The Good Doctor -tv Series

Main

• Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy, an autistic surgical resident under Dr. Melendez.^[3] His savant abilities include near-photographic recall and the ability to note minute details and changes. He is portrayed in flashbacks to his teen years by Graham Verchere.^[4]
• Nicholas Gonzalez as Dr. Neil Melendez, an attending cardiothoracic surgeon in charge of surgical residents.^[3]
• Antonia Thomas as Dr. Claire Browne, a surgical resident under Dr. Melendez who forms a friendship with Shaun. Later on, she was removed from Dr. Melendez's team and became Dr. Lim's resident.^[5]
• Chuku Modu as Dr. Jared Kalu, a surgical resident under Dr. Melendez from a wealthy family. He moves to Denver after conflicting with Dr. Andrews.^[6] (season 1; guest, season 2)
• Beau Garrett as Jessica Preston, the hospital in-house attorney and Vice President of Risk Management. She is the granddaughter of the hospital founder and a friend of Dr. Glassman.^[7] (season 1)
• Hill Harper as Dr. Marcus Andrews, President of the San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital, former Chief of Surgery, attending plastic surgeon.^[8]
• Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman, former President of the San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital and attending neurosurgeon, who has been a mentor and good friend of Shaun since he was 14.^[9][10]
• Tamlyn Tomita as Allegra Aoki, Chairwoman of the San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital Board and Vice President of the foundation that controls the hospital's funding.^[11]
• Will Yun Lee as Dr. Alex Park, an ex-cop who decided to become a doctor. A surgical resident under Dr. Lim.^[12] (season 2; recurring, season 1)
• Fiona Gubelmann as Dr. Morgan Reznick, a surgical resident under Dr. Melendez. Morgan has a subtle rivalry with Claire as they have opposite personalities and work ethics.^[13][14] (season 2; recurring, season 1)
• Christina Chang as Dr. Audrey Lim, an attending trauma surgeon in charge of the ER and surgical residents. (season 2; recurring, season 1)
• Paige Spara as Lea Dilallo, Shaun's love interest until she left to pursue her dream. Later after she returned, they decided to be just friends and become roommates. (season 2; recurring, season 1)

Recurring

• Dylan Kingwell as Steve Murphy (season 1): Shaun's younger brother, in flashbacks.^[4] He also portrays Evan Gallico, a boy in the present that resembles Shaun's brother and is suffering from stage 4 osteosarcoma.
• Chris D'Elia as Kenny (season 1): Shaun's new neighbor, who moves into Lea's apartment. Shaun mentioned that he was arrested when Lea returned.
• Lisa Edelstein as Dr. Marina Blaize (season 2), an oncologist^[15]
• Daniel Dae Kim as Dr. Jackson Han (season 2), current Chief of Surgery of San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital^[16]

Notable guests

• Irene Keng as Dr. Elle McLean, a surgical resident (only appears in the pilot, however had series regular status for that episode) ^[8][17]
• Jasika Nicole as Carly^[18]
• Eve Gordon as Nurse Fryday^[18]
• Eric Winter as Matt Coyle, a suave doctor who charms the hospital's staff, until he makes explicit advances towards Claire.^[19]
• Marsha Thomason as Dr. Isabel Barnes, Marcus' wife. ^[20]
• Kelly Blatz as Aidan Coulter, donor and Allegra's love interest
• Manny Jacinto as Bobby Ato, in the 10th episode of the first season, "Sacrifice"
• Necar Zadegan as Dr. Ko.
• Vered Blonstein as Lana Moore, the only autistic female character on the series.^[21]
• Sheila Kelley as hospital barista Debbi, a love interest for Dr. Glassman. Kelley is the wife of Richard Schiff, who plays Glassman.
• Holly Taylor as Maddie Glassman, Dr. Glassman's daughter.
• Ricky He as Kellan Park, Dr. Park's estranged son^[22]
• Alex Plank as Javier Maldonado ^[21]

Series overview

Season 1 (2017–18)

