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The Good Doctor

Time out says.

Had Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley accidentally weaseled his way onto the set of E.R., it might have played out something like Lance Daly’s medical-drama-cum-upward-mobility-thriller about a hospital’s new resident (and resident sociopath). Not that Martin Blake (Orlando Bloom), he of the messy boy’s haircut and too-big white coat, could compete with Highsmith’s chameleonic antihero in terms of smooth-operator-dom. But this high-strung M.D.-in-training shares Ripley’s issues concerning identity (he’s literally out of focus when we first meet him) and class envy—until he meets Diane (Riley Keough), a high-schooler hospitalized for an infection. Something about this dream blond brings out a rather stalkerish bedside manner in Blake. Medicine is tampered with, lab results are switched, and once you slide further down an ethical slippery slope, you’ve got to keep covering your tracks.…

Less an indictment of America’s by-any-means-necessary obsession with success than a cannily ambiguous character study, The Good Doctor is far more content to creep you out than to offer a critique. (Still, had this film come out during the Dubya years, one can imagine the political readings and op-ed pieces the fake-it-so-you-make-it parable would have inspired.) That the film isn’t nearly as ambitious as its protagonist works in its favor, even if there’s a sense that the fantasy-franchise star, doubling as executive producer, is out to prove he can play darker roles. All those furtive smiles and his verminlike desperation overshoot the mark, however; you’re more aware of Bloom performing for the camera than of Blake performing for his superiors and society, a snafu that’s only compounded by Daly’s undisciplined direction and an eye-roller of an ending.

Follow David Fear on Twitter: @davidlfear

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The good doctor: film review.

Orlando Bloom leads this psychosexual film that is less about medicine than the banality of evil.

By Sura Wood

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Orlando Bloom , playing a first year medical resident with an important piece of equipment missing from his kit, craves worship and goes to extraordinary, psychopathic lengths to get it in The Good Doctor , a tense, psychosexual film that could make people think twice before checking into a hospital. Bloom has a following from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and as a leading man in light romantic comedy, but he’s a long way from either of those personas in this outing, and without other big-name stars, the doctor’s box office prognosis is only fair.

Directed with a measure of ironic detachment by Irishman Lance Daly ( Kisses ), working from a competent screenplay with elements of black comedy by John Enbom , the film, set in the flawed paradise of Southern California, is less about medicine than the banality of evil and the narcissism of Dr. Martin Blake (Bloom), an outwardly courteous young doctor whose ambition and homicidal tendencies are masked by his good manners and pallid affectless exterior. Early on, following a serious mistake with a patient, there are hints he may be a calculating impostor but, in a deftly handled shift, it turns out he’s a far more sinister breed.

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Blake blows a gasket when he becomes obsessed with the teenage Diane, an angelic-looking, blue-eyed blond patient (well played by Riley Keough ), whose vulnerability and girlish flirting trigger his famished ego. Invited to dinner at her grateful parents’ home, he spikes her meds to ensure her return to the hospital. Once there and again under his “care,” he takes steps that lead to her becoming mortally ill. He’s surprisingly cunning and adept at covering his tracks but, when an orderly ( Michael Pena ) blackmails him with incriminating evidence, his criminality escalates.

With his cheap sport jackets and antisocial tendencies, Blake doesn’t seem like a candidate for advancement but ruthlessness and an absence of conscience have their advantages as does being a blank slate; others project onto him what they want to see. He manages to allay the suspicions of a vigilant, in-your-face nurse (a feisty Taraji P. Henson ), whom he feels superior to, and snookers his supervising physician ( Rob Morrow in an odd, underwritten part).

The film is most enjoyable when Blake careens out of control, hurtling down stairwells in a full-on panic, furtively stealing hospital supplies, poisoning pharmaceuticals or climbing out of his bathroom window to escape a baffled, not terribly tenacious police detective (the always reliable J.K. Simmons .) But Enbom’s overly cautious script and Bloom’s recessive portrayal offer too few clues to the origins of the doctor’s behavior to make him understandable and, by not heightening the horror aspects of the story, Daly doesn’t go far enough to give the audience a satisfying jolt of danger and dramatic kick.

