's been a series of complicated guys," he says. "And those are fun. But to be on a set where coming home every day, the hours are long so you're tired, but you've laughed your way through your day, it feels pretty great."

And although he's played a doctor on TV previously, it was quite different from this. "The only doctor bit that I've done before was Dr. Death, which is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum, tonally, for a show," Jackson says. "And definitely, we are a medical show, and each week we have our cases or multiple cases, actually. But what the show actually is about is camaraderie and people trying to find family and the people you choose rather than the people that you're born into."

As for whether a love triangle will form between Max and his two nurses (played by Soo and Teale), Jackson laughs again. "I mean, have you ever seen a Ryan Murphy show?" he says. "There'll be triangles, rectangles, octagons. There will be romance. Every shape and flavor that you can possibly imagine will be explored."

Aye aye, captain.

Doctor Odyssey premieres Sept. 26 on ABC.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.