With Doctor Odyssey's Future In Limbo At ABC, Former Crew Members Are Suing Disney Over Alleged Harassment And More

Yahoo

5 hours ago

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After Doctor Odyssey's frustrating Season 1 finale in the spring 2025 TV schedule, most of the buzz around ABC's cruise ship medical drama had centered on Season 2 renewal prospects and John Oliver weighing in. Now, three former members of the crew have filed suit against both Disney and production company 20th Century Fox, alleging sexual harassment and wrongful termination, among other complaints.
Caroline Mack, Alicia Haverland and Ava Steinbrenner were members of the Props Department on Doctor Odyssey in "late spring/early summer 2024," according to the lawsuit filed on May 30 in Los Angeles Superior Court (via Variety). The list of complaints included in the suit are sexual harassment; failure to prevent harassment; retaliation; wrongful termination; and negligent hiring, supervision, and retention. The three plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial.
The complaints as listed in the filing originate from Tammie Patton being hired as the Prop Master of Doctor Odyssey early on while husband Tyler Patton was hired as Assistant Prop Master, giving the married couple direction over the three women's schedules, assignments, discipline, and more.
The suit alleges that Disney, 20th, and Tammie Patton knowingly hired Tyler Patton despite prior allegations of sexual harassment, intoxication, and "engaging in sex on set" when he supervised the Props Department of Fox's House, the popular medical drama that starred Hugh Laurie and ran for eight seasons from 2004-2012. A lawsuit claiming as much against Patton (and others) is said to have been filed at the time.
The suit goes on to allege that the Doctor Odyssey Props Department under the supervision of the Pattons was "an unlawful den of sexual harassment and retaliation" from Tyler Patton and male friends. According to this claim, the harassment took the form of sexual jokes, comments, innuendos, comments, gestures, images, and unwanted touching. Tammi Patton is said to have ignored the harassment as well as retaliated against the plaintiffs for their complaints. Third-party witnesses reportedly can corroborate claims made by the three women.
Tyler Patton was ultimately fired, leading to Tammie Patton allegedly ramping up retaliation against the women. Disney and 20th are claimed to have taken the "'easy' way out choosing to eliminate not only the wrongoers" – a.k.a. both of the Pattons – but also "all of the remaining employees in the Props Department" in late August 2024 under the guise of layoffs. Their positions were reportedly then filled with new hires, with the exception of Don Bracken, who had been brought in to replace Tyler. Additionally, the women who filed the suit claim to have been blacklisted from projects at Disney and 20th.
According to Deadline on the evening that news of the lawsuit went public, representatives for both Disney and 20th declined to comment on the situation. At the time of writing, it's not clear how (or if) the lawsuit will affect the future of Doctor Odyssey itself. The medical drama is currently ABC's only scripted show not to be renewed or cancelled, with the first season streaming in full with a Hulu subscription.