Paging Peyton Elizabeth Lee! The former Disney Channel star is headed back to TV in the upcoming Disney+ series Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.
The streaming service’s new show is set to be a reimagining of the series Doogie Howser, M.D., which starred Neil Patrick Harris as a kid genius and teenage doctor. It aired for four seasons on ABC from 1989 to 1993.
“One of the really cool parts about this reimagining is that we take this iconic story and bring it into the world we’re living in now,” the actress told Entertainment Weekly in August 2021. “So, it’s a female lead instead of a male, and she is biracial, and it’s in Hawaii so we have this beautiful backdrop. It has nods to the original but also feels very modern.”
In January 2021, it was announced that the Andi Mack alum would be taking on this new role. At the time, she shared the news via Instagram and tagged Disney+ in her caption. According to Deadline, she’s set to star as Lahela “Doogie” Kameāloha, “a 16-year-old wunderkind who is working as a doctor while her peers are still in high school.”
Peyton also explained why the role “excited” her while chatting with EW.
“I definitely relate to her in a lot of ways,” she said. “I’m not a doctor, obviously, but I do spend a lot of my time in a professional setting with adults, and having adult expectations placed on you and living that double life of being a professional and then also being a teenager. As the series progresses we see Lahela navigating that and balancing those two worlds.”
Peyton will also share the screen with Emma Meisel, who is set to play “Steph Denisco, Lahela’s best friend, as well as romantic consigliere, who has a penchant for making an entrance.”
“What’s so special about the two of them is that Steph sees Lahela as her best friend instead of this famous child doctor, so in a sense she really keeps her grounded,” Peyton explained. “They relate to each other on that level. But you will see tension because of the very different lives that they live and the different priorities that they have and how they exist in very different worlds in a lot of ways.”
The girls will also be joined on screen with other cast members, like Matthew Sato, who will play Lahela’s brother. Other casting announcements have included Kathleen Rose Perkins playing Lahela’s mom Clara, Jason Scott Lee playing Lehela’s dad Benny, Mapuana Makia playing a hospital resident named Noelani and Ronny Chieng in a guest-starring role.
Scroll through our gallery for everything we know about the new Disney+ series Doogie Kameāloha, M.D. so far.
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