The Good Doctor season 6 saw a pilot within the series, prepping audiences for The Good Lawyer news. ABC announced that the hit medical procedural The Good Doctor would be getting a spinoff, titled The Good Lawyer, focusing on attorney Joni DeGroot (Kennedy McMann), who has obsessive-compulsive disorder. When she is introduced in The Good Doctor, Shaun finds himself in a bit of legal trouble. Initially, he seeks legal counsel from attorney Jane Stewart (Felicity Huffman) who has helped Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) in the past. However, when Shaun meets Joni, he finds a kinship with her and believes that she will better understand his frame of mind.
While audiences patiently await The Good Doctor season 7, more The Good Lawyer news has surfaced, and audiences reacted favorably to the “pilot” that premiered in its parent series. Set to be a legal drama, unlike its medical procedural predecessor, the two series share the common thread of featuring main characters with neurological development disorders who use their struggles as strengths in their prospective fields. While this all sounds exciting, The Good Lawyer news has been on shaky ground as of late. Here’s everything to know about The Good Doctor spinoff, including its release date, cast, and story details.
The Most Recent The Good Lawyer News
With the state of the industry up in arms over the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, a lot of uncertainty has plagued the most recent The Good Lawyer news. Recently, three ABC shows got uncertain but detailed renewal updates, including The Rookie: Feds, Home Economics, and The Good Lawyer. While ABC signed off on a majority of its renewals, the network has also canceled quite a few shows, like The Company You Keep and Alaska Daily. By now, The Good Lawyer cast would’ve already been established and the show’s fate decided. However, in light of the SAG-AFTRA strike, The Good Lawyer’s fate hangs in the balance.
The Good Lawyer Is Confirmed
While The Good Lawyer is confirmed to be in development at ABC, the nature of its status is somewhat complicated. It should’ve been decided by August 15th, 2023 whether or not The Good Lawyer would officially be moving forward. But the latest The Good Lawyer news sees the show in limbo because of the SAG-AFTRA strike rules. With the strike in full motion, any cast hold period is extended for the remainder of the work stoppage. Therefore, if the strike were to stretch into October or November, the pilot might not get a series order (via Soaps).
The Good Lawyer Release Date
Other The Good Lawyer news has seen the release window pushed back several times. Originally, The Good Lawyer release date was set for the Fall of 2023. However, when the strikes began, it was projected that The Good Lawyer could instead premiere in the Spring of 2024. As of now, it’s not even technically a sure deal that The Good Lawyer could be made. While the series hasn’t been canceled by ABC in any regard, its future is somewhat unclear. Therefore, any The Good Lawyer release date speculation is just that, speculation.
The Good Lawyer Cast
Recent The Good Lawyer news saw Felicity Huffman join the cast as attorney Janet Stewart, reprising her role from the backdoor pilot featured in The Good Doctor. Huffman’s (Desperate Housewives) role in The Good Lawyer cast is her first since her involvement in the college admissions scandal, explored at length in the documentary Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal. According to the documentary, Huffman was one of several renowned figures implicated in Operation Varsity Blues and subsequently served a two-week prison sentence for bribing a college admissions consultant to change her daughter’s SAT answers.
The main member of The Good Lawyer cast is Kennedy McMann (Nancy Drew), who will be reprising the role of Joni DeGroot, a young and inexperienced attorney who has obsessive-compulsive disorder. The final confirmed member of The Good Lawyer cast is Bethlehem Million (And Just Like That…), who will be playing Joni’s older sister Abbie, roommate, and best friend. It’s unknown if any members of The Good Doctor cast will star in The Good Lawyer. However, given that Joni has already encountered Shaun (Freddie Highmore) and Dr. Glassman (Richard Schiff), it’s possible they could make cameos at some point.
The Good Lawyer Story
While there isn’t any The Good Lawyer news, per se, regarding the plot, audiences can learn a lot from the backdoor pilot featured on The Good Doctor. In the pilot, Shaun seeks legal representation as he’s being sued for malpractice after amputating the hand of a car crash victim. While Dr. Glassman immediately suggests taking on Janet Stewart (Huffman) to defend him, Shaun met Joni (McMann) and immediately decided that she should be his lawyer, as her obsessive-compulsive disorder better helps her understand his frame of mind.
