When ABC’s The Good Doctor scrubs in for Season 7 (on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 10/9c), the medical drama will be down at least one cast member.
The Season 6 finale, which aired May 1, marked the end of Brandon Larracuente’s stint as a series regular. During the episode, recovering addict Dr. Danny Perez made the difficult decision to leave San Jose and return to Texas to be close to his family after suffering extensive internal injuries in an ambulance crash.
Additionally, after catching wind that the board was calling an emergency meeting to discuss his second tenure as president, Dr. Marcus Andrews decided he wouldn’t give St. Bonaventure the chance to fire him again. Instead, he offered his resignation, paving the way for Hill Harper’s potential exit as he mulls a run for United States Senate.
In happier news, the hour culminated in the birth of Shaun and Lea’s son, Steve Aaron Murphy — named after Shaun’s late brother Steve and his surrogate father, Dr. Aaron Glassman. However, Glassman, still upset with Shaun for accelerating the end of his career as a neurosurgeon, opted to skip the first family photo.
With all this in mind, TVLine has compiled a list of do’s and (please!) don’ts for Season 7. Keep scrolling to see how we hope to see the show resolve Shaun and Glassman’s feud, fill one or more vacancies in the ensemble, and work around the addition of Shaun and Lea’s “li’l peanut.”
WANT: Shaun and Glassman to hug it out
Glassy not being there for the birth of his grandson just didn’t sit right. We understand why he was upset at Shaun, but enough’s enough. Shaun and Glassman’s relationship is the heart of the show. Prolonging their rift beyond the Season 7 opener would be a detriment to the show.
WANT: A fresh take on early parenthood
We’ve seen the same postpartum storylines on show after show. And we don’t need to watch Shaun and Lea struggle to balance work and home life. What would be more interesting is seeing Shaun step up and take a more active role at home, even if it means less time in the operating room. And if that’s not what the writers have in mind, then it’d probably be in everyone’s best interest to have Steve’s parents hire a nanny and keep the Li’l Murphy largely off screen.
WANT: The return of Dr. Claire Browne
Ideally, ABC would drive a Brinks truck to Antonia Thomas’ house and offer her whatever she wants to reprise her fan-favorite role on a full-time basis. But in lieu of returning as a series regular, we’d accept a multi-episode arc that brings Claire back to St. Bonaventure, where she’d be reunited with good friend Shaun and ex-boyfriend Jared, who recently returned to St. Bons after a five-year absence.
WANT: A greater exploration of #Parnick’s blended family
Now that Morgan and Park have made the decision to raise baby Eden together, it’s time to reintroduce Park’s college-aged son Kellan and show how Park juggles two families. Morgan’s entry into motherhood also makes this the perfect time for Dr. Reznick to revisit her strained relationship with her own mom (played in Season 3 by Virgin River‘s Annette O’Toole).
WANT: More of Jordan and Asher
Bria Samoné Henderson and Noah Galvin scrubbed in at the start of Season 4. Yet here we are, three years later, and it still feels like the show has barely scratched the surface with Jordan and Asher. The former is said to be an inventor with a strong business acumen, but that hasn’t translated into an interesting storyline. Early on, there was also mention that she could’ve been happily married to an Army lieutenant, living off a base in Germany, rather than a surgeon-in-training. Perhaps it’s time to introduce her ex? As for Asher, we’d love to see him reconnect with his deeply religious family in the wake of his father’s death — especially as his relationship with Jerome deepens.
WHAT WE DON’T WANT: Another round of hospital president musical chairs!
First Glassman was president, then Andrews was president.
Then Andrews was fired and Glassman was reinstated.
Then Glassman resigned and Andrews was reinstated. (Try to keep up!)
More recently, Andrews resigned, presumably to give the writers some leeway in case veteran cast member Hill Harper decides to run for political office and leave the series ahead of Season 7.
But regardless of Harper’s decision, the show would be wise to start the season with a new president installed. It doesn’t have to be an adversary (like a Salen Morrison or a Dr. Han), or even a regular character. It just has to be an authority figure who pops in on occasion. Because having the same two established characters take and leave the same position over and over and over again just isn’t realistic. Or interesting.
