THE MOB DOCTOR: Josh Berman Teases What Comes Next

When THE MOB DOCTOR’s first episode concluded, Grace Devlin had made the move from quasi-unwilling accomplice (as the person responsible for her brother’s debt to the mob) to an active participant in what’s going on (after she declined the option to relocate and instead transferred the debt she owed from the now-dead Moretti to Constantine).

I spoke with THE MOB DOCTOR creator Josh Berman before the show’s premiere, and I told him it fascinated me that Grace had essentially doubled down on her commitment to doing something so ethically questionable.

“I love that you used the expression ‘double down’ because that’s exactly what she did,” Berman said. “I think so many shows start where your hero is already your anti-hero: whether it’s Glenn Close in DAMAGES or House [in HOUSE], your hero is already unlikeable. I love an origin story. And if Grace is going to be the mob doctor and if she is going to be an anti-hero one day, let’s see how she got there. And that’s what the end of the pilot is doing — it’s starting her journey. And I want the viewers to get to see what it’s like to become something as opposed to watching a TV show where you already are something. And that’s what I’m going for.”

And with Grace’s journey to the potential dark side, that means she’ll continue her efforts to keep her second life a secret from the people she cares about.

“For the first season, it’s all about keeping a secret,” Berman said. “I love writing about identity, I love writing about secrets. I think everybody has a secret, big or small. If you ask anybody on the street, ‘What’s your secret?’ in their minds, within five seconds, they know what their secret is but they don’t tell you. So I think writing about a woman and her secret when it’s this big is just exciting and juicy and great territory for storytelling.”

As Grace continues to grow, she’s going to have some company — her brother, Nate, inserts himself into her life in a surprising way in tonight’s brand new episode.

“We’re going to really develop the character of her brother, Nate, who needs to grow a pair of balls,” Berman laughed. “And over the course of the first couple of episodes, we watch a weaselly little boy become a man. And it’s really exciting to write that. He hit puberty at 25, and that’s what we’re writing.”

And her mother?

“Her mother is a woman in denial,” he said. “Constantine Alexander, the head of the southside outfit, has been in love with her for years. He’s finally out of jail. And the question will be how will she feel about him now that he is out of prison…we plan to carry that through [the season].”

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THE MOB DOCTOR airs Monday nights at 9 PM on Fox.

Related:

Carla Kettner Talks Leaving BONES for THE MOB DOCTOR
THE MOB DOCTOR’s Zach Gilford Explains Why He Wants Brett to Find Out Grace’s Secret
THE MOB DOCTOR: Jordana Spiro Teases A Potential Dark Side to Grace

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