As for Underwood’s character, Ben was initially described as possessing “an ego that somehow outpaces even his résumé.” Combine that confidence with the upper hand he has over Amy — he remembers their tryst, and she doesn’t — and it raises a red flag or two about Ben’s trustworthiness heading into Season 3.
“I want the audience to be asking those questions about what they should make of him,” Hank Steinberg concedes. “The fact that, so far, he knows [his and Amy’s past] but hasn’t told her — it’s going to be fun to bring him in. He’s going to have a very different energy than everyone else on the show.”
Per Steinberg, he and the “Doc” writers have long wanted to add a character like Ben — not only a new love interest for Amy, but someone she was involved with after her divorce from Michael.
“Early in Season 1, when [Amy] comes out of reading her old emails and texts, she says to Gina, ‘It was just one guy this whole time? This guy named Alan?’ And Gina goes, ‘Yeah, nice guy, bad sex,'” the EP recalls. “We always thought it would be interesting if she had some sort of torrid thing with a married man, that was an emotional reaction to leaving Michael, that she never told Gina.
“We were always holding that in our back pocket, and when we thought about introducing a new character, that idea conjoined with creating the backstory for Blair’s character,” he continues. “We loved the idea of bringing in somebody who remembers [he and Amy] had a thing, but she doesn’t remember, and how that would play out.”
“Doc” fans, how are you feeling about Dr. Ben Grant — and the state of Amy’s love life in general? Grade Tuesday’s finale in our poll below, then drop a comment with your thoughts!
Want more scoop on “Doc”? Got questions or tips about another TV show? Email us at asktvline@tvline.com!
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