''Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.'' is an American

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

medical comedy-drama television series developed by Kourtney Kang that is based on the 1989–93

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

series '' Doogie Howser, M.D.''. It stars Peyton Elizabeth Lee as title character, Lahela "Doogie" Kameāloha, and Kathleen Rose Perkins,

Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman (born October 21, 1984) is a Canadian actor, model, and television personality. He is known for appearances in films and television, most notably as Jay in the Lifetime dark comedy- drama series '' Unreal'' (2015–2018) a ...

Jason Scott Lee Jason Scott Lee (; born November 19, 1966) is an American actor and martial artist. He played Mowgli in Disney's 1994 live-action adaptation of ''The Jungle Book'' and Bruce Lee in the 1993 martial arts film '' Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story''. P ...

, and

Ronny Chieng Ronny Xin Yi Chieng ( zh, s=钱信伊, p=Qián Xìnyī) is a Malaysian-born American comedian and actor. He is a senior correspondent on Comedy Central's '' The Daily Show'', and he created and starred in the sitcom '' Ronny Chieng: Internatio ...

in supporting roles. The series premiered September 8, 2021 on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

. In February 2022, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on March 31, 2023. In August 2023, the series was canceled by Disney after two seasons.

Premise

Lahela "Doogie" Kameāloha is a

child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...

juggling her teenage life and family with an early medical career, as well as having to deal with balancing her relationship with her mother, who is also her boss. Lahela has the nickname "Doogie" from the television show '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'' that others have watched.

Cast

Main

* Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Lahela "Doogie" Kameāloha, a 16-year-old University of Hawaii Medical School graduate. She is nicknamed "Doogie" because of the television show ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'' * Emma Meisel as Steph Denisco, Lahela's best friend. She has a crush on Lahela's brother, Kai. * Matt Sato as Kai Kameāloha, Lahela's older brother. He has a crush on Doogie's best friend, Steph, but doesn't know how to express his feelings. * Wes Tian as Brian Patrick Kameāloha, Lahela's younger brother *

as Charles Zeller, one of Lahela's colleagues at Oahu Health Medical Center * Mapuana Makia as Noelani Nakayama, another colleague of Lahela's at Oahu Health Medical Center * Kathleen Rose Perkins as Dr. Clara Hannon, Lahela's mother and the chief of medicine at Oahu Health Medical Center where Doogie works *

as Benny Kameāloha, Lahela's father and the owner of a food truck called Benny's Shave Ice and Flowers

Recurring

as Dr. Lee, a heart surgeon at Oahu Health Medical Center *

Alex Aiono Martin Alexander Aiono (; born February 16, 1996) is an American singer and actor from Phoenix, Arizona. He is known for his videos on YouTube, which have amassed over 1 billion views, and his social media presence with upwards of six million fo ...

as Walter Taumata, a local

teenage Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with ...

surfer, in whom Doogie is romantically interested * Andrew Tinpo Lee as Mr. Hsiao * Milo Manheim as Nico (season 2), Lahela's patient who has been in and out of hospitals due having acute lymphoblastic leukemia and new love interest

Guest stars

Barry Bostwick Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom '' Spin City'' (1996–2002). Bostwick has also ...

as Will, a patient of Lahela's suffering from heart failure who passes away in the first episode. He is the first patient she loses and originally the only person allowed to call her Doogie. *

Randall Park Randall Park (born March 23, 1974) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his roles as Agent Jimmy Woo in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, FBI Special Agent Edwin Park in the Netflix series '' The Residence'' (2025), Louis Hu ...

as Dr. Choi, the chief of staff at Oahu Health Medical Center who leaving for another position with the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

Magic Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. Often regarded as the greatest point guard of all time, Johnson List of NBA players who have spent their entire career w ...

as Himself *

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and musician. In her Stand-up comedy, stand-up routines she critiques social and political problems, especially about race and sexuality. She starred in the Ame ...

as Frankie, a patient of Lahela's who has chronic renal failure and needs a new kidney * Kylie Cantrall as Olivia, the captain of the "Royals" dance team *

Max Greenfield Max Greenfield (born September 4, 1979) is an American actor and author. He appeared in recurring roles in ''Veronica Mars'' and ''Ugly Betty''. He co-starred as Schmidt in the Fox sitcom ''New Girl'', for which he received nominations at the Pri ...

as Dr. Arthur Goldstein *

Alyson Hannigan Allison Lee Hannigan (born March 24, 1974), known professionally as Alyson Hannigan, is an American actress and television presenter. She began her film career with supporting roles in the comedy films '' Impure Thoughts'' (1986) and '' My Step ...

as Dawn *

Daniel Dae Kim Daniel Dae Kim (born August 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his many roles in network television and theater. In 2025, ''Time'' magazine listed him as one of the world's 100 most influential people. On television, he portray ...

as Max Lee, the CEO of Oahu Health Medical Center * Lexie Duncan as Blake * Kimiko Glenn as Kayla *

Missi Pyle Missi Pyle (born November 16, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in films including ''Galaxy Quest'' (1999), ''Josie and the Pussycats (film), Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Bringing Down the House (film), ''Bringing ...

as Marjorie Crawford

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2021)

Season 2 (2023)

Production

It was announced in April 2020 that a female-led show based on ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'' was put into development at

, developed by Kourtney Kang. The series is set in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

to reflect Kang's background. In September 2020, it was picked to series by Disney+. In January 2021, Peyton Elizabeth Lee was cast in the titular role, with Kathleen Rose Perkins,

, and

cast as leads. Mapuana Makia and Matthew Sato joined the cast as series regulars in the following months. In March 2021,

joined in a recurring role while Emma Meisel was cast in a main role. Filming began on December 7, 2020, in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. On February 3, 2022, Disney+ renewed the series for a second season. On May 26, 2022, Milo Manheim was cast in a recurring capacity for the second season. On August 25, 2023, the series was cancelled after two seasons.

Release

The series premiered on Disney+ on September 8, 2021. The rest of the episodes were released weekly on Wednesdays. The second season was released on March 31, 2023.

Reception

Critical response

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

reported a 92% approval rating with an average rating of 6.6/10, based on 13 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "With a winning cast and a great bedside manner, ''Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.'' pays homage to its predecessor while successfully carving its own charming path."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

gave the series a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 5 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Daniel Fienberg of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' stated that the series serves as an example of how a franchise can be modernized across time, claiming it succeeds to provide a story that can appeal to the nostalgic audience of ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'' and still manages to be a good story that can stand on its own, while complimenting the performances of the cast. Joel Keller of ''

Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' * '' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machin ...

'' claimed that the show manages to distinguish itself from ''Doogie Howser, M.D'' by creating its own identity, citing its gender-flipped lead character and the story sets in Hawaii, found the series funny and family-oriented, and praised the chemistry between the actors and their performances. Caroline Framke of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' described the show as a sweet, bright, and earnest

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

sitcom. Polly Conway of ''

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

'' rated the series 4 out of 5 stars, acclaimed the depiction of positive messages, citing compassion, courage, and teamwork, applauded the presence of positive role models, stating that Peyton Elizabeth Lee's character demonstrates sensitivity and consideration for the needs of other individuals, while complimenting the diversity of the cast members.

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Disney+ original ended series 2020s American comedy-drama television series 2020s American medical drama television series 2020s American teen drama television series 2020s American workplace comedy television series 2021 American television series debuts 2023 American television series endings Disney+ original programming American English-language television shows Television series about families American television series about teenagers Television series by 20th Century Fox Television American television series reboots Television shows filmed in Hawaii Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows set in Hawaii