NBC has officially announced that Jennifer Morrison and Laura Belsey will be directing season 2 of Dr. Death, a Peacock drama series following the real-life figure of Christopher Dunstch. Morrison will be returning to the show after directing part of the first season, joined by Belsey, a newcomer.
First premiering on Peacock in 2021, the first season of Dr. Death features Joshua Jackson as real-life neurosurgeon Christopher Dunstch, who earned the moniker “Dr. Death” when patients who had come in for routine spinal surgery left his operating room either grossly maimed or dead. The nine-episode season also features Christian Slater and Alec Baldwin as Randall Kirby and Robert Henderson, two of Dunstch’s fellow surgeons who take it upon themselves to stop him with the help of district attorney Michelle Shughart (AnnaSophia Robb).
Dr. Death is originally based on a Wondery podcast of the same name, which premiered in 2018. Laura Beil hosts the podcast, whose first season followed Christopher Dunstch, followed by a second season featuring sinister oncologist Farid Fata. The newest season of the podcast will be adapted into the next season of Dr. Death.
What’s New in Season 2 of ‘Dr. Death’
Season 2 of Dr. Death on Peacock will center around “Miracle Man” Paolo Macchiarini, a restorative surgeon known for his innovative operations. After an interview with reporter Benita Alexander, the lines between Macchiarini’s personal and professional lives begin to blur, according to Variety, as a team of doctors halfway across the world make “shocking discoveries of their own that call everything about the ‘Miracle Man’ into question.”
Deadline reports that Jennifer Morrison, known for directing episodes of Euphoria (2019) and Joe Pickett (2021), will direct episodes 1-4 of the new season of Dr. Death; she previously directed episodes three and four of season 1. Laura Belsey, director of Arrow (2016) and The Walking Dead (2019), will direct episodes 5-8.
Patrick Macmanus (NCIS) will produce season 2 of Dr. Death for his Littleton Road Productions alongside fellow executive producers Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, and Taylor Latham for Escape Artists, and Aaron Hart, Hernan Lopez, and Marshall Lewy for Wondery.
A release date for season 2 of Dr. Death on Peacock has not been specified, but more details will likely become available as production of the season continues.
