Netflix is very behind when it comes to Doc Martin. Since we last covered Doc Martin back in 2016, season 7 still hasn’t been added to Netflix in the United States and since then, season 8 has been released and season 9 is expected this year at some point. What’s going on? Here’s the latest on Doc Martin on Netflix.
The series starring Martin Clunes is quintessentially British and one of the shining exports from the UK. The series has been on the air since 2004 with 8 seasons under its belt plus a full-length movie in 2006 too. Clunes plays Dr Martin Ellingham, a vascular surgeon at Imperial College London but after developing hemophobia he has to move to a small village town to become the sole GP of a dysfunctional practice.
Netflix has been a great source to watch British shows and up until a few years ago, Doc Martin was one of them. Sadly, Netflix hasn’t been able to get the newer seasons of Doc Martin. The last season was added in 2015 and we’re yet to get season 7 or 8. The last time a new season of Doc Martin came to Netflix was back in December 2014.
This doesn’t look like it’ll change in the near future just because of how licensing works with Netflix. In most cases, contracts are dealt with on an annual basis and given we’re yet to see the newer seasons added we don’t believe they’ll be added to Netflix.
With that said, the fact that they’ve kept the older seasons on is good news and obviously does present an opportunity for future seasons to be added.
What about other providers?
Neither Amazon, Hulu or Britbox, the collaboration streaming project by ITV and BBC are streaming Doc Martin but we have been able to find one provider who offers the newer seasons of Doc Martin on streaming.
In the United States and Canada, the most recent seasons (plus the back catalog) can be found on a service called AcornTV. The prospect of having to have another streaming service will be unfortunate news for some but at the moment, without going down the VoD option, it’s your only option.
