Chuku Modu is returning as a regular series on The Good Doctor, TV Line reports. Modu, who played Dr. Jared Kalu on the hit medical drama’s first season (and some of the second), returned to the show in Season 6, but it was unclear then how big his role will be on the series going forward.
Dr. Kalu first made his rounds at St. Bonaventure Hospital working under Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez), as part of a team that includes Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) and Dr. Claire Brown (Antonia Thomas), who was Dr. Kalu’s (tepid) love interest for much of his arc. He was fired from the hospital for punching Dr. Coyle, a surgical attending physician who harassed Dr. Brown, and although he did eventually get his job back, he ultimately left the hospital to continue his residency in Denver.
Fans of The Good Doctor were happy to see Dr. Kalu returned in Season 6, when he went back to St. Bonaventure to become a first-year resident under Dr. Murphy. At the outset, both of them had numerous problems finding their footing in their new roles at the hospital, but eventually things between them settled.
Modu’s return as a series regular coincides with Hill Harper’s exists from the show as Dr. Marcus Andrews (Harper left to pursue a U.S. Senate bid in Michigan). In the Season 6 finale, which aired May 1, 2023, a great deal took place, including the resignation of Dr. Andrews as president of the hospital after the board pressured him to choose between his job and his nurse girlfriend.
Dr. Kalu’s permanent return to The Good Doctor is one of many shakeups to the dynamics at St. Bonaventure. Dr. Murphy and his wife, Lea (Paige Spara), also welcomed a baby, and then there was the fallout between Dr. Murphy and his surrogate father/mentor Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff). In other words, there’s plenty of drama to look forward to in the episodes to come.
