There are nights when I get into bed determined to crack open one of the many Important Books I've had piled on my end table forever. (My copy of Crime & Punishment has been there since early lockdown.) Or maybe I want to grab the iPad and knock a classic movie off my bucket list. On some nights, I actually succeed at one of these more enriching and intellectually productive goals. But on more nights than I want to admit to myself, I instead wind up reading read (or watching) The Martian for the umpteenth time, or at most trying something new that's relatively easy. Sometimes in this stressful, you just want something that won't make you think too hard and might put a smile on your face.
To that less prestigious but necessary category, I must add Fox's Best Medicine, starring Josh Charles as a prestigious Boston heart surgeon who abruptly moves to a small coastal community to become the town's general practitioner. Will it win awards and wind up on critics' top 10 lists come December? No. Will you see every line and plot development well before they happen? Yes. Will you nonetheless feel a soft spot for it, particularly if you have preexisting affection for this specific kind of small town dramedy? Quite possibly.