The Good Doctor is an American medical drama television series based on the 2013 award-winning South Korean series of the same name. The actor Daniel Dae Kim first noticed the series and bought the rights for his production company. He began adapting the series and in 2015 eventually shopped it to CBS, his home network. CBS decided against creating a pilot. Because Kim felt so strongly about the series, he bought back the rights from CBS. Eventually, Sony Pictures Television and Kim worked out a deal and brought on David Shore, creator of the Fox hit medical drama House, to develop the series.
The Good Doctor | |
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Genre | Medical drama |
Based on | Good Doctor by Park Jae-bum |
Developed by | |
Starring | |
Composer(s) | Dan Romer |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 33 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Production location(s) | Vancouver, British Columbia |
Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 41–44 minutes |
Production company(s) |
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Distributor | Sony Pictures Television |
Release | |
Original network | ABC |
Picture format | 720p (HDTV) |
Audio format | 5.1 surround sound |
Original release | September 25, 2017 – present |
Chronology | |
Related shows | Good Doctor |
External links | |
Official website |
The Good Doctor is an American medical drama television series based on the 2013 award-winning South Korean series of the same name. The actor Daniel Dae Kim first noticed the series and bought the rights for his production company. He began adapting the series and in 2015 eventually shopped it to CBS, his home network. CBS decided against creating a pilot. Because Kim felt so strongly about the series, he bought back the rights from CBS. Eventually, Sony Pictures Television and Kim worked out a deal and brought on David Shore, creator of the Fox hit medical drama House, to develop the series.[1]
The show is produced by Sony Pictures Television and ABC Studios, in association with production companies Shore Z Productions, 3AD, and Entermedia. David Shore serves as showrunner and Daniel Dae Kim is an executive producer for the show.
The series stars Freddie Highmore as Shaun Murphy, a young autistic savant surgical resident at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. Antonia Thomas, Nicholas Gonzalez, Beau Garrett, Hill Harper, Richard Schiff, Will Yun Lee and Tamlyn Tomita also star in the show. The series received a put pilot commitment at ABC after a previous attempted series did not move forward at CBS Television Studios in 2015; The Good Doctor was ordered to series in May 2017. On October 3, 2017, ABC picked up the series for a full season of 18 episodes. The series is primarily filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The series debuted on September 25, 2017. The Good Doctor has received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with particular praise given to Highmore's performance, and strong television ratings. In March 2018, ABC renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on September 24, 2018. On February 5, 2019, ABC renewed the series for a third season.
The series follows Shaun Murphy, a young autistic surgeon with savant syndrome from the mid-size city of Casper, Wyoming, where he had a troubled childhood. He relocates to San Jose, California, to work at the prestigious San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital.[2]
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
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First aired | Last aired | ||||
1 | 18 | September 25, 2017 | March 26, 2018 | ||
2 | 18[23] | September 24, 2018 | TBA |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | |
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1 | 1 | "Burnt Food" | Seth Gordon | David Shore | September 25, 2017 | 11.22[24] | |
On the way to begin his surgical residency at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital, Dr. Shaun Murphy witnesses an airport sign fall and shatter glass onto a young boy. With his unique ability to visualize the internal body and using improvised methods and tools, Shaun is able to stabilize the boy. In a hospital board meeting, Dr. Aaron Glassman, president of the hospital, tries to convince the board to hire Shaun, despite his autism. Flashbacks give us a picture of Shaun's childhood and his motivation for becoming a doctor. | |||||||
2 | 2 | "Mount Rushmore" | Mike Listo | David Shore | October 2, 2017 | 10.93[25] | |
Dr. Neil Melendez is doing rounds with Dr. Claire Browne and Dr. Jared Kalu. Melendez calls out Shaun for arriving late on his first full day. A middle aged woman is brought into the ER with abdominal pain. Shaun immediately diagnoses a malignant tumor. As punishment for lateness, Shaun is assigned 'scut work', where his attention to detail gets him in trouble. After rechecking a discharged young girl's test results, Shaun races to her home, annoying her parents over the late hour, but eventually saving the girl's life. Additionally, Shaun's idea saves the cancer patient's life, but Jared presents the idea as his own and takes all of the credit. Afterwards, Andrews stands up for Shaun and forces Melendez to put Shaun back on the team. | |||||||
3 | 3 | "Oliver" | John Dahl | William Rotko | October 9, 2017 | 10.69[26] | |
Shaun and Claire fly to San Francisco Municipal Hospital to get a liver for a transplant patient. After learning the helicopter can't take off due to bad weather, they resort to a police escort. Meanwhile, at the Hospital, Chuck, the recipient of the liver, is discovered to have alcohol in his system, a development that could void his transplant eligibility. Chuck later confesses he had one drink at his daughter's graduation. In order to protect its reputation and ability to supply transplants to future patients, the hospital denies Chuck the liver. Shaun and Claire arrive back, having kept the liver viable, only to learn that it is to be taken to a patient at another hospital. | |||||||
