According to The Hollywood Reporter three former crew members of Doctor Odyssey have filed a lawsuit against 20th Television and its parent company, Disney, alleging a culture of unchecked sexual harassment and retaliation on set. The lawsuit, filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that assistant prop master Tyler Patton (House, The Resident)—whose supervisor was his wife, Tammie Patton (The Resident, Sleepy Hollow)—fostered a toxic work environment through allegedly explicit comments and unwanted touching.
Caroline Mack (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Space Force) , Alicia Haverland (Happy Death Day, Happy Death Day 2U), and Ava Steinbrenner (Daisy Jones & The Six, American Primeval) claim they were subjected to an “unchecked campaign of sexual harassment” before being allegedly fired after reporting the misconduct. “If I wasn’t f***ing the boss, I’d be fired,” Tyler Patton allegedly exclaimed after sending crew members a deceptive link that led to an explicit image, the lawsuit states via THR.
The lawsuit alleges that Patton and his male colleagues frequently made sexually charged comments, gauging women’s reactions to their remarks. Patton was previously involved in a lawsuit from former House employee Carl Jones (The Boondocks, Black Dynamite), who alleged that Patton groped him and invited female colleagues to engage in sexual activity.
In addition to inappropriate comments, the lawsuit alleges that Patton regularly sent pornographic materials to colleagues, groped women crew members, and assigned retaliatory tasks to those who complained. Mack allegedly reported the incidents to HR and her union, which confirmed that 20th Television and Disney were aware of the allegations, including previous concerns over mishandled replica firearms.
Following Mack’s complaint, Tyler Patton was allegedly terminated. However, the lawsuit claims that his wife, Tammie Patton, retaliated by allegedly assigning demeaning tasks and threatening job security. Ultimately, the entire props department was allegedly dismissed, except for Patton’s replacement. “Clearly, no ‘layoff’ had occurred,” the complaint states via THR. “Defendants wiped the Prop Department’s slate clean to avoid dealing with any remaining employee-relations issues.”
Since then, Mack, Haverland, and Steinbrenner claim they have been allegedly blacklisted from working on 20th Television and Disney productions. They seek unspecified damages for alleged sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and negligent hiring.
The lawsuit casts uncertainty over the future of Doctor Odyssey, a first-year medical drama from Ryan Murphy Television. Starring Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek, The Affair) as a cruise-ship physician, the series remains in limbo as the only ABC scripted show still awaiting renewal.