The production of Doctor Odyssey has hit choppy waters. Three former crew members from the ABC series have sued 20th Television and Disney over alleged sexual harassment on set.
Caroline Mack, Alicia Haverland, and Ava Steinbrenner filed the suit on Friday, May 30, in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to Variety. They alleged that former Doctor Odyssey assistant prop master Tyler Patton would subject them to “sexual jokes, innuendos, comments, sexual gestures, and images,” and they accused him of “unwanted touching,” including “openly grabbing a visiting female employee’s buttocks.”
In one example listed in the lawsuit, Patton allegedly sent prop department employees a link that appeared to lead to a political news story but instead led to a sexually explicit photo. Patton also allegedly told one of the plaintiffs, “Come over here and open your mouth, here’s the worm.”
The plaintiffs claimed Patton’s alleged behavior would happen “daily and frequently in the presence of management.” And they alleged that Disney and Tammie Patton, Tyler’s wife and the lead prop master on the show, hired him with “knowledge that prior allegations of sexual harassment had been lodged.”
Variety notes that Tyler was previously accused of sexual harassment and unwanted touching on the set of House in a 2010 lawsuit against Universal Network Television.
On one occasion on the Doctor Odyssey set, Tyler allegedly said, “If I wasn’t f***ing the boss, I’d be fired,” according to the lawsuit.
Tyler ultimately was terminated after the plaintiffs complained about him to human resources, the suit says. But then Tammie allegedly “began to engage in retaliatory behavior,” the plaintiffs said.
Later, the entire Doctor Odyssey props department was laid off in what the plaintiffs said was an effort by the defendants to “avoid having to deal with any remaining 27 employee-relations issues tied to Tyler Patton’s and Tammie Patton’s misconduct,” according to the suit.
The lawsuit also alleges that Disney “blacklisted” the plaintiffs “in retaliation for bringing forward their good-faith complaints.”
Representatives for Disney and 20th TV declined to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by Deadline.
Doctor Odyssey premiered last fall on ABC, with Joshua Jackson playing a luxury cruise ship’s onboard medic. ABC has yet to announce whether the medical drama has been canceled or renewed for a second season.