4 | 4 | "Pipes" | Steven DePaul | Thomas L. Moran | October 16, 2017 | 10.60[27] | |
Barb Allen, 22 weeks pregnant, and her husband arrive at St. Bonaventure, hoping the doctors can save their baby. A large non-cancerous tumor is growing on the fetus and must be removed in order to save his life. Despite the serious risks both to her and the baby, Barb insists on surgery. Meanwhile, Shaun and Claire are assigned a patient, Olivia, who has a boil in her genital area. However, when doctors attempt to drain it, a fibroid tumor is found to be wrapped around a nerve. The surgery to remove it will cut off all feeling in Olivia's genitals. Shaun comes up with a solution that allows her to keep feeling in her genital area. | |||||||
5 | 5 | "Point Three Percent" | Larry Teng | David Hoselton | October 23, 2017 | 10.39[28] | |
Shaun notices a young boy, Evan, who has an uncanny resemblance to his deceased brother Steve. Evan was brought to the hospital by his parents for a possible fracture to his arm. However, we discover that he is actually suffering from terminal bone cancer, a fact his parents have kept hidden from him. Shaun attempts to find another diagnosis and save Evan, earning him the scorn of his colleagues. Evan's terminal cancer diagnosis is ultimately confirmed with the revelation that it has metastasized into his chest cavity. However, Evan reveals that he has secretly known the truth for a long time and accepts his situation, but is thankful for Shaun's attempts to help. Meanwhile, the other members of the team try to diagnose an older man, brought in by his estranged son, with a severe allergy condition causing him to convulse violently. Claire and Jared determine that the man is suffering from a cystic form of tapeworms located in his skull. A successful surgery is performed by Dr. Glassman. | |||||||
6 | 6 | "Not Fake" | Michael Patrick Jann | Simran Baidwan | October 30, 2017 | 10.60[29] | |
Shaun and the rest of the residents are working the graveyard shift when numerous casualties from a wedding bus crash come in. Among the victims is a woman with severe, visible burns, on whom Jared tries an experimental procedure, and a young man with a severely damaged leg. Tensions arise between the patient's parents and fiancée over the best choice for treatment; his parents want to amputate the leg, his fiancée is in favour of an experimental bone-replacement procedure. Due to Jessica filing an injunction, a judge is left to make the decision and after hearing all sides, goes with the bone-replacement. Melendez and Shaun are able to save the man's leg and though he will have a long recovery, he is expected to be fine. After treating a patient, Claire realises that a woman has been left behind at the crash site. Claire and Glassman successfully treat the woman for a brain bleed, but discover afterwards that she is mysteriously brain dead and she doesn't survive. Glassman later realizes that Claire improperly intubated the patient at the crash site, causing hypoxia and leading to her brain death. | |||||||
7 | 7 | "22 Steps" | David Straiton | Johanna Lee | November 13, 2017 | 10.14[30] | |
Shaun encounters Liam, an autistic patient, when he is admitted to the hospital. Having to face prejudice from the young man's parents, Dr. Melendez defends him for the first time and acknowledges his exceptional abilities. After Liam voices his support for Shaun doing the surgery, his parents allow it. Melendez allows Shaun to take lead on the surgery and Shaun saves Liam's life during a dangerous part of the surgery. In the aftermath, Shaun helps Liam's parents see how their overbearing and overprotective nature towards their son lead to him getting sick in the first place. As a result, Liam's parents start asking Liam for his opinion on things rather than unilaterally making decisions for him. On Dr. Glassman's directive, Claire continues with therapy sessions in order to curb her guilt over inadvertently causing the death of a patient. Jared treats a 73-year-old man with severe chest pains who needs urgent medical attention and a pacemaker, but the patient states his desire is to die. Ultimately, Jared chooses to honor the man's wishes, but stays with him as he dies. Afterwards, Jared and Claire comfort each other over the loss of their respective patients. | |||||||
8 | 8 | "Apple" | Nestor Carbonell | David Renaud | November 20, 2017 | 9.97[31] | |
While Shaun is shopping at a grocery mart for apples, a robbery takes place. With Shaun's communication limitations, he puts the lives of two customers on a first date at risk, leading to a young woman getting shot. Shaun's neighbor Lea hugs him after he admits that he made a mistake and got someone hurt. During surgery, Dr. Lim questions Claire's ability to not let her emotions get the better of her because of a racist patient, the shooter in the robbery. This leads to an argument between the two, with Dr. Lim ordering Claire to leave the operating room. Claire puts her emotions in check to save the life of the racist patient, much to the satisfaction and delight of Dr. Lim. | |||||||
9 | 9 | "Intangibles" | Bronwen Hughes | Karen Struck | November 27, 2017 | 9.25[32] | |
The team takes on the case of a young boy from the Congo who has severe congenital heart anomalies. Working together, Shaun and Melendez devise a procedure to treat the boy; despite difficulties it is ultimately successful. Shaun's latest encounter with his neighbor Lea has him confused. He takes flirting lessons from Claire, noting and charting what he sees in regards to the "flirting trifecta." Meanwhile, Claire, along with a lab tech, searches for a misplaced tissue sample from a woman with possible throat cancer. At the last minute, Claire finds the sample in a mislabeled container and the patient turns out to be cancer free. | |||||||
10 | 10 | "Sacrifice" | Michael Patrick Jann | Lloyd Gilyard Jr. | December 4, 2017 | 9.03[33] | |
