As season 4 of The Good Doctor begins, the St. Bonaventure Hospital staff will be down one pathologist — Dr. Carly Leaver, played by actress Jasika Nicole.
The third season of the hit ABC medical drama ended with the heartbreaking death of Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez). Shortly after, series creator and executive producer David Shore confirmed to TVLine that Jasika would no longer be part of The Good Doctor cast. For reasons unknown, the 39-year-old actress departed from the show, but it may not be the last time we see her.
“I would love to have her back here and there,” he told the outlet. “I love Jasika, and would love to see her on the show, but it will not be in the same capacity.”
What happened to Dr. Carly Lever and where is actress Jasika Nicole now?
If we had to guess, Jasika’s exit was in part due to her character Carly’s storyline toward the end of season 3. Her storyline developed when Shaun got the courage to ask her out, eventually leading to a relationship. As many know, this was short-lived after the couple experienced trust issues due to Shaun’s friendship with his former crush-turned-roommate, Lea (Paige Spara). It all came to a head at the end of season 3 when Carly noticed the chemistry between Shaun and Lea during a night out at karaoke. After breaking up with him, Carly insisted he tell Lea about his true feelings.
Previously, Jasika told Good Housekeeping that she hoped to see her character grow into her own, outside of her relationship with Shaun: “I am really excited and hope to see Carly interacting with other people in the cast outside of [Shaun] and learning more about her with other people.” But alas, it doesn’t seem like she’ll get the chance to do so anytime soon.
If you’re wondering what Jasika is up to now, it looks like she’s been dedicating herself to her passion of arts and crafts — specifically, she’s worked on perfecting ceramic techniques and sewing her own clothing designs. What’s more, Jasika is DIYing her own recording booth to do voiceover work from home. Most recently, she shared on Instagram that she headed back to work for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic started.
In the meantime, with Carly out of the picture on The Good Doctor, fans will get the chance to see Shaun with Lea, after shipping the two for so long.
