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ABC’s ‘The Good Doctor’ is Inspiring Audiences and Winning Over the Hearts of Viewers Everywhere

Move over, This Is Us!  There’s a new hit drama on television and it’s tugging at the heartstrings of audiences everywhere.  We are, of course, talking about the new smash hit ABC series The Good Doctor.

ABC’s ‘The Good Doctor’ is Inspiring Audiences and Winning Over the Hearts of Viewers Everywhere

Now, we know what you’re thinking but this series isn’t just another typical medical drama show.  The Good Doctor stars Freddie Highmore (Bates Motel) as Doctor Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome who relocates from a quiet country life to join a prestigious hospital’s surgical unit. Murphy is completely alone in the world and experiences several challenges when it comes to his surgical career.  He is unable to personally connect with those around him but Shaun uses his extraordinary medical gifts to save lives and challenge the skepticism of his colleagues.  The series also stars Antonia Thomas as Dr. Claire Brown, Nicholas Gonzalez as Dr. Neil Melendez, Chuku Modu as Dr. Jared Kalu, Irene Keng as Dr. Sarah Chen, Beau Garrett as Jessica Preston, Hill Harper as Dr. Marcus Andrews and Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman.  The series is written by House creator David Shore who also serves as executive producer along with Lost and Hawaii Five-O alum Daniel Dae Kim.

The series is inspiring while also delivering all the raw emotion and excitement of a good television medical drama.  This series can be thrilling and exciting one minute and a complete and total tear-jerker the next.  It’s because of this diverse level of emotions that audiences are responding so well to the series.  

The Good Doctor has been earning high praise from fans and viewers straight out of the gate and, it’s also crushing it in the ratings department.  Just five weeks into the series, The Good Doctor is hailed as the most watched drama this season with an average of 17.8 million viewers with a 4.1 demo rating int he 18-49 demographic.  That’s more than CBS’s mega-hit NCIS and also ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy.  

ABC’s ‘The Good Doctor’ is Inspiring Audiences and Winning Over the Hearts of Viewers Everywhere

Shore and Kim may have known they had something special on their hands when they decided to adopt the Korean television series for American audiences but, they had no idea it would be so well received.  Shore said, “I never expect it, but you tell stories that you know are resonating with you, and then you find out that it’s resonating with a lot of people.”

Kim explains why he thinks the show as a whole resonates so well with audiences, “What I love about this show is that it is unapologetically from the heart.  There’s no cynicism in this character. So many leads on television we see these days are antiheroes, [but] Shaun is the anti-antihero.”

Kim could not be more right in calling Doctor Shaun Murphy the anti-antihero.  The character has been making an immensely positive impact on the autism community and is becoming a source of some pretty inspiring and life-changing stories.  One such story, noted by Entertainment Weekly, involves a mother and her son who is on the autism spectrum.  Her son had been struggling greatly with depression and, after watching the first episode of the series, he agreed and was inspired to resume therapy.  The incredible impact of The Good Doctor is not something which Shores is taking lightly.  He said, “You hear stories like that and you realize the responsibility you have, and it makes you feel good.”

Week after week, The Good Doctor continues to bring heart, inspiration and a unique perspective to television and there is much to look forward to in the upcoming episodes.  We can’t wait to see more from this amazing new series!  You can check out new episodes of The Good DoctorMonday nights at 10 PM EST on ABC or catch up on past episodes over at ABC.com.

Have you been watching The Good Doctor?  If so, let us know what you think about the series in the comment section below!

ABC’s ‘The Good Doctor’ is Inspiring Audiences and Winning Over the Hearts of Viewers Everywhere

 

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