Shaun reluctantly agrees to Dr. Glassman's repeated suggestions to meet with a therapist, but ultimately changes his mind after a new patient, Bobby Ato, convinces Shaun to stop letting people tell him what to do. Claire runs into an uncomfortable situation when Dr. Matt Coyle makes unwanted sexual advances toward her during a patient consultation. Jared finds out and physically threatens him. As a result, Jared is fired. After a tense dinner with her father and Dr. Melendez, Jessica states that she doesn't want to have children. | |||||||
11 | 11 | "Islands Part One" | Bill D'Elia | Thomas L. Moran & William Rotko | January 8, 2018 | 8.30[34] | |
Shaun and Lea embark on an impromptu road trip. Shaun experiences many firsts: driving, drinking Tequila, singing karaoke, and even his first kiss with Lea. However, during the trip, Lea states her intention to move to Hershey PA, which devastates Shaun. Melendez and Andrews operate on conjoined twins, one of whom needs a kidney. Complications develop and the operation to separate them, planned for six months after the kidney surgery, must be done immediately. The operation goes well until it's discovered the twins have not awakened from the surgery. Melendez decides it's more important to be with Jessica and that he can be a "father" in other ways. | |||||||
12 | 12 | "Islands Part Two" | Cherie Nowlan | Thomas L. Moran & William Rotko | January 15, 2018 | 9.33[35] | |
Shaun returns to the hospital after his trip and gives Dr. Glassman his two weeks’ notice, intending on moving to Hershey to be with Lea. The twins suffer complications from their surgery; Katie is not getting enough blood flow to the brain, while Jenny’s heart is failing. Despite the doctors’ best efforts to save both twins, Jenny dies on the operating table. Jessica is forced to look into previous misconduct at the hospital in which white doctors were only warned instead of fired, after allegations of racism by Kalu’s lawyer; as a result, Jared is reinstated. Jessica tells Melendez that she wants to break up because she feels like she is standing in his way of being a father. | |||||||
13 | 13 | "Seven Reasons" | Mike Listo | David Shore & David Hoselton | January 22, 2018 | 9.61[36] | |
While treating a Muslim patient, Shaun senses she is lying and makes controversial claims about how she sustained her injuries. Melendez punctures the bronchus of the patient during surgery and is put under investigation after Shaun questions if his personal life is affecting his work. While Claire assists in a surgery on a stroke patient who had an aneurysm with Dr. Lim, she learns that Coyle got a new job and a raise. They inform the patient's wife that he needs surgery or he will die, but she refuses to consent until Claire explains the reality of the situation. Shaun asks Glassman to be friends, but Glassman decides to give him his own space and not be friends, which upsets Shaun. | |||||||
14 | 14 | "She" | Seth Gordon | Simran Baidwan | February 5, 2018 | 9.63[37] | |
The four residents including the new Dr. Morgan Reznick are paired off in competition; Reznick and Browne with Melendez, Murphy and Kalu with Lim. Murphy and Kalu are faced with a gender dysphoric patient, Quinn, which leads to friction when Murphy claims that sex and gender are one in the same. Murphy and Kalu determine that Quinn has testicular cancer along with fragile bones caused by puberty blockers. Browne and Reznick tend to a male patient that has contracted a superbug resistant to all medication, as a result of taking leftover perscription medication for the wrong purpose. Drs. Andrews and Barnes see a fertility specialist as they are having trouble conceiving. | |||||||
15 | 15 | "Heartfelt" | Regina King | Thomas L. Moran & Johanna Lee | February 26, 2018 | 7.82[38] | |
A female teen goes through a risky surgery to implant a sternum so she can live a normal life without being confined to her house. A young boy initially rejects the idea of having a convicted killer's liver transplanted in him, but without it he has a day to live. A former 15 year veteran cop turned doctor, Alex Park, is skeptical of the convict, Boris's, motives. Allegra talks to Dr. Andrews about a young wealthy donor, Aidan Coulter, but Andrews says being involved with him might give people the wrong idea and that she used sex to solicit donations. At a fundraiser, Jared tells Claire he loved her and thought maybe she would one day love him, but came to the realization that isn't true leaving the status of their relationship unknown. | |||||||
16 | 16 | "Pain" | Allison Liddi-Brown | William L. Rotko & David Renaud | March 12, 2018 | 9.88[39] | |
Shaun, Claire, and Alex assist Melendez with one of his first patients, a man named Hunter who was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident ten years prior. Jared, Morgan, and Andrews attend a patient who has an infection caused by plastic surgery. Claire's estranged mother shows up at the hospital saying she wants to reconnect, but in reality, she takes advantage of Claire once again. Andrews sees an infertility specialist that tells him there is a surgery that could help him with his sperm count, but that there is a risk of impotence. Alex does a background check on Kenny which sheds light on his criminal past leading him to suggest Shaun is being used by him. | |||||||
17 | 17 | "Smile" | Bill D'Elia | David Hoselton & Karen Struck | March 19, 2018 | 9.03[40] | |
Shaun and Alex treat teenaged Gretchen's Mobius Syndrome, enabling her to smile; Andrews persuades an insurance executive to cover the surgery. After Gretchen fails to wake up, it is believed that she has become brain dead, but Park realizes that a rare condition is causing her to remain under anesthesia and she recovers. Morgan and Claire's patient, "Lucy Callard," is actually an identity thief who let her insurance lapse to pay her son's college tuition and failed to fill her post-operative antibiotic prescription due to fear of discovery resulting in a post-op infection. Morgan convinces the real Lucy Callard, a painkiller addict, to enter rehab; Claire gains the trust of the imposter, Beatrice, who dies after her infection turns into septicemia which fails to respond to treatment. Jared romantically pursues his burn-victim patient, Celez, after she completes her treatment; he is also offered a job in Denver. Kenny takes advantage of Shaun. Shaun urges Glassman to date hospital barista Debbie; they hit it off over their interest in classic cars, but Glassman suddenly experiences aphasia at the end of their dinner date. | |||||||
