‘The Good Doctor’ Boss Teases Big Changes at San Jose St. Bonaventure in Final Season

“We’re going to give these characters a great send-off,” assures The Good Doctor executive producer Liz Friedman, referring to the unexpectedly canceled ABC hospital drama’s farewell. “There’s sadness that it’s ending, but we’re glad to have had advance notice to figure out how we end this chapter.”

Happily, Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) and his colleagues have 10 episodes left, per Friedman, and Season 7 opens as Shaun and Lea (Paige Spara, above, with Highmore) are settling in as parents to newborn Steve. Shaun returns to the OR, “moving through the world now as a doctor and a dad, having attachments to patients that he didn’t before,” Friedman says.

The big medical case seen in the premiere is deeply personal for other docs at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital: Eden, the adopted daughter of Morgan (Fiona Gubelmann) who’s also being raised by Park (Will Yun Lee), needs risky heart surgery. Shaun takes it on, but it sets up an ethical dilemma for the team.

Next week, Shaun turns his attention to two third-year med students he’s shepherding through rounds. Former college football player Dom (Wavyy Jonez) is facing a tough surgical rotation—the sight of blood makes him faint—while Charlie (Kayla Cromer) idolizes Shaun, with whom she shares a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. “There are things she finds very challenging about being in this hospital and working around people,” the EP explains. “It’s hard for Shaun to be accommodating.”

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Accommodation is also needed to remedy the heartbreaking rupture between Shaun and his surrogate father, Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff)—baby Steve’s middle name is Aaron. Shaun’s mentor might be distracted, however, by a possible run to return to his former position as hospital president. The vacancy, Friedman teases, leads to “a really entertaining new dynamic” between Glassman and surgical chief Lim (Christina Chang). Hope their scalpels aren’t too sharp. 

The Good Doctor, Season 7 Premieres Tuesday, February 20, 10/9c, ABC