Jon-Michael Ecker Unpacks Doc’s Devastating Cliffhanger and Jake & Amy’s Love Story

There isn’t a single Doc Fanatic who isn’t reeling after that pulse-pounding and emotional season finale.

If you tuned into the final moments of Doc Season 1 Episode 10, you’ll know that fan-favorite Jake Heller faced the ultimate blow after witnessing the woman he loves with her ex.

It was a shocking, devastating development for someone who is inarguably the most beloved and sweetest character in the series thus far.

We know the cliffhanger left viewers in shambles, prompting more discourse among passionate fans deeply invested in who should win Amy’s heart.

We had the absolute pleasure of catching up with the man who stole our hearts as Jake himself, Jon-Michael Ecker, to speak about Jake’s emotional state, Doc’s success, what he hopes for in season two, and, of course, the beautiful but complex Jake/Amy romance.

Check it out below!

Congratulations, of course, on the second season! A 22-episode renewal is massive and exciting in this current climate.

Since your last chat with TV Fanatic, you’ve had the opportunity to see how everyone is responding to the series. Are you surprised by how well people have received the show? Why do you think Doc resonates with audiences so much?

No, I wouldn’t say I’m surprised. It’s very satisfying. You work so long on a project; in this case, we had to wait several months until it aired. For it to finally air and for all the hard work of the cast, crew, production, and creatives to pay off is satisfying. Just seeing people actually respond to it is really satisfying.

Sometimes, you don’t quite understand the rhyme or reason why some shows hit with audiences and some shows don’t. We’re all stoked that we’re doing a second season and will be back up there pretty soon.

Whenever I try to describe Doc, I say it’s a medical drama, but it has so much heart and humanity with all the characters. It’s very character-driven. Is that something that attracted you to the role?

Yeah. Before doing the show, I didn’t have much experience watching medical dramas. Then, I tuned into some to get an idea of that genre.

But I was definitely surprised reading the first episode and then, after getting cast, further episodes, that there are these personal and professional relationship throughlines that run throughout the whole season.

It’s not just these weekly cases that come in. That’s just kind of a crutch to fill every episode. It’s really about the relationships between these different doctors, their family lives, and things going on inside and outside the hospital. I think it just gives it another level to make it appealing to the audience.

If you wanted to see these cases of somebody dying and we can’t figure out why, we got that, but we also have that personal drama for people who are more into that side of things.

I think Jake is probably the one character on Doc that everyone consistently loves all the time. He’s the perfect guy, so that finale is devastating for Jake and Jake fans. They kicked the puppy.

Yeah.

Fans are really fond of Jake and this great romance, which is pretty much at the hub of everything. Did you anticipate people having such a strong reaction to it? Viewers instantly fell in love with Jake and Amy’s love story.

I hoped people would really be into it and relate to or respond to it. But I think a good love triangle is very appealing on TV.

We love to see all these reality shows and drama — and a love triangle is full of potential drama. Working with Omar and Molly, they’re just great people and great actors, and so it’s just great that people actually enjoyed watching all that play out.

We started seeing Amy pushing Jake away and maybe retreating to the pre-amnesia version of herself. She’s putting her walls up with Jake now, so can you talk about that a little?

From an objective point of view, I definitely understand the tough spot that Amy’s in because she has basically lost eight years of her memory and life. She says in one of the episodes that Amy and Michael being deeply in love for her was just a memory of two weeks ago.

So it’s understandable that being in his arms just feels more comfortable than me. For as much as we get along and have a connection, a spark, and chemistry, it’s still new, whereas that’s the old and the familiar and the comfort, especially at a time of her life when she really looks for that, to have shelter and comfort and just something that feels solid.

I understand, but it’s obviously heartbreaking for Jake as the character because he loves this person and thinks she’s better off with him.

Do you think Jake may regret jumping in too soon after her accident? She doesn’t remember their first relationship, whereas Jake seems to pick up where they left off a bit.

It’s one of those things where it’s all Monday morning quarterbacking, and there’s really no handbook on how to handle a relationship when your girlfriend forgets about you, like how to go about it.

I’m sure there’s some second-guessing. Had we done things differently, would it have ended up differently? But you know we’re coming back for 22 episodes. We still don’t know how it will end up, so maybe things will work.

I don’t even know if the writers know where it’s going to go at this point, so we don’t know, but yeah, it’s one of those things like, who knows? Tell her, don’t tell her, let her figure it out. She’s going to wake up one day and have her memory back? I don’t really know how to navigate that situation.

I’m genuinely curious where his head will be after that because he also has a history with infidelity in his previous relationship. It seems to be a sensitive sort of topic. Will we see a different side to Jake after all that?

He definitely has some sensitivity towards infidelity. We don’t hash out too much his relationship with his ex-wife and his relationship with his daughter in the first season.

It’s just mentioned, but that’s something that the writers put in there, so I think it will make it even harder for him to get over seeing them together.

Will he be empathetic and understanding and get over it? Will she even want him to get over it? I don’t know, but I’m as curious as everybody else to read the next script and keep her going.

The kids call it “crashing out,” so I’m looking forward to maybe seeing Jake a little ruffled up. Everyone’s so messy, and Jake is the port in a storm. He’s allowed to be messily human sometimes, too.

He’s a little too controlled, yeah. That’d be a nice change.

Of course, there’s the Sonya component. It reminds me of My Best Friend’s Wedding with the whole “He’s chasing after her, and you’re chasing after him, but no one’s chasing after you!”

How may that relationship evolve? He and Sonya are in a sore spot after the finale, too.

I don’t even think Jake has even really realized Sonia’s feelings for him, so I don’t know. Depending on what happens between him and Amy, maybe he starts to open his eyes to that relationship and see something there, or it’s just a rebound thing.

I don’t think he’s noticed. It’s almost like a little sister kind of thing in his eyes. Will it always be like that, or will he see her in a different light one day? I don’t know. There are lots of different doors that could be open here.

I know you have no idea what’s in store for next season, but do you have your own wish list of what you’d like to see explored with your character?

I try not to have too many expectations as far as where the character goes and just have faith in the writers. They did such a great job with season one and have been doing this for a while.

They know how to flesh out and map out the whole season that will work as a cohesive story with all the other storylines.

I just trust that they know what’s going to work best for the audience, but I think as a spectator or at least a little bit biased towards Jake, I’d be curious to see a little bit more of his relationship with his ex-wife and daughter, to bring that into the mix and make it more than just mentioning it in passing. That would be nice.

In [Doc Season 1 Episode 8], I worked with a great young actress, and I had never worked with a kid actor before. I’m curious if I’ll get to have my daughter in season 2. That could be fun. I have two young daughters now, so it’d be interesting to work with my acting daughter.

I keep hearing about how well everyone gets along offscreen. So, are there other dynamics on the show you look forward to exploring next season? Are there any specific characters you’d like to work with more?

I don’t know if more characters will come into play in season two. We have the situation with Sonya and the one with Omar, so how does that get handled? The relationship will get messier, but we still need to be professional, so that’ll be interesting.

Then, I didn’t get to cross paths too much with Amirah, and then I did some with Patrick, which was great. I can see more head-to-head interactions with him with different opinions of diagnostics and stuff in the future because his character is headstrong, so I can see some different things going on there, but yeah, I don’t know. I’m anxious to receive the episodes!

We edited this interview for length and clarity.

If you’re anything like us and would love relive the entire series all over again, you can stream the full first season on Hulu.

Doc will return in the Fall with all-new episodes.

Over to you, Doc Fanatics!

What were your favorite juicy bits from the interview? Do you have any thoughts and theories about what’s to come? Hit the comments below!

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