18 | 18 | "More" | Mike Listo | David Shore & Lloyd Gilyard, Jr. | March 26, 2018 | 9.52[41] | |
Glassman tells Shaun about his inoperable glioma and has eighteen months left to live. He accepts his death, but agrees to additional imaging for Shaun's sake; this yields a worse prognosis of four months to live. Glassman takes Shaun to a park his late daughter loved so they can enjoy the time Glassman has left. Shaun determines how a minimally invasive biopsy could be performed whose biopsy later proves that Glassman's cancer is operable and though it'd be a long road to recovery, he'll most likely survive. A patient, Caden suffers complication after treatment for fraternity hazing injury. Jared and Alex question Caden's friend, but Jared is put off by Alex's distrustful nature. Shaun determines that he erred in clamping Caden's artery for which he later proposes a risky procedure offering to take full responsibility for it, but Melendez decides they will perform it together. Caden survives and Melendez invites the team out for drinks, which Morgan finds perverse; Melendez hopes a doctor supports her when she inevitably kills a patient. Shaun decides to admit his mistake to Andrews though Glassman's position would be at stake; Glassman leaves the decision up to Shaun, and accompanies him to meet with Andrews. |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | |||
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19 | 1 | "Hello" | Mike Listo | Freddie Highmore | September 24, 2018 | 7.35[42] | |||
In performance reviews, Andrews, now president of the hospital, tells Shaun to learn to communicate, Claire to be more assertive, and Morgan to improve her teamwork. Jared, working his last day before moving to Denver, skips his. Jared and Shaun run a mobile clinic and meet Harry, a mentally unstable homeless man. When Shaun takes Jared's advice to spend time with Glassman, who is beginning his cancer treatment with Dr. Blaize (his last hire before being replaced), it leads Shaun to diagnose Harry with a brain tumor. Shaun has a communication breakthrough in persuading Harry (whose real name is Edward) to receive treatment, which is successful and enables him to reunite with his family. Shaun commits to standing by Glassman through his treatment. Andrews, following Allegra's advice that Glassman was manipulative, persuades Melendez to perform a risky heart surgery that could raise the hospital's public profile. Claire resolves a complication, and Morgan encourages her to take credit. The procedure is a success, and Claire acknowledges her innovation. Claire has a change of heart and asks Jared to stay, but he tells her they will both be happy apart before leaving for Denver. Lea unexpectedly greets Shaun outside his apartment. | |||||||||
20 | 2 | "Middle Ground" | Steve Robin | David Shore | October 1, 2018 | 7.18[43] | |||
Shaun and Claire assist Dr. Melendez in treating Paul, a hospital janitor Shaun has diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and one year to live. Paul's wife and adult children encourage him to have risky surgery; Paul agrees, telling Shaun he wants to please his family, and advising Shaun to lie when the truth is unhelpful. Paul dies from a complication and his family begins to squabble over having coerced Paul; Shaun lies, telling them that Paul wanted the surgery. Dr. Lim treats Mara, a sixteen-year-old American girl with scarring from female genital mutilation, risking liability in willfully ignoring Mara's fake ID. Mara experiences extreme pain, revealing live tissue; with her parents and Child Protective Services involved, Mara declines reconstruction in favor of clitoridectomy, but Lim performs the reconstruction without consent; Mara is apparently pleased with the result and Lim's discretion. Dr. Glassman delays picking a neurosurgeon, fearing he could survive but suffer permanent disability; at Dr. Blaize's insistence, Glassman undergoes surgery. Shaun avoids his houseguest Lea for days, telling Claire he doesn't understand his own feelings. He tells Lea she hurt him, and he wants her to leave before she hurts him again. | |||||||||
21 | 3 | "36 Hours" | Larry Teng | Thomas L. Moran | October 8, 2018 | 7.18[44] | |||
On 36-hour shifts, Shaun and Morgan manage the emergency room in Dr. Lim's absence while Claire and Alex assist Dr. Melendez. Melendez performs surgery to treat a woman's endometriosis and restore her fertility. Her condition is more severe than realized, and the planned hourlong surgery stretches to over 22 hours; tensions rise among Melendez, Claire, and Nurse Flores. When a risky procedure is the only way to avoid a hysterectomy, the patient's husband refuses to make a decision; he cedes the responsibility to Claire, who overrides Melendez's decision; they perform the hysterectomy. Called before Dr. Andrews over their bickering, Melendez, Claire, and Flores have only praise for each other. Shaun and Morgan safely extract a light bulb from a child's mouth and treat a young man whose priapism reveals an abscess. In traffic court, Lim fails to get a ticket dismissed and is jailed for contempt of court; she is later called away to operate on the abscess, interrupting a tryst with the prosecutor. Shaun apoligizes to Lea; but she criticizes him for hurting her and failing to reciprocate her friendship. Glassman wakes from his successful surgery, and has a vision of his dead daughter, Maddie. | |||||||||
22 | 4 | "Tough Titmouse" | Steven DePaul | David Hoselton | October 15, 2018 | 6.68[45] | |||
