Mid-Season TV Crushes: ABC’s Off the Map 

We’re smack dab in the middle of the TV season, when networks clean up their schedules and come roaring back with another round of shows they’ll hope we’ll like and watch. Sometimes, I don’t need a reason to tune in other than the actors on a show are hot. I don’t mind admitting I do tend to get a bit shallow when watching TV, but hey, any reason to set that DVR for a show is a good reason, right? I don’t think the execs will mind me tuning in for the view. I’m sure they just hope I’ll stay for the excellent dialogue, scintillating stories and delicious drama.

I also don’t mind admitting that the only reason I’m going to be tuning into ABC’s Off the Map is because I think three of the new medical drama’s actors are utterly beautiful. The things I do for TV Crushes. Off the Map, Shonda Rhimes’ latest TV effort, has been described as Grey’s Anatomy in the jungle. Even though I have seriously low tolerance for medical shows these days, it’s a plus that these guys are like McDreamys without Borders. I am interested in the fact they’re out there helping people in a much different, decidedly more dangerous setting. That should automatically up the suspense factor. But really, this show has my attention because of these three guys:
Martin Henderson, Dr. Ben Keeton

OK, you can shoot me because I never saw Martin Henderson in The Ring, which is arguably his best movie credit. I did see him in the movie Torque, but only after I fell in love with the New Zealander while watching Bride and Prejudice several times. A few years back, ABC tried to make him a TV star by casting him in the small screen version of the Angelina Jolie-Brad Pitt vehicle Mr. and Mrs. Smith. For some reason that went nowhere, so I’ve been waiting for someone to give him another chance. As Dr. Ben Keeton, Henderson seems like he’s supposed to be Off the Map’s resident McDreamy. He gets bonus points because he gets to use his sexy accent. I wonder if Dr. Keeton will get a cute nickname.

Jason George, Dr. Otis Cole

I’m super happy about this casting decision and the way Jason George’s career has gone. I feel like he’s done everything the right way. He paid his dues on the NBC soap Sunset Beach before moving on to primetime in the UPN sitcom Eve. Jason’s popped up everywhere, but usually on ABC. Yup, ABC has been very good to him; he’s been on What About Brian, Eli Stone, Eastwick and Grey’s Anatomy. His steady trajectory to stardom now leads him to Off the Map. I’m excited to find out what the show has in store for his character, the highly respected Dr. Otis Cole, who also has an addictive personality. Will this new environment help or hurt this aspect of his personality.

Zach Gilford, Dr. Tommy Fuller

So, everybody in the world has already discovered that Zach Gilford’s not only hot but seriously talented. I, however, have only just finished the second season of Friday Night Lights, so my crush on Gilford is relatively new. I’m anxious to see how he’s going to do jumping from the high school football drama to a medical drama. His character, Dr. Tommy Fuller, is a young, cocky plastic surgeon, who’s probably in for a rude awakening once he gets a load of the kind of cases he’s about to take on. Gilford excelled as FNL‘s Matt Saracen, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t do the same on Off the Map.

Off the Map airs on ABC Wednesdays at 10/9 Central. That time slot is never a good one for the alphabet network. Here’s to hoping this show will find a way to make it work. Watch a preview here.