Danielle Solzman
Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. is inspired by hit series Doogie Howser, M.D. but series creator Kourtney Kang puts her own spin on the dramedy.
Lahela “Doogie” Kamealoha is a teenage doctor living with her family in Hawai‘i. She’s 16-years-old and she’s regardless of her occupation and education, she’s still a teenager. Lahela might have a job but she still lives with her parents. And yes, she must stick to her curfew. Having her mother, Dr. Clara Hannon (Kathleen Rose Perkins), working as her hospital supervisor adds more humor to the series. Meanwhile, her father, Benny (Jason Scott Lee), runs a food truck and has quite the opposite personality. Rounding out the core cast are her older brother Kai (Matthew Sato), younger brother Brian Patrick (Wes Tian), best friend Steph (Emma Meisel), crush Walter (Alex Aiono), and a trio of co-worker, Dr. Lee (Ronny Chieng), Charles (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman), and Noelani (Mapuana Makia).
Disney sent press the first two episodes of the series for review. I’ll be honest–two episodes are not enough to decide. The pilot episode does what it needs to do in setting up the tone and introducing us. But of course, this is a half-hour series so you’re automatically left wanting more. In the first two episodes, there’s just enough to let the audience in on who the characters are. Will it be enough to keep viewers coming back in? I certainly don’t know but we’ll see what happens. Obviously, you’re going to need to decide for yourselves. There’s so many things to watch on Disney+ to where I don’t feel that you necessarily have to rush into watching. But that being said, we’ll have a better idea of the direction in which this series will go here in a few weeks. There are ten episodes in total.
The good news here is that we get the necessary backstory during the opening credits. Of course, they also play her young for the jokes, too. The look on her patients’ faces when she walks into the room! Like any doctor, she is able to bond with them and of course, hurts when something bad happens.
There’s just enough in Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. to keep our interest and see how things develop.
CREATOR: Kourtney Kang
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Kourtney Kang, Melvin Mar, Jake Kasdan, Dayna Bochco, Jesse Bochco, Erin O’Malley, Matt Kuhn and Justin McEwen
CAST: Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Mapuana Makia, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Matthew Sato, Wes Tian, Emma Meisel, Ronny Chieng, Alex Aiono, with Kathleen Rose Perkins and Jason Scott Lee
