ABC Cancels 'The Good Doctor'
Freddie Highmore in 'The Good Doctor'
The lights are going out at St. Bonaventure Hospital. ABC has announced that The Good Doctor, which stars Freddie Highmore in the lead role of Dr. Shaun Murphy—a surgeon with autism and savant syndrome—will end with its upcoming seventh season.
“Playing Dr. Shaun Murphy has been an immense privilege and one of the most remarkable and rewarding experiences of my life," Highmore said in a statement (via THR).
Co-showrunners David Shore and Liz Friedman and executive producer Erin Gunn shared their thoughts on the news as well. “The Good Doctor has been a once in a lifetime opportunity, but it’s time to say goodbye," they said in a statement. "We are incredibly proud of the work we’ve done and the message we’ve been privileged to be a part of. We look forward to giving our fantastic fans, the truly extraordinary Freddie Highmore, the rest of our talented actors (and friends), and the best crew in the business the series ending that you all deserve."
At the end of the show's sixth season, which wrapped in May 2023, viewers saw Dr. Murphy welcome a son with wife Lea (Paige Spara).
Related: Freddie Highmore Teases What's Next for Dr. Shaun Murphy
"It’s kind of crazy," Highmore told Parade of the storyline after the Season 6 finale. "It feels so momentous." He went on to say that it’s "just kind of mad that we’ve arrived at the point where he is, indeed, a father," and added that Shore "had in his mind the idea that Shaun being a father could at some point be the end of the whole show."
"It made me quite nostalgic filming that episode, looking back at the journey that [my character had] been on and everything he’s gone through," Highmore shared. "And I guess at the same time, it also makes you look towards the future, because it feels like this whole new reinvention of who he is."
In response to the news of the show ending, Highmore closed out his statement saying he will "always be grateful to David, Liz, and Erin as well as the hugely talented—and lovely—cast, writers, and crew who made this show possible. Caring deeply is what got us here....With love from Vancouver… tequila, stat!”
The Good Doctor returns for its seventh and final season on Feb. 20 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