Mac, a boy with fragile X syndrome, injures himself and his mother, Nicole. Alex and Shaun believe Nicole should send Mac to a group home; at Melendez's recommendation, Nicole agrees. Shaun recalls living with a tough-loving foster mother who became terminally ill. Dr. Lim, Claire, and Morgan treat injured 18-year-old female free solo climber Kitty; her parents, disapproving a risky surgery that could preserve Kitty's athleticism, obtain a declaration of medical incompetence and authorize a safer procedure that may leave her disabled. Kitty disowns her parents; Claire tries to reconcile them, but nobody changes their decision. Claire and Melendez discuss how their baggage influences their advice. Claire struggled with her irresponsible mother, and Melendez's developmentally challenged sister Gabi lives in a care home. Glassman's daughter Maddie, who became a heavy marijuana user as a teen, died when Glassman locked her out at night as punishment; Glassman has an emotional confrontation with the hallucination of Maddie, and they confirm their mutual love. Shaun struggles to make amends with Lea, succeeding only when he asks what happened in Hershey. Lea is stunned to learn Shaun has rented a two-bedroom apartment for them to share. | |||||||||
23 | 5 | "Carrots" | Sharat Raju | Liz Friedman | October 29, 2018 | 6.79[46] | |||
Dr. Lim treats Wade who, due to Crohn's disease and a fistula, must have his gastric bypass reversed. Wade keeps his past obesity secret from his husband, Spencer. Divorcees Alex and Lim disagree over marital honesty; Alex considers it more important. Wade tells Spencer he kept the secret because Spencer mocked their overweight friends. Spencer admits to Alex his unease at knowing Wade could regain the weight. Dr. Melendez treats Louisa, an anorexic mother suffering mitral regurgitation; her mental illness prevents the weight gain she needs before surgery. Melendez wants to operate despite the risks, rejecting Claire's suggestion of deep brain stimulation; she presents the option to Louisa, who requests it. Melendez is the review board's deciding vote for DBS, but he removes Claire from his team for not accepting his decision while telling her it was Andrews who voted against her. After DBS, Louisa wants to eat, but feels less bonded to her son, a risk she understood and accepted. Glassman is too self-conscious to attempt walking until Shaun brings Debbie to convince him, making Shaun doubt his importance to Glassman. Shaun and Lea talk through her fear that living together will damage their platonic friendship; she ultimately agrees to move into the new apartment with him. | |||||||||
24 | 6 | "Two-Ply (or Not Two-Ply)" | Tara Nicole Weyr | Simran Baidwan | November 5, 2018 | 6.53[47] | |||
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25 | 7 | "Hubert" | Marisol Adler | David Renaud | November 12, 2018 | 6.53[48] | |||
Claire's college roommate Kayla has terminal ovarian cancer; Claire persuades Dr. Melendez to perform a pain-relief procedure, and a life-extending treatment option emerges. At Kayla's insistence, Claire works on Melendez's team with Alex. Kayla asks her husband Dash and Claire to date if she dies, and sends them to dinner together. Kayla wants Dash to be taken care of and Claire to open her heart. Claire accuses Kayla of being controlling; during the second procedure, Claire resolves a complication. Claire and Kayla make peace; Claire urges Kayla to focus on herself. Claire and Melendez commend each other, but agree to not work directly together. Dr. Lim, Shaun, and Morgan treat Santiago, who needs a kidney transplant. His perfect-match brother, Armando, will donate only if Santiago sells the family business, granting Armando economic freedom. Shaun leads the brothers to discuss their father's legacy. Armando donates the kidney condition-free, improving their relationship. Dr. Glassman suffers a memory lapse. Shaun and Lea's new fish Hubert dies; Lea is reminded of the failure of her professional and personal relationship with her brother in Hershey. Shaun comforts Lea by proving that Hubert died of a parasite unrelated to her caretaking; they get a new fish. | |||||||||
26 | 8 | "Stories" | Michael Patrick Jann | Sal Calleros | November 19, 2018 | 6.84[49] | |||
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27 | 9 | "Empathy" | Joanna Kerns | Karen Struck | November 26, 2018 | 6.67[50] | |||
Claire and Morgan treat George, a pedophile who has never acted upon his urges. The hormones that suppress his urges have caused a stroke; he must discontinue them. He mutilates his scrotum and asks the doctors to castrate him. Claire and Morgan eventually agree, but they and Dr. Melendez must instead repair his testicles to prevent unsurvivably low testosterone. George commits suicide; Morgan suggests the outcome is satisfactory. Alex and Shaun treat Billy, a severely beaten juvenile offender. Alex wants to repair an old dent in Billy's forehead, caused by his father's abuse, which led to the beatings; Dr. Lim initially opposes the unnecessary cosmetic procedure, but accepts Shaun's simplified approach. Shaun rejects Billy's praise, because Billy suffered a dangerous complication. Alex reveals Billy had been planning suicide; Shaun saved Billy's life, and exhibited empathy, an area Shaun considers a deficiency. Allegra demands Andrews choose a new Chief of Surgery. After initially considering between Melendez and Lim, Andrews ultimately retains the title himself; Melendez and Lim later agree to be allies instead of competitors. Shaun takes away Glassman's driver's license. Lea teaches Shaun to drive, using flawed but effective surgical metaphors, so Shaun can transport Glassman. | |||||||||
28 | 10 | "Quarantine" | Mike Listo | Liz Friedman & Lloyd Gilyard Jr. | December 3, 2018 | 6.12[51] | |||
