The Good Doctor Spinoff Is a No-Go, as ABC Passes on The Good Lawyer
The Good Lawyer has been disbarred.
The Good Doctor spinoff has been passed over at ABC and will not receive a series order, TVLine has learned. The network has also cancelled The Rookie: Feds after one season.
The news comes eight months after the medical drama aired a backdoor pilot starring Kennedy McMann and Felicity Huffman; the hour earned a TVLine reader grade of “A-,” while 90 percent of readers voted in favor of a series pickup.
Written by David Shore and Liz Friedman, the backdoor pilot for The Good Lawyer introduced Freddie Highmore’s Dr. Shaun Murphy to McMann’s Joni DeGroot, an aspiring attorney whose struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder kept her from practicing law. But after being sued for malpractice, Shaun enlisted Joni’s services to clear his name — and that she did, with an assist from her own, Glassman-like mentor Janet (portrayed by Desperate Housewives alum Huffman, in her first role since serving time for her participation in the infamous “Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal). Bethlehem Million also guest-starred as Joni’s sister Abbie.
The Good Doctor was previously renewed for Season 7, but has been kept off ABC’s reality-filled fall schedule as a result of the since-resolved WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
