ABC is not moving forward with The Good Lawyer, its legal spinoff of The Good Doctor, making the previously planned series a casualty of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The show, which premiered in March as a backdoor episode to The Good Doctor, would have starred Kennedy McMann and Felicity Huffman, who both appeared in the pilot.
Find out more about the no-go show below, including what it was about.
What was The Good Lawyer about?
The show, from the co-showrunners of The Good Doctor, David Shore and Liz Friedman, followed a promising young lawyer who has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
When did The Good Lawyer pilot air?
The pilot came embedded as a backdoor episode of The Good Doctor on March 6, 2023.
What happened in The Good Lawyer pilot?
The episode began with Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) needing legal help and finding a young attorney, Joni DeGroot (McMann), with whom he realizes he can relate. Joni has OCD and does not want to be treated differently because of her disorder. Like Dr. Murphy, her symptoms take a toll on her personal and professional life, but her gift allows her to see cases through a different lens. Her superior, a partner at the law firm named Janet Stewart, is played by Huffman. Stewart represented Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) in several legal matters over the years, so he turns to her to represent Dr. Murphy, his protégé.
Who was in The Good Lawyer cast?
Kennedy McMann starred in the title role on The CW’s series Nancy Drew, based on the popular mystery novels. Like her character in the now defunct The Good Lawyer, she has OCD and became a child actor as a way to cope with it.
Felicity Huffman as Janet Stewart
Felicity Huffman is a dramatic and comedic film and television actress best known for her role as Lynette Scavo in Desperate Housewives and for her stunning performance in the film Transamerica. She was most recently seen in the 2019 five-part Netflix limited series When They See Us, adapted by writer-director Ava DuVernay. She also was in the Netflix comedy Otherhood, opposite Angela Bassett and Patricia Arquette, that same year.
The Good Lawyer would have been Huffman’s first leading role since the Varsity Blues College Admissions scandal, according to TV Line. Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in federal prison and served 11 of them for paying $15,000 to have a test proctor correct her daughter Sophia’s answers on her SAT exam.
Was Freddie Highmore in The Good Lawyer?
Freddie Highmore appeared as Dr. Shaun Murphy in the pilot episode of the series, but he was not meant to star in the show.
