The fall TV season is here, but many shows that viewers were expecting to return with the start of the new TV year are missing in action, including The Good Doctor season 7. Why is that, what is taking its place and when could the show return?
The Good Doctor is a medical drama that has become a fixture on ABC since its debut in 2017. It stars Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy, a brilliant young doctor who has autism and Savant syndrome. The series follows his career and personal life, with a supporting cast that includes Richard Schiff, Hill Harper, Christina Chang, Paige Spara, Fiona Gubelmann, Will Yun Lee and more.
The last we saw of the series was The Good Doctor season 6 finale, where things were left up in the air on the future of Dr. Glassman (Schiff) and Shaun's relationship; Shaun and Paige learning to become new parents; Danny (Brandon Larracuente) dealing with his drug addiction; Dr. Reznick (Gubelmann) becoming a single mom; and Dr. Lim adjusting to her life following her accident in season 5.
With fans of the show likely eager to find out what happens next to their favorite characters, here is what we can tell you as to why The Good Doctor season 7 is not airing new episodes in fall 2023.
Why isn't The Good Doctor airing new episodes?
The simple answer to that question is: the strikes that are ongoing in Hollywood.
Starting in May 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike with the goal of securing a new labor deal with TV and movie studios that will deal with many key issues for the future of the industry. Then in July, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), also went on strike as they could not reach a new deal with studios before their previous contract expired.
With both organizations on strike, members of the WGA and SAG are not able to work on projects made by the studios, which includes the studio behind The Good Doctor (some exceptions have been made for independent projects or smaller movie and TV studios).
Because of the timing of the WGA strike in May, new episodes of The Good Doctor season 7 had not been written, so ABC does not have new episodes to air.
What is airing in place of The Good Doctor season 7?
The Good Doctor has traditionally aired on Mondays at 10 pm ET/PT on ABC. With no new episodes coming this fall, what will the network air in its place? For at least part of the time, Monday Night Football will take up the time slot.
The first three weeks of the NFL season will feature a Monday Night Football game airing on ABC. A few other games are already confirmed to be simulcasted on ABC later in the season. The Monday Night Football games will go through 10 pm hour, filling the gap left by The Good Doctor.
As far as what may make up ABC's Mondays if there aren't Monday Night Football games, that's TBD. ABC has moved Dancing with the Stars season 32 from the show's traditional air time on Mondays to Tuesdays for this season. As a result, reruns could be the solution, possibly of The Good Doctor or other hit ABC shows like Abbott Elementary.
When is The Good Doctor coming back?
Sadly, we don't have any confirmed answers about when The Good Doctor season 7 may premiere. It is all dependent on when the strikes end. However, even if they were to end tomorrow, scripts would still have to be written and the shows would have to be shot and edited.
At this point, it's all but confirmed that The Good Doctor season 7 will not have any new episodes before January 2024, and even episodes into the winter and spring are questionable the longer the negotiations aren't settled. It is possible that The Good Doctor season 7 will not air new episodes into fall 2024.
How to watch The Good Doctor
While not ideal, this gap in The Good Doctor can be used productively if you had an interest in the show but couldn't previously find the time to watch, as all six previous seasons are available to stream on-demand.
US viewers can find all episodes of The Good Doctor available to stream on Hulu. An alternative is if you have a TV service that offers ABC (any basic pay-TV subscription or live TV streaming services like Fubo, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV), you can access past episodes directly on ABC.com.
If you are in the UK or somewhere else where Hulu is not available, then The Good Doctor is streaming past episodes on Disney Plus.
