The Good Doctor Boss Explains How Season 6 Confirmed Coming with New Twist, Release Date Revealed

More than a month before the medical drama wrapped Season 5, ABC renewed The Good Doctor for a sixth season on March 30. What’s more, the network is adding two episodes originally slated to air this year to the 2022-2023 installment, which will mark The Good Doctor’s longest season yet with a total of 22 episodes.

Spoilers Warning:

The Season 5 finale of The Good Doctor included the highly-anticipated wedding between sweethearts Shaun and Lea. However, in the episode’s final minutes, there was a gruesome twist that no one saw coming, and it actually mirrors an iconic storyline on ER. Executive producer David Shore discussed how the series will pick up in Season 6 after that major tragedy.

Shaun and Lea had a very low-key but lovely wedding at St. Bonaventure, courtesy of their friends and colleagues. When it was time to get more cups due to everyone drinking so much, Dr. Lim volunteered to check the break room. Unfortunately, she was greeted by a horrible sight of a bloody Nurse Villanueva on the ground. She warned Lim that her violent ex-boyfriend Owen was in the room, and things only went downhill from there.

Before Lim had any time to react, Owen stabbed her twice, leaving her for dead as her friends continued dancing and celebrating with a Beach Boys song playing in the background. It was a shocking cliffhanger, and David Shore revealed to TVLine what the Season 6 premiere, which has already been filmed along with the second episode, will consist of:

That’s not the only change ahead. Deadline reported on May 13 that longtime Good Doctor executive producer Liz Friedman is joining David Shore as a co-showrunner. The duo previously worked together on Fox’s House, before Friedman went on to work on such series as Orange Is the New Black, Jessica Jones, and Elementary. “I have worked with, and shared my burdens with, and depended on Liz for years,” Shore said in a statement. “Very much looking forward to enjoying all the great things she is going to do with the show.”

The first episode has a huge amount of intensity and fun, but it’s difficult because it’s the immediate fallout [from the finale]… Lim’s journey is going to be a big part of it, we have some nice things planned for Glassman, and, of course, nothing but wedded bliss for Shaun and Lea.

The fallout of the finale will definitely be intense, especially since Shore did reveal there will also be a bit of a time jump after the premiere. While he didn’t specify how far the time jump will be, it does seem like things will move ahead to Shaun and Park’s first year as surgical attendings. Where in the storyline it will land is unknown for now.

Meanwhile, Dr. Shaun Murphy will see some new responsibilities as he becomes an attending at St. Bonaventure. David Shore teased what Shaun will deal with in Season 6 and the changes he will face on top of being married:

You will see very early into Season 6 the responsibility [he takes on now]. He has shown that he can lead a surgery, but that’s a technical thing. There are emotional things that go with that, and interpersonal things that go with that, that are more challenging when there’s not somebody standing behind him [to make] the ultimate decision. Being an attending is different than being a senior resident in ways that Shaun didn’t necessarily anticipate. His role as a supervisor will challenge him right away. And, of course, he’s married. That’s different, too.

The Good Doctor Season 6 Cast

Though ABC has yet to announce which cast members are returning, cryptic season finale promos promised to leave viewers shocked, teasing a possible death, as St. Bonaventure chief of surgery Dr. Audrey Lim (played by Christina Chang) calls for an emergency crash cart for a mystery character. Otherwise, The Good Doctor Season 5 starred Freddie Highmore (Dr. Shaun Murphy), Hill Harper (Dr. Marcus Andrews), Richard Schiff (Dr. Aaron Glassman), Fiona Gubelmann (Dr. Morgan Reznick), Will Yun Lee (Dr. Alex Park), Paige Spara (Lea Dilallo), Noah Galvin (Dr. Asher Wolke), and Bria Samone Henderson (Dr. Jordan Allen).

Shaun doesn’t do too well with change, but if it’s a change he’s been preparing for and working towards, it shouldn’t be too bad. However, being an attending does have much more responsibility than a resident. Seeing how he works through new challenges could lead to some fresh storylines. With such a great support system at St. Bonaventure and at home, Shaun will undoubtedly have his friends and loved ones at his side.

The Good Doctor Season 6 Plot

Following a breakup earlier in the season, Shaun and Lea’s wedding day finally arrived in the Season 5 finale — and Dr. Glassman even agreed to officiate the ceremony. Spara, who plays Lea, told Parade in March that she’s eager to see the couple “move forward in the world,” whatever that might mean, in the future. “Since Day One, I wanted Shaun and Lea to be together because I love this relationship so much. It just speaks on patience and empathy,” the actor explained. “I love the grace that a couple can provide for one another in a relationship and what this looks like with someone who is neurotypical and someone who is diagnosed with autism. I’m absolutely rooting for them, 1,000%!”

Meanwhile, ABC teased that Asher’s parents would show up in the finale “with a revelation” that will cause the doctor to struggle to accept that he and his father “may never truly understand one another.” Pending any Season 5 cliffhangers — including the possible death mentioned earlier — that’s another storyline that could continue playing out in the future.

The Good Doctor Season 6 Release Date

When announcing Larracuente and Welch’s casting, ABC revealed that both actors had already shot their first episodes and fans could expect to meet them at the start of Season 6 in the fall. Though the network has yet to announce the specific return date, past seasons have generally premiered in late September, and the same will likely be true this year.

It’s hard to tell what the aftermath of the finale will be like, but after losing Dr. Melendez, I wouldn’t be able to handle another death on The Good Doctor. Fingers crossed that Dr. Lim survives because St. Bonaventure would not be the same without her, nor would the show without Christina Chang, as it’s already lost more than enough stars.

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