Doctors are supposed to heal, but what happens when they’re the ones causing harm? Dr. Death explores exactly that, and with two successful seasons under its belt, we explore if a third is on the way.
Based on the Wondery podcast of the same name, Dr. Death which aired on Peacock and was an instant hit. It was quickly followed by a second season based on the story of Dr. Maccharini, which is also covered in the Netflix documentary Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife. So with all the hype around the series, many fans want to know if a third season is on the way.
Dr. Death returns for Season 2
Dr. Death is the culmination of two blossoming genres: medical true crime and “rom cons”. The medical true crime boom includes series like Netflix’s The Good Nurse, and HBO’s Mommy Dead and Dearest, as well as the true crime case of Lucy Letby. Rom con is a genre that includes such series as Tinder Swindler, Bad Vegan, and Betrayal: The Perfect Husband.
Dr. Death, includes elements of both of these genres, making it an almost instant fan favorite. The first season introduced the world to Christopher Dunstch, a neurosurgeon whose botched surgeries took lives and left people with life-long injuries.
He was able to operate beneath the radar for years before finally being brought to justice. His private life was equally messy, with his drug and alcohol addictions fuelling a hedonistic lifestyle. The depth of his dark secrets continued as it turned out his receptionist/assistant was actually a former stripper with no medical training, who he was living with and eventually became pregnant with his child.
The first season starred such Hollywood heavy hitters as Joshua Jackson playing Dr. Christopher Duntsch, as well as Alec Baldwin, Christian Slater, and Grace Gummer. That all-star cast certainly helped bolster the viewership and the second season’s lineup is equally star-studded.
Season two added another component of mayhem with Dr. Paolo Maccharini, a surgeon whose “groundbreaking” medical procedure turned out to be little more than an unresearched experiment. His private life proved to be just as full of lies and deceit as his public one.
Dr. Maccharini’s relationship with renowned NBC producer Benita Alexander soon came back to haunt him when his double(or should we say triple) life was revealed. Dr. Maccharini had a fiance, a wife, another paramour, and three children, none of whom knew about the others. Yet like any good journalist, Benita refused to shy away from the cold hard truth and made her story public. She now hosts a podcast, Benita and the Berrecas, about her experience in an attempt to help other women going through similar relationship scams.
The second season of Dr. Death includes Mandy Moore as Benita Alexander and Edgar Ramirez as Dr. Death himself.
Is there going to be a Dr. Death Season 3?
So with all this drama and intrigue, fans want to know if there will be a season 3 anytime soon. Sadly, so far there has not been an official announcement of a season 3. Yet if the series’ history is anything to go by, we are probably looking at a third season based on the podcast’s coverage of the Lebanese oncologist Farid Fata, known for prescribing chemotherapy to patients who didn’t need it and who is under investigation for medical fraud.
Dr. Death is a series that has taken the true crime scene by storm. It tells the story of the ultimate betrayal of one of the most sacred relationships in our society, the one between doctor and patient. The first two seasons had fans hooked and rumors of a third one abound. While nothing is definite yet, if the success of the first two seasons is any indication, we are willing to bet a third season will not be far behind.
