They are strange dates. Due to the writers' strike, the creative teams of the series are now planning and writing the imminent seasons of fiction. And, due to low audiences on traditional television and the need to cut costs, veteran series are suffering a severe setback. This is the case of The Good Doctor, which, despite being one of the pillars of the American channel ABC, has been informed that the seventh season, which is currently underway, will be the last.
"Thanks to the creative direction of David Shore and Liz Friedman, anchored by Freddie Highmore's performance, The Good Doctor has captivated audiences, who deeply connected with Dr. Shaun Murphy and the workers at San Jose St Bonaventure Hospital," they said. from the Disney-owned channel. You are right. The first season averaged 15 million viewers, being one of the surprises of 2017. It even became a ratings success on Spanish general television with Telecinco.
The secret was in the good intentions behind the medical drama. Actor and producer Daniel Dae Kim, then known for Lost, saw that in South Korea, the country of his parents, there was a very attractive format: a series about a surgery resident with autism who overcame his social difficulties to become a brilliant professional, helped by his Savant syndrome that made him a privileged mind.
David Shore, who had previously created House, took the reins of the adaptation project and found Freddie Highmore, who was leaving Bates Motel, to play Dr. Shaun Murphy, the good doctor of the title. Each episode contained the medical cases that the doctors at the San Jose hospital had to deal with as well as the social and romantic obstacles for a non-neurotypical person like Shaun. “Playing Dr. Shaun Murphy has been an immense privilege and one of the most remarkable and grateful experiences of my life,” Highmore said in the press release.
With the announcement of the seventh season as the last, The good doctor ensures a proper outcome. Richard Schiff, Fiona Gubelmann, Will Yun Lee, Christina Chang, Paige Spara, Bria Samoné Henderson, Noah Galvin are expected to remain as regular cast members, in addition to Chuku Modu, who returned as a recurring actor as Jared Kalu and will be in a fixed way to dismiss fiction.
The decision, as we said, seems to be related to his seniority. Produced by Sony Pictures and ABC Signature, constant renewals mean that fixed costs are higher than those of a series in its first seasons. To understand that it was still a success, you only need to see that in the previous season a spin-off was developed that was to focus on a non-neurotypical lawyer, a project that was ultimately not given the green light.
It is added, therefore, to the cancellation of Station 19 on the same ABC channel while, to save, Young Sheldon or Blue Bloods on CBS have been canceled. Being successful is sometimes not enough when costs escalate and, above all, free-to-air television audiences are not the same as before.