Yaron Orbach ’s cinematography conveys Blake’s isolation—he’s often framed alone in shots on deserted streets, in empty hallways or gazing out to sea on an expansive stretch of beach, and is rarely buffeted by the traffic of a busy hospital. Some scenes appear washed out, a metaphor for the unreality of the outside world and the people who inhabit it for a man trapped inside his head.

Brian Byrne ’s subtle score ranges from romantic to unsettling and production designer Eve Cauley Turner ’s bland institutional settings are spot on, especially the rendition of the doctor’s impersonal, all-white, beachside apartment, which is as sterile as a laboratory primed for pathology.

Venue: Mill Valley Film Festival (Magnolia Pictures). The bottom line: A risk-averse film about an out-of-bounds, not so good doctor with pernicious hidden talents. Production companies: A Code Red Presentation of a King/Etheridge production in association with Viddywell Prods.; Fastnet Films. Cast: Orlando Bloom, Riley Keough, Taraji P. Henson, Rob Morrow, Michael Pena, Troy Garity, Molly Price, Wade Williams, J.K. Simmons. Director: Lance Daly Screenwriter: John Enbom Producer: Orlando Bloom, Dan Etheridge, Jonathan King Executive producer: Orlando Bloom, Leonid Lebedev, Sharon Miller Director of photography: Yaron Orbach Production designer: Eve Cauley Turner Music: Brian Byrne Costume designer: Jill Newell Editor: Emer Reynolds Sales Agent: Voltage Pictures, Los Angeles PG-13 Rating, 91 minutes

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The 18 Best Shows to Watch if You Like 'The Good Doctor,' Ranked

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For seven seasons, audiences tuned in to ABC medical drama The Good Doctor to watch Dr. Shaun Murphy ( Freddie Highmore ), an autistic surgeon with savant syndrome, who uses his skills to solve complicated medical cases while balancing his work with his personal life, from his eventual marriage and new role as father to his clashes with colleagues who question his abilities. The series was based on the 2013 South Korean drama Good Doctor . The Good Doctor lasted for over 100 episodes and came to an end in May 2024.

But despite The Good Doctor 's end, there's no shortage of medical dramas to turn to for medical mysteries mixed with interpersonal drama, and even skilled but difficult doctors and the difficulties of running a hospital beyond medical cases. The best medical dramas prove that with compelling characters and unique storylines, they can stand out and present a new take on a very familiar genre and primetime staple.

18 '9-1-1' (2018-)

Created by ryan murphy, brad falchuk, and tim minear.

9-1-1 focuses on the chaotic, high-stakes work and personal lives of first responders, from the dispatchers answering panicked calls to the firefighters, paramedics, and police officers sent to respond and save lives – and sometimes, the lives in danger are their own. The series premiered in 2018 and first aired on Fox, then moved to ABC starting with Season 7. It was created by Ryan Murphy , Brad Falchuk , and Tim Minear .

9-1-1 ’s focus on all first responders and dispatch helps it to stand out from other procedural dramas , plus it has become known for its over-the-top storylines based on actual emergency calls – and that’s what makes it such a thrill to watch. There’s no shortage of excitement and drama to keep viewers hooked. 9-1-1 has been a ratings hit , and its success while still on Fox led to the spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star .

Not available

17 'Private Practice' (2007-2013)

Created by shonda rhimes.

As the first spin-off of Grey’s Anatomy – and part of Shondaland – Private Practice followed neonatal surgeon Addison Montgomery ( Kate Walsh ) as she left Seattle for a fresh start at a private practice in Los Angeles. Like Grey’s , the series focused on Addison’s professional and personal lives . It aired on ABC and lasted six seasons, from 2007 until 2013, with over 100 episodes and often crossed over with Grey’s . Creator Shonda Rhimes has expressed a desire to revive the series.

