Not only is Peyton Elizabeth Lee gearing up for the premiere of her new show Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. — which starts streaming via Disney+ on Wednesday, September 8 — but she’d “definitely” be down to reprise her role for a possible Andi Mack reboot.
“I would definitely do that,” the Disney Channel star, 17, tells J-14 exclusively. “I think it’s always scary trying to recreate something, which is what’s so great about our reimagining of Doogie Howser is that it is very similar, but it also steps away from the show. So, there’s, I feel, less pressure to recreate what they already did. So, I would be a little bit nervous about an Andi Mack reboot just because it was this, sort of, perfect experience. But I would definitely be open to it.”
Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. is a remake of the ABC series Doogie Howser, M.D., which starred Neil Patrick Harris and ran for four seasons in the 1990s. In the female-led reboot, Peyton stars as Lahela “Doogie” Kameāloha, a teenage genius who is working as a doctor. After nabbing the starring role in the upcoming Disney+ series, Peyton and costars Emma Meisel, Matthew Sato and Wes Tian all watched the original series.
“It was really cool to see because the pilot mirrors, the pilot of Doogie Howser,” Emma explains to J-14. “It’s just awesome to see, kind of, how Kourtney [Kang] reimagined the world, but stayed true to the format of Doogie Howser. So, it’s cool to see the juxtaposition.”
Peyton, for her part, “didn’t know what Doogie Howser was.”
“My parents were very excited about it,” she recalls. “Then, I had to sit down and start rewatching it.”
Both Matthew and Wes echoed the girls’ sentiments. “I really enjoyed it,” Wes shares. Matthew adds, “When I found out [I got cast], I watched the pilot and since then, I’ve seen a few episodes. I haven’t seen it at all, but something to look forward to watching.”
All in all, the stars are super excited about bringing the female-focused series to life. Matthew shares, “It’s awesome that it’s a female lead. It definitely plays out really well when you see it.”
“I think this show is so fun because it, sort of, builds upon the foundation that Doogie Howser set,” Peyton adds. “We get to take that into the world we live in today and modernize it. One of those modernizations is that the lead is a female doctor instead of a male doctor. I just love that part of it because it’s always been important for me to portray strong female characters that are role models for young people. I think Lahela does a really good job of that.”
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