Doc Season 3 Preview: Amy Larsen Faces Her Past as Blair Underwood Joins the Drama

FOX’s Doc has always had one very effective trick up its sleeve: Amy Larsen can move forward all she wants, but the eight years she cannot remember have a funny way of catching up with her. Based on what FOX is teasing for Season 3, that struggle is not going away anytime soon. In fact, Amy may be about to encounter one of the biggest reminders yet that there is an entire chapter of her life everyone else remembers except her.

That reminder comes in the form of Dr. Ben Grant, played by Blair Underwood. Ben is a talented trauma surgeon with a history with Amy, which would already be enough to make his arrival at Westside interesting. There is just one rather significant complication: Amy does not remember that history. For a series built around memory, identity and second chances, introducing someone who knows a version of Amy that she cannot access herself feels like a natural way to push the premise into new territory.

FOX offered a new tease of what is ahead when Doc returns for Season 3. Check out the teaser below.

Amy Larsen’s Past Is Still Very Much Present

One of the smartest things Doc has done is avoid treating Amy’s memory loss as nothing more than a television gimmick. The mystery surrounding those missing eight years certainly gives the writers plenty of opportunities for reveals, but Amy’s larger struggle has always been figuring out who she is now. She remembers the person she was before those lost years, while nearly everyone around her remembers the woman she became afterward. Those two versions of Amy have not always been easy to reconcile.

Ben could make that struggle even more complicated because he potentially knows things about Amy that she does not know about herself. Instead of Amy hearing another story about her forgotten life, she will now have to interact with someone who was apparently part of it. That creates an interesting imbalance between them from the beginning. Ben knows their history, Amy does not, and whatever happened between them could force her to reconsider parts of her past that she thought she was finally beginning to understand.

And yes, this is Doc, so it seems pretty safe to assume Blair Underwood was not brought into Westside simply to discuss patient charts with Amy. Whatever their connection turns out to be, it gives the series another way to explore its central question without simply repeating the same memory loss storyline from the first two seasons.

Blair Underwood Could Shake Up Westside

Underwood’s arrival is particularly interesting because Doc already has plenty of complicated relationships surrounding Amy. Michael has his history with her, Jake has his own emotional connection to her, and Gina has frequently been the person trying to keep Amy grounded while she rebuilds her life. Adding someone who comes from those missing years immediately changes the equation.

There is also an opportunity for Ben to challenge Amy professionally instead of existing solely as another personal complication. Amy has spent much of the series proving that losing eight years of memories did not erase her instincts, intelligence or ability to care for patients. A doctor who knew her during those missing years could have an entirely different perspective on who Amy was professionally, and that could become just as important as whatever personal history they share.

That is ultimately what could make Ben more interesting than simply introducing another possible romantic obstacle. Amy does not need another relationship to define her story. What she does need are characters who force her to examine the person she was, the person she has become and whether those two versions of herself can ever fully coexist. Ben has the potential to serve that purpose while also bringing a new energy into Westside.

Season 3 Marks a New Chapter for Doc

Season 3 will also arrive with changes beyond Ben’s introduction. The story is expected to move forward following a time jump, giving the characters some distance from the events of Season 2 while opening the door for new circumstances at Westside. Katie heading off to college also changes Amy’s family dynamic, while the loss of Dr. Joan Ridley leaves another significant absence in her life.

Those shifts could help Season 3 feel less like an extension of the previous season and more like the beginning of a new chapter. That may be important for Doc as it enters its third year because the initial hook of Amy waking up without eight years of memories cannot remain the only engine driving the series. At some point, the bigger question has to become what Amy intends to do with the life she has now rather than simply discovering what happened during the life she forgot.

The interesting part is that Season 3 appears ready to explore both sides of that equation. Amy is trying to create a future while pieces of her forgotten past continue walking through the door, and Ben Grant may be one of the biggest pieces yet. His arrival gives Doc an organic way to revisit Amy’s missing years without making the series feel as though it is moving backward.

Doc Still Has Plenty of Story Left to Tell

The medical cases will continue providing Westside with its weekly emergencies, but Amy’s personal journey remains the element that separates Doc from the seemingly endless collection of television hospitals. Her story has never simply been about whether she will eventually remember everything she lost. It is about whether knowing every detail of your past is actually necessary to decide who you want to become.

Season 3 now has the opportunity to push that idea further by placing Amy opposite someone who remembers a part of her life she cannot. What happened between Amy and Ben? How much does he know about the woman she became during those missing years? More importantly, could learning about that relationship change how Amy sees herself now?

FOX’s early look at Season 3 wisely is not answering all of those questions just yet. It is, however, giving fans a reason to wonder whether Amy’s biggest challenge this season will have less to do with recovering her memories and more to do with deciding what to do when her forgotten past comes looking for her.

Doc Season 3 premieres Tuesday, September 22 at 9/8c on FOX.