“The Good Doctor” ran on ABC for seven seasons and 126 episodes, from September 25, 2017, to May 21, 2024. It stars Freddie Highmore as Shaun Murphy, a young surgical resident with autism and savant syndrome who leaves Casper, Wyoming, for San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. David Shore, who made “House,” created it. It is a remake of a 2013 South Korean series of the same name. Metacritic sits at 53 and the score is 5.3/10. That number is right, and the reasons are structural.
Trailer, via Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Daniel Dae Kim Buys the Rights Back From CBS
The origin story is the most interesting thing about “The Good Doctor.” Actor Daniel Dae Kim saw the South Korean original and bought the rights for his production company. In 2015 he shopped it to CBS Television Studios. CBS passed on a pilot. Kim felt strongly enough about the series that he bought the rights back, then worked out a deal with Sony Pictures Television and brought in Shore to develop it. ABC gave it a put pilot commitment, and the series was ordered in May 2017.
That is a real fight.
What reaches the screen is a medical procedural built on one trait. Shaun cannot connect with the people around him. He saves lives anyway. His colleagues doubt him. The premise is stated plainly in the show’s own setup: a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, relocated from a quiet country life into a prestigious hospital’s surgical unit, using extraordinary medical gifts to save lives and challenge the skepticism of those around him.
Freddie Highmore and the Cast That Stayed
Highmore carries the lead, and the show leans on him completely. Around him, the cast turned over in a way that says something about how the writers treated supporting characters. Antonia Thomas was cast as Dr. Claire Browne in February 2017, a doctor who forms a special connection with Shaun. Nicholas Gonzalez was cast as Dr. Neil Melendez, the residents’ supervisor. Both were written out as the series progressed.
Chuku Modu played Dr. Jared Kalu, left after season one, reprised the role in season six, and became a series regular again in season seven. Beau Garrett left ahead of the second-season premiere. Hill Harper, Tamlyn Tomita, Jasika Nicole, Osvaldo Benavides and Brandon Larracuente all cycled through. Will Yun Lee, Fiona Gubelmann, Christina Chang and Paige Spara were promoted to series regulars for season two after recurring in the first.
Christina Chang, Richard Schiff, Will Yun Lee, Fiona Gubelmann, Paige Spara, Noah Galvin and Bria Samoné Henderson are the names that stuck. Schiff plays Dr. Aaron Glassman, the hospital president and Shaun’s mentor.
The Premise, the Setting, and What Was Inherited
| Element | “The Good Doctor” | 2013 South Korean original |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | American remake | Source series |
| Developer | David Shore, via Sony Pictures Television | Not specified in source |
| Lead | Freddie Highmore as Shaun Murphy | Not specified in source |
| Setting | San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital | Not specified in source |
| Run | 7 seasons, 126 episodes | Not specified in source |
Shaun Murphy has autism and savant syndrome. He comes from Casper, Wyoming, where he had a troubled past. He goes to San Jose. The supporting cast around him was assembled in waves: Irene Keng as Dr. Elle McLean, Tamlyn Tomita promoted to the principal cast as Allegra Aoki in September 2017, Jasika Nicole promoted to series regular for the third season in July 2019, and Noah Galvin, Summer Brown, Bria Samoné Henderson and Brian Marc cast in recurring roles for the fourth season in October 2020. Galvin and Henderson were promoted to series regulars the following May.
A Premise That Cannot Carry 126 Episodes
The show was ordered to series in May 2017 after a put pilot commitment at ABC. It premiered September 25, 2017. It ended May 21, 2024. It added Daniel Dae Kim himself in a recurring role during the second season, years after he first bought the rights to the Korean original.
The Cast Ranked by What the Show Did With Them
- Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman — the mentor role that gives the show its only steady relationship.
- Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy — the lead, and the load the entire series rests on.
- Christina Chang as Dr. Audrey Lim — a series regular from season two onward, and a rare case of the show keeping someone.
- Paige Spara as Lea Dilallo — recurring in season one, promoted for season two, and one of the few threads that survives the turnover.
- Chuku Modu as Dr. Jared Kalu — written out after season one, brought back in season six, made a regular again in season seven.
What the Show Wastes
“The Good Doctor” is a medical drama with one good idea and no plan for it. That is the paper’s read on the whole run, and the record backs it: a premise that could carry a season or two, stretched across seven, with a cast list that kept changing underneath it. The 5.3 is not a knock on Highmore or Schiff. It is a knock on a show that never found a second thing to be about.
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