Like Grey’s Anatomy , Private Practice presented compelling medical cases but in an environment that wasn’t as chaotic and fast-paced – and although it wasn’t as well-received as the flagship show, it was successful in its own right, and a reboot could offer plenty more great storylines. One of the best things about it was the way it presented Addison as a well-rounded character, as opposed to the way she was defined by Derek ( Patrick Dempsey ) on Grey’s .

Private Practice (2007)

Watch on Hulu

16 'This Is Going to Hurt' (2022)

Created by adam kay.

2022 British miniseries This Is Going to Hurt followed a young doctor, Adam ( Ben Whishaw ), working in the OB/GYN ward of a hospital, with all of its ups and downs, from straightforward deliveries to life-threatening complications – and the toll it took, both physical and mental, on hospital staff. The series also often addressed the issues caused by a lack of funding for the NHS. It was based on the best-selling memoir of the same name.

In a genre that can be somewhat predictable and crowded, with new shows every year using familiar storytelling devices and plot points, This Is Going to Hurt was sometimes a breath of fresh air . Adam was a flawed character, sometimes behaving in ways he shouldn’t have, both personally and professionally. It has been praised as one of the best recent medical dramas, in part because of the way it examined how funding affected care and doctors’ decisions.

This Is Going To Hurt (2022)

Watch on Amazon Prime

15 'Scrubs' (2001-2010)

Created by bill lawrence.

Scrubs was a comedic take on the medical genre centered on John "J.D." Dorian ( Zach Braff ) and his fellow interns as they worked at the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital and eventually became doctors and mentors to a new class of interns. The series premiered in 2001 on NBC and lasted nine seasons – it moved to ABC in its later seasons. Creator Bill Lawrence has said a reboot is in the works.

Scrubs was critically acclaimed at the time, and it is still a beloved show, considered one of the most accurate medical shows . Its quality has stood the test of time, and a reboot would be great to watch, especially all these years later. And although it was a sitcom, Scrubs was still full of heart, plus heartbreak – some of its best episodes had a more serious tone and dealt with the same heavy subjects as its dramatic counterparts.

14 'Code Black' (2015-2018)

Created by michael seitzman.

In the CBS drama Code Black , the staff of the L.A. County Hospital worked to save lives in their overcrowded but understaffed emergency room, a situation called a Code Black, something a typical hospital experiences just a few times per year compared to about 300 for L.A. County. The ensemble cast included Marcia Gay Harden and Rob Lowe , who joined the show in Season 2. Code Black lasted three seasons and was based on the documentary of the same name.

Code Black explored another aspect of medicine, what happens when so many people need care that a hospital doesn’t have the resources to do so . Although the series wasn’t well-received by critics, audiences enjoyed it, even though it was never a huge ratings hit. The cast impressed as dedicated but overwhelmed doctors, and the series was a grittier take on the medical drama in line with its predecessor ER , with a touch of personal drama.

13 'Chicago Med' (2015-)

Created by dick wolf and matt olmstead.

The third show in the One Chicago series created by Dick Wolf , Chicago Med follows the staff of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center as they juggle their personal and professional lives, sometimes using surprising, unconventional methods to save lives and help patients, with stories based on real medical cases. Chicago Med has been on the air for nine seasons and nearly 200 episodes, with Season 10 set to air in the fall of 2024.

Wolf knows good television and knows what he’s doing, he’s behind a number of massively successful TV series. The One Chicago shows are among his more recent hits, and because they’re connected to each other and have characters with ties to each other, the shows sometimes cross over, allowing for more interesting and complex plots. And while characters have come and gone over the years, they’ve also helped make the show a success.

Chicago Med

Watch on Peacock

12 'Black Box' (2014)

Created by amy holden jones.

