Freddie Highmore has found his next project — the “Bates Motel” star has been cast in the lead role in ABC‘s drama pilot, “The Good Doctor,” Variety has learned.
“The Good Doctor” tells the story of Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism who relocates from a quiet country life to join a prestigious hospital’s surgical unit. Alone in the world and unable to personally connect with those around him, Shaun uses his extraordinary medical gifts to win over his skeptical colleagues and save the lives of the patients he deeply cares for.
Highmore will play the central character, Dr. Shaun Murphy, who is described as being awkward at the best of times, not good with social interaction, but possessed of an engaging honesty and directness. A medical savant, Shaun has survived a troubled childhood to become a talented doctor. Unable to access emotions but brilliant and intuitive when it comes to medicine, Shaun is up for his first job as a surgeon at the San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital where his mentor and good friend, Dr. Ira Glassman, supports his hiring with passion and determination.
“The Good Doctor” hails from Sebastian and David Kim of EnterMedia Contents, who will executive produce with Daniel Dae Kim of 3AD and David Shore of Shore Z Productions. The pilot is based on a Korean format from KBS America. Sony Television is the studio.
Should “The Good Doctor” be greenlit to series, it would mark the first starring role on broadcast TV for Highmore, who currently stars on A&E’s “Bates Motel,” which is now in its fifth and final season. He and his co-star Vera Farmiga have both been courting many broadcast pilot offers this season. Prior to “Bates Motel,” Highmore rose to fame in Johnny Depp’s remake of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
