Why is The Good Doctor not new tonight, April 23?

Freddie Highmore in The Good Doctor
Freddie Highmore in The Good Doctor (Image credit: Disney/Jeff Weddell)

The Good Doctor season 7 did not air a new episode last week, April 16, so what about this Tuesday, April 23? Unfortunately for fans of the medical drama, The Good Doctor is not on call once again, with no new episode airing on ABC, though a rerun will be shown in The Good Doctor's usual 10 pm ET/PT time slot. 

In fact, it's an entire night of reruns on ABC, as the network's other Tuesday night primetime shows, Will Trent season 2 and The Rookie season 6, are also not airing new episodes for the second straight week. This extended break for The Good Doctor and its fellow Tuesday night programs has been most likely worked in to ensure that the shows continue to air new episodes through May, the traditional end of the TV season.

The good news is that the wait for a new episode of The Good Doctor is almost over, as the show returns on Tuesday, April 30, at its usual time. Read the synopsis for The Good Doctor season 7 episode 7, "Faith," right here:

"Shaun and Jordan's patient is in dire need of a kidney transplant. When they find the perfect donor, they also discover that he believes he is Jesus which could compromise his ability to give consent to the surgery."

As a result of the writers' and actors' strikes in the summer and fall of 2023, The Good Doctor and other network dramas are airing shortened seasons. In the case of The Good Doctor, there are only going to be 10 episodes in season 7. To date, six have aired. That means there are only four episodes left in what is the final season of The Good Doctor.

If there's a silver lining to all of this, there's a good chance there isn't going to be any more weeks off for The Good Doctor this season. ABC has already shared that after the April 30 episode, there is going to be another new episode on May 7, which would mark episode 8 of the planned 10. While a finale date has not been officially announced, if the remaining two episodes aired on May 14 and May 21, that would line up with when network TV shows typically wrap up their fall/spring shows.

In the meantime, if you need to catch up with any episodes of The Good Doctor season 7 (or want to revisit any of the show’s previous seasons), they are streaming on-demand on Hulu in the US.

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Michael Balderston
Assistant Managing Editor

Michael Balderston is What to Watch’s assistant managing editor and lead movie writer, covering movies coming to theaters, writing movie reviews and highlighting new and classic movies on streaming services; he also covers a range of TV shows, including those in the Taylor Sheridan universe, Slow Horses, Only Murders in the Building, Jeopardy!, Saturday Night Live and more, as well as the best ways to watch some major US sporting events.

Based outside of Washington, D.C., Michael's previous experience includes writing for Awards Circuit, TV Technology and The Wrap.

Michael’s favorite movie of all time is Casablanca, while his favorite TV show is Seinfeld. Some 2025 favorites include One of Them Days and Black Bag for movies, and The Pitt on TV. Follow on Letterboxd to keep up with what I'm watching.

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