After sleeping together, Drs. Lim and Melendez agree not to do so again despite both having enjoyed it. The ER and its waiting room are quarantined after two patients, travelers returning from Malaysia, die of a viral respiratory disease. Those quarantined include Shaun, Morgan, Lim, and Alex's estranged son Kellan. Morgan treats Tyler, an infected EMT with whom she shares a developing romance; Tyler dies despite Morgan's impassioned efforts. Lim gets infected and isolates herself. Mall Santa Pete's bowel obstruction requires surgery without benefit of standard equipment; Lim collapses while talking Morgan through a vital part of the surgery. Shaun also collapses, overwhelmed by sensory overload. Kellan suffers an asthma attack, causing panic when patients think he is infected with the virus. Elsewhere in the hospital, Melendez and Claire struggle to keep leukemia patient Chris alive. Chris's marrow donor, his estranged father Bob, is trapped in quarantine; Chris flatlines and Melendez & Claire struggle to revive him despite Chris' DNR. With Shaun unavailable, Lea takes Dr. Glassman for an MRI to check on the status of his cancer; his tumor is confirmed to have returned. | |||||||||
29 | 11 | "Quarantine Part Two" | Mike Listo | Simran Baidwan & Mark Rozeman | January 14, 2019 | 6.26[52] | |||
Morgan revives Shaun by getting him to focus on Santa Pete's condition; with Shaun's help, Morgan successfully completes the surgery. Melendez and Claire revive their patient and devise a way to perform the bone marrow transplant with Andrews' help. Park breaks quarantine to treat Kellan's asthma attack and extracts Bob's bone marrow with the help of retired veterinarian Esther; the transplant is a success but Bob dies of complications. Esther later conveys Bob's final regrets to his son. Morgan treats Doctor Lim using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation which proves successful and she survives. Morgan realizes that Tyler's ripped mask led to him getting sick and the virus is not airborne; no one else contracts the virus and quarantine is later lifted. Pregnant Viola suffers complications, forcing Shaun to perform a C-section. With the help of Kellan, Shaun saves both mother and child. Inspired by Bob's regrets, Park reconciles with Kellan and allows his ex-wife to comfort him when she arrives. Glassman discovers that his cancer has not returned but that he has meningitis, explaining his memory loss. Glassman and Lea argue over telling Shaun and their respective roles in his life; Glassman chooses to tell Shaun the truth in the end and they share a rare hug. | |||||||||
30 | 12 | "Aftermath" | Dawn Wilkinson | Thomas L. Moran | January 21, 2019 | 6.27[53] | |||
In the aftermath of the quarantine, the governor orders a review of the hospital; the investigator expresses concern about Andrews maintaining his dual role and recommends Shaun, Lim and Melendez to the medical board for license suspension over their actions. With the ER closed for cleanup, Park spends the day with his ex-wife Mia and son Kellan, Morgan and Claire spend the day helping Claire's mother pack up her apartment, and Shaun and Glassman spend the day with Lea. Park and Mia decide to work on repairing their relationship. Morgan and Claire confront Claire's mother's boyfriend, whom she claims beat her, only to learn that he never abused her; she is panicked because he proposed to her. Claire convinces her mother to work at the romantic relationship. Morgan admits she is sad about Tyler's death. Claire is impressed that Morgan, who once had a stalker, confidently carries a gun and doesn't back down. Glassman decides to speed up his treatment after a fun day while Shaun learns that Lea has a boyfriend, Jake. Lim and Melendez's night together complicates things for them; they ultimately admit to mutual feelings; due to the legal proceedings, they decide to pursue a secret relationship. | |||||||||
31 | 13 | "Xin" | David Straiton | Brian Shin | January 28, 2019 | 6.58[54] | |||
Claire, Park and Melendez treat an elderly patient, Sunny, with an estranged biological daughter Grace and a surrogate daughter Teresa. Sunny's mechanical heart is malfunctioning; with her condition deteriorating, the doctors are forced to operate rather than send Sunny to her doctor in China; the surgery is a success. Afterwards, with support from Park and Teresa, Sunny and Grace begin mending their relationship. At the same time, Lim, Morgan and Shaun treat an autistic patient, Lana, whose brain aneurysm requires a surgery, during which Lana must be awake and talking so the doctors can gauge her brain function. Shaun and Morgan attempt to recruit Lana's roommate Javi, with whom she has a perfunctory sexual relationship. Javi, also autistic, overcomes his sensitivity to light to be present in the operating room, making the surgery a success; Javi admits his love for Lana. At the same time, Shaun struggles with Lea having a boyfriend. Shaun and Lea acknowledge they make each others' lives better; he agrees to give her needed privacy with Jake. Shaun's overbearing attempts to help an ill Glassman lead to a fight. Following Lea's advice, Shaun acts as a supportive friend rather than as a doctor, which Glassman appreciates. | |||||||||
32 | 14 | "Faces" | Allison Liddi-Brown | David Hoselton | February 4, 2019 | 5.96[55] | |||
A fourteen year old girl, Karen, is left brain dead following a car accident and Andrews asks Karen's mother Shannon to consent to a face transplant for Molly, whose face was destroyed by an accidental gunshot. Shannon consents only after Claire arranges for Shannon to encounter Molly. Melendez, Lim, Andrews, Morgan, Park and Claire perform a successful transplant. Melendez and Lim question their relationship, with Lim concerned that Melendez has uncharacteristically deferred to her, to the detriment of their initial treatment of Karen; they decide against breaking up. Shannon bonds with Molly and her parents; Shannon and Molly's father both blame themselves for the harm their daughters suffered. Shaun takes the day off to help Glassman, leading to the two getting high on Glassman's medical marijuana. As a result, Shaun, Glassman and an Uber driver undertake a successful quest to locate Robin, a woman Glassman was in love with in high school, so that he can apologize for an unkind comment he wrote in her yearbook. The experience causes Shaun to reexamine his own feelings for Lea and he admits to Glassman that he is "not all right" with Lea's relationship with her boyfriend Jake. | |||||||||
33 | 15 | "Risk and Reward" | Freddie Highmore | Story by : David Renaud Teleplay by : Liz Freidman & David Renaud | February 18, 2019 | TBD | |||
| |||||||||
34 | 16 | "Believe"[56] | Alrick Riley | Sal Calleros & Karen Struck | February 25, 2019 | TBD | |||
35 | 17 | "Breakdown"[57] | Mike Listo | Thomas L. Moran & Lloyd Gilyard, Jr. | March 4, 2019 | TBD |
In May 2014, CBS Television Studios began development on an American remake of the hit South Korean medical drama Good Doctor with Daniel Dae Kim as producer. Kim explained the appeal of adapting the series as "something that can fit into a recognizable world, with a breadth of characters that can be explored in the long run".[58] The story of an autistic pediatric surgeon was to be set in Boston and projected to air in August 2015.[59][60] However, CBS did not pick up the project and it moved to Sony Pictures Television, with a put pilot commitment from ABC in October 2016. The series is developed by David Shore, who is executive producing alongside Kim, Sebastian Lee, and David Kim.[61] ABC officially ordered the series to pilot in January 2017.[62]
On May 11, 2017, ABC ordered the show to series as a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and ABC Studios,[63] and it was officially picked up for a full season of 18 episodes on October 3, 2017.[64] On March 7, 2018, ABC renewed the series for a second season.[65] On February 5, 2019, during the TCA press tour, ABC renewed the show for a third season.[66][67]
On February 17, 2017, Antonia Thomas was cast as Dr. Claire Browne, a strong-willed and talented doctor who forms a special connection with Shaun.[5] A week later, Freddie Highmore was cast in the lead role as Dr. Shaun Murphy, an autistic surgeon; and Nicholas Gonzalez was cast as Dr. Neil Melendez, the boss of the surgical residents at the hospital.[3] The next month, Chuku Modu was cast as resident Dr. Jared Kalu (originally Dr. Jared Unger);[6] Hill Harper as head of surgery Dr. Marcus Andrews (originally Dr. Horace Andrews); Irene Keng as resident Dr. Elle McLean;[8] and Richard Schiff was cast as Dr. Aaron Glassman (originally Dr. Ira Glassman), the hospital president and Shaun's mentor.[9][63] Schiff was shortly followed by Beau Garrett as hospital board member Jessica Preston and a friend of Dr. Glassman.[7] In September 2017, Tamlyn Tomita was promoted to the principal cast as Allegra Aoki.[11]
In April 2018, it was revealed that Will Yun Lee, Fiona Gubelmann, Christina Chang, and Paige Spara had been promoted to series regulars for the second season, after recurring in the first as Alex, Morgan, Audrey, and Lea, respectively.[68] In addition, it was announced that Chuku Modu would not return for the second season.[68] On September 19, 2018, it was announced that Beau Garrett had left the series ahead of the second season premiere.[69]
In January 2019, it was announced that executive producer Daniel Dae Kim had been added in a recurring role during the second season.[16]
Production on the pilot took place from March 21 to April 6, 2017, in Vancouver, British Columbia.[71][72] Filming for the rest of the season began on July 26, 2017, and concluded on March 1, 2018.[73] Filming for season two began on June 27, 2018, and concluded on February 12, 2019.[74]
Emmy nominated Dan Romer serves as the primary composer for the series.[75][76] He won an ASCAP Screen Music Awards for his work on the show.[77][78]
The Good Doctor began airing on September 25, 2017, on ABC in the United States,[79] and on CTV in Canada.[80] Sky Witness acquired the broadcast rights for the United Kingdom and Ireland.[81] Seven Network airs the series in Australia.[82] Wowow, the largest Japanese private satellite and pay-per-view television network in Japan acquired the rights to broadcast the series beginning in April 2018.[83] In the Netherlands, the series began airing on January 29, 2018, on RTL 4 and on video-on-demand service Videoland.[84] In Italy the series premiered on Rai 1 on July 17, 2018 setting a record of 5.2 million total viewers from 9.30pm to 11.45pm, reaching a share of 31,7% in the third episode[85] and entering the Top 10 of Most Watched Foreign TV Series in Italy at No.5[86], an event since the leaderboard never changed again after the last entry on November 14, 2007 with an episode of House[87][86]. In Brazil, the series was the first international production to be released at the Rede Globo's video-on-demand service Globoplay[88]. On August 27 the two first episodes was aired at Globo free-to-air television network to announce the launch of the series in the streaming service[89].
A full-length trailer was released for ABC's May 2017 Upfront presentation, which /Film's Ethan Anderton described the concept as feeling like "House meets Rain Man, that just might be enough to make it interesting". However, he questioned "how long can audiences be entranced by both the brilliance of [Highmore's] character's savant skills and the difficulties that come from his autism in the workplace."[90] Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter felt the trailer was "both kinda progressive and really dated". He added, "Too much felt on-the-nose—especially Hill Harper as the main character's detractor and Richard Schiff as his noble defender", while also commentating that "On-the-nose/premise is how you have to trailer a show like this, and maybe spaced out over 43 minutes it won't grate."[91] Ben Travers and Steve Greene for IndieWire called it "a serious trailer for a serious subject. The first glimpse of Highmore's character hints that they're toeing the line between presenting a thoughtful depiction of his condition and using his perceptive abilities as a kind of secret weapon."[92] The trailer had been viewed over 25.4 million times after a week of its release, including over 22 million views on Facebook.[93]
The pilot was screened at ABC's PaleyFest event on September 9, 2017.[94] On March 22, 2018, members of the cast as well as executive producers Shore and Kim attended the 35th annual PaleyFest LA to promote the series, along with a screening of the season finale of the first season.[95]
Season | Timeslot (ET) | Episodes | First aired | Last aired | TV season | Rank | Avg. viewers (millions) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Viewers (millions) |
Date | Viewers (millions) | ||||||
1 | Monday 10:00 pm | 18 | September 25, 2017 | 11.22[24] | March 26, 2018 | 9.52[41] | 2017–18 | 7 | 15.61[96] |
2 | 18[97] | September 24, 2018[98] | 7.35[42] | March 11, 2019[99] | TBD | 2018–19 | TBD | TBD |
The series premiere earned a 2.2/9 rating in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, with 11.22 million total viewers, making it the most watched Monday drama debut on ABC in 21 years, since Dangerous Minds in September 1996, and the highest rated Monday drama in the 18–49 demographic in 8.5 years, since Castle in March 2009.[100] Factoring live plus seven-day ratings, the pilot was watched by a total of 19.2 million viewers and set a record for DVR viewers with 7.9 million, surpassing the record of 7.67 million set by the pilot of Designated Survivor in 2016.[101] According to TV Guide's November 13–26 issue, the October 9 episode attracted 18.2 million viewers, beating out both high-rated CBS shows NCIS and The Big Bang Theory for the most viewed primetime show that week.[102]
No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Burnt Food" | September 25, 2017 | 2.2/9 | 11.22[24] | 2.2 | 7.86 | 4.4 | 19.21[103] |
2 | "Mount Rushmore" | October 2, 2017 | 2.2/9 | 10.93[25] | 2.1 | 7.21 | 4.3 | 18.12[104] |
3 | "Oliver" | October 9, 2017 | 2.0/7 | 10.69[26] | 2.2 | 7.53 | 4.2 | 18.22[105] |
4 | "Pipes" | October 16, 2017 | 2.0/8 | 10.60[27] | 2.1 | 7.34 | 4.1 | 17.96[106] |
5 | "Point Three Percent" | October 23, 2017 | 1.8/7 | 10.39[28] | 2.0 | 7.10 | 3.8 | 17.50[107] |
6 | "Not Fake" | October 30, 2017 | 1.9/7 | 10.60[29] | 2.0 | 6.93 | 3.9 | 17.51[108] |
7 | "22 Steps" | November 13, 2017 | 1.9/7 | 10.14[30] | 1.9 | 6.92 | 3.8 | 17.14[109] |
8 | "Apple" | November 20, 2017 | 1.8/7 | 9.97[31] | 1.8 | 6.98 | 3.6 | 16.99[110] |
9 | "Intangibles" | November 27, 2017 | 1.7/7 | 9.25[32] | 1.8 | 6.66 | 3.5 | 15.91[111] |
10 | "Sacrifice" | December 4, 2017 | 1.6/7 | 9.03[33] | 1.8 | 6.67 | 3.4 | 15.74[112] |
11 | "Islands Part One" | January 8, 2018 | 1.6/6 | 8.30[34] | 1.8 | 7.10 | 3.4 | 15.40[113] |
12 | "Islands Part Two" | January 15, 2018 | 1.7/6 | 9.33[35] | 1.8 | 6.66 | 3.5 | 16.00[114] |
13 | "Seven Reasons" | January 22, 2018 | 1.7/7 | 9.61[36] | 1.9 | 6.91 | 3.6 | 16.53[115] |
14 | "She" | February 5, 2018 | 1.7/7 | 9.63[37] | 1.8 | 7.07 | 3.5 | 16.71[116] |
15 | "Heartfelt" | February 26, 2018 | 1.3/5 | 7.82[38] | 1.8 | 6.84 | 3.1 | 14.66[117] |
16 | "Pain" | March 12, 2018 | 1.8/7 | 9.88[39] | 1.5 | 6.23 | 3.3 | 16.12[118] |
17 | "Smile" | March 19, 2018 | 1.6/6 | 9.03[40] | 1.5 | 6.39 | 3.1 | 15.42[119] |
18 | "More" | March 26, 2018 | 1.7/6 | 9.52[41] | 1.6 | 6.32 | 3.3 | 15.85[120] |
No. | Title | Air date | Rating/share (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Hello" | September 24, 2018 | 1.3/6 | 7.35[42] | 1.7 | 6.78 | 3.0 | 14.13[121] |
2 | "Middle Ground" | October 1, 2018 | 1.1/5 | 7.18[43] | 1.5 | 6.14 | 2.6 | 13.34[122] |
3 | "36 Hours" | October 8, 2018 | 1.1/5 | 7.18[44] | 1.4 | 6.04 | 2.5 | 13.22[123] |
4 | "Tough Titmouse" | October 15, 2018 | 1.1/5 | 6.68[45] | 1.3 | 5.76 | 2.4 | 12.44[124] |
5 | "Carrots" | October 29, 2018 | 1.0/5 | 6.79[46] | 1.3 | 5.87 | 2.3 | 12.66[125] |
6 | "Two-Ply (or Not Two-Ply)" | November 5, 2018 | 1.0/4 | 6.53[47] | 1.5 | 6.24 | 2.5 | 12.81[126] |
7 | "Hubert" | November 12, 2018 | 1.0/5 | 6.53[48] | 1.3 | 5.66 | 2.3 | 12.19[127] |
8 | "Stories" | November 19, 2018 | 1.1/5 | 6.84[49] | 1.3 | 5.64 | 2.4 | 12.50[128] |
9 | "Empathy" | November 26, 2018 | 1.0/5 | 6.67[50] | 1.3 | 5.55 | 2.3 | 12.22[129] |
10 | "Quarantine" | December 3, 2018 | 1.1/6 | 6.12[51] | 1.2 | 5.47 | 2.3 | 11.61[130] |
11 | "Quarantine Part Two" | January 14, 2019 | 1.2/6 | 6.26[52] | 1.5 | 6.16 | 2.7 | 12.42[131] |
12 | "Aftermath" | January 21, 2019 | 1.2/5 | 6.27[53] | 1.2 | 5.87 | 2.4 | 12.15[132] |
13 | "Xin" | January 28, 2019 | 1.1/5 | 6.58[54] | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
14 | "Faces" | February 4, 2019 | 1.0/5 | 5.96[55] | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 60% approval rating with an average rating of 5.62/10 based on 40 reviews on the first season. The website's consensus reads, "The Good Doctor's heavy-handed bedside manner undermines a solid lead performance, but under all the emotionally manipulative gimmickry, there's still plenty of room to improve."[133] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 53 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[134]
Giving his first impression of the series' pilot for TVLine, Matt Webb Mitovich stated, "The Good Doctor boasts great DNA... [and] has the potential to be a refreshingly thought-provoking hospital drama, based on the buttons pushed in the pilot alone." He enjoyed the "warm dynamic" of Schiff and Highmore, while describing Thomas' character as "our emotional 'in' to Shaun's distinct, distant world". He noted that "it takes a while to build up momentum", but concluded that "the very final scene packs quite a punch, as Dr. Murphy unwittingly puts a colleague on notice".[135]
The New York Times television critic James Poniewozik notes in his Critic's Notebook column that, for the most part, the drama is a "hospital melodrama with whiz-bang medical science, a dash of intra-staff romance and shameless sentimentality." Discussing the main characters of Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) and Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore), however, Poniewozik writes that "Mr. Schiff is convincing in the role and Mr. Highmore is striking in his." [136]
Speaking of Freddie Highmore's Golden Globe nomination on Monday, December 11, 2017, for his role in The Good Doctor, Laura Bradley, writing for Vanity Fair says: "... Freddie Highmore received the awards recognition that has long and unjustly eluded him..." Bradley feels that Highmore's performance has been "the central key" to the show's enormous success and while the show had lukewarm reviews, most critics have praised Highmore's work.[137]