Dr. Catherine Black ( Kelly Reilly ) was a famed neurologist dealing with bipolar, auditory hallucinations, and a tendency to go off her meds on ABC’s Black Box . She worked in a state-of-the-art facility called The Cube, which treated patients with rare conditions that often caused hallucinations while trying to hide her own hallucinations from those around her in order to keep her job. The series only lasted one season and also featured Vanessa Redgrave .

Black Box was sadly short-lived, meaning it never reached its potential, but it had an interesting premise. Similar to shows like The Good Doctor and House , Black Box ’s Catherine was a doctor struggling to balance her career with her own personal struggles, and although it wasn’t as strong as those other shows, Catherine was still an interesting character handling compelling cases and was uniquely positioned to understand what her patients were experiencing.

Black Box is currently not available to stream, rent, or purchase in the U.S.

11 'Good Sam' (2022)

Created by katle wech.

In Good Sam , Dr. Sam Griffith ( Sophia Bush ) was forced to step into the role of chief of surgery after her boss fell into a coma, then, after he awoke months later, wanted to return to his job, and the situation was even more complicated by the fact that her boss also happened to be her father, played by Jason Isaacs . Good Sam aired on CBS and lasted just one season.

The underrated Good Sam addressed hospital bureaucracy, medicine, and even ethical dilemmas with an added layer of family dynamics. Bush and Isaacs were both fantastic in their roles and had a great dynamic together as the strained father and daughter, especially as their roles reversed, and she worked as his supervisor. The premise and the show’s approach to it were refreshing , making it all the more disappointing that the show was short-lived.

Buy on Apple TV

10 'The Knick' (2014-2015)

Created by jack amiel and michael begler.

Knickerbocker Hospital was in a transitional period in The Knick , set in the early 1900s, as its wealthy patients left and an influx of poor patients sought care instead. Clive Owen starred as Dr. John Thackery, a brilliant doctor introducing new methods in an era before antibiotics – while also struggling with an addiction to cocaine. The Knick aired for two seasons and also addressed issues of morality, race relations, and more.

Period medical dramas can make for some compelling television , even the simplest injuries and illnesses which are commonplace and easy to treat now can become life-threatening and present high-stakes stories when set in another time – The Knick was no exception. While the show’s medical stories may be very different, some issues, from hospital bureaucracy to Thackery’s addiction, are familiar to modern audiences and are often explored in medical dramas set in the modern day.

9 'Transplant' (2020-2024)

Created by joseph key.

After Syrian Dr. Bashir Hamed ( Hamza Haq ) and his sister fled their war-torn country for Toronto in the Canadian series Transplant , they became refugees, forced to build a new life for themselves. Bashir sought to return to working in medicine but had to rebuild his career to do so. The show lasted for four seasons, and although its final season has already aired in Canada, it will air on NBC in the US.

Transplant didn’t just present interesting medical stories – Bashir was a great character with an equally great backstory and plenty of challenges as he adjusted to a new home and had a fresh start to his career. His background in emergency medicine in Syria meant he was able to think quickly and proved his abilities with some creative techniques, making the medical procedures more interesting than the routine procedures often seen in similar shows .

8 'New Amsterdam' (2018-2023)

Created by david schulner.

In NBC’s New Amsterdam , Dr. Max Goodwin ( Ryan Eggold ) wasn’t just a great doctor, he also spent his time as medical director battling the bureaucracy at the oldest hospital in the country to get the best possible care for its patients. New Amsterdam was on the air for five seasons and came to an end in 2023. It was based on the book Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital by Dr. Eric Manheimer .

New Amsterdam was one of a few medical dramas to take a closer look at how its hospital functioned , rather than just focusing on medical cases, doctors’ personal lives and how the two collide, with the bonus of having been pulled from real-life experiences. Max’s dedication wonderfully demonstrated how much just a single