Season 2 (2018–19)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (millions)
19	1	"Hello"	Mike Listo	Freddie Highmore	September 24, 2018 (2018-09-24)	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 (2018-10-01)	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 (2018-10-08)	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 (2018-10-15)	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 (2018-10-29)	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 (2018-11-05)	6.53[47]
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (December 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Now working with Dr. Lim, Claire treats a teenage girl, Riley, for severe respiratory problems. Riley's parents believe she is making herself sick over their divorce, but Claire suspects a tumor. When Riley's condition worsens, Claire convinces her parents to allow exploratory surgery; Park initially doubts Claire, but ultimately helps her. They discover and remove an inhaled Lego from Riley's lung; her years-long illness was an immune response to the foreign object. Shaun and Morgan disagree over treating Jas, a violinist: Shaun believes that she has flesh-eating bacteria which Morgan, a former archer, is reluctant to test for as it could ruin Jas's career if they are wrong. Morgan's hesitation leads to them being forced to amputate Jas's whole arm when her condition worsens. Melendez advises Morgan, devastated by her mistake, that she and Shaun have different strengths using himself and Dr. Lim during their residency as an example. The experience and Melendez's advice cause Morgan to question her cutthroat, competitive approach to the program. Debbie helps Glassman recover at home, but he asks her to leave after he is injured when they attempt intimacy. Shaun and Lea struggle as new roommates. Glassman tells Lea that if she can't be Shaun's roommate she should move out immediately; to Shaun's delight, Lea commits to resolving their conflicts and sharing the apartment.
25	7	"Hubert"	Marisol Adler	David Renaud	November 12, 2018 (2018-11-12)	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 (2018-11-19)	6.84[49]
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (January 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Morgan and Park treat Finn, whose parents don't believe in vaccines. Finn has diastematomyelia, a congenitally split spinal cord. During Finn's treatment, his mother Bethany allows Park to vaccinate him. Finn is treated successfully, but Bethany acted without her husband's knowledge, threatening their marriage. In a failed effort to reconcile them, Park tells the husband a story (which Park later claims is untrue) of a family that fractured when a couple failed to address the wife's dishonesty; its implied that the story is of Park himself by his emotional reaction in telling it. Shaun and Claire treat Todd and Dawn, a couple whose car crashed. Dawn's miscarried ectopic pregnancy reveals her infidelity, as Todd had a vasectomy. Claire determines that a tumor has removed Dawn's inhibitions; it is removed, but Todd only forgives Dawn after Claire points out that, despite acting on every impulse, Dawn never left him showing that she truly loved Todd. With Claire looking for other jobs, Dr. Andrews tells Dr. Melendez that Claire's departure would endanger Melendez's promotion. So Melendez can avoid choosing between disobeying orders and looking weak, Claire extends an openly insincere apology; he restores her to his team. At Dr. Glassman's request, Shaun privately tests his memory. Glassman cannot remember Shaun's brother's name, confirming the lapses.
27	9	"Empathy"	Joanna Kerns	Karen Struck	November 26, 2018 (2018-11-26)	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 (2018-12-03)	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 (2019-01-14)	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 (2019-01-21)	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 (2019-01-28)	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 (2019-02-04)	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 (2019-02-18)	TBD
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (February 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) The hospital gains a new Chief of Surgery, Doctor Jackson Han. Han assigns Melendez, Park and Morgan to run a battery of tests of a rich patient Manesh for the simple reason that the man wanted them. The tests end up showing that Manesh has a tumor in his leg that has a high probability of being benign, but would be fatal if they were wrong. Despite the dangers of surgery, Manesh decides to undergo the procedure. The tumor is successfully removed, but Manesh will walk with a limp for the rest of his life. Both Melendez and Manesh decide against finding out if it was cancer or not. At the same time, Glassman undergoes chemotherapy and meets a young cancer patient Larry who urges Glassman to embrace his identity as a cancer patient. Though resistant, Glassman later goes to play cards with Larry and Candice, a leukemia patient. Lim, Shaun and Claire deal with the case of a baby, Percy, born with severe birth defects that could prove fatal. Shaun's troubles with empathy leads him to tell the mother that there's a chance that the defects are her fault, outraging Han despite Claire and Lim's defense of Shaun. Though it appears that Percy is beyond saving, a literal last minute inspiration by Shaun allows them to save her. Shaun's diagnostic skills impress Han who chooses to transfer Shaun to pathology against his wishes so that Shaun can still save patients, but won't have to interact with them.
34	16	"Believe"[56]	Alrick Riley	Sal Calleros & Karen Struck	February 25, 2019 (2019-02-25)	TBD
35	17	"Breakdown"[57]	Mike Listo	Thomas L. Moran & Lloyd Gilyard, Jr.	March 4, 2019 (2019-03-04)	TBD

Development

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]

Casting

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]

Filming

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]

Music

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]

Broadcast

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].

Marketing

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]

Ratings

Critical response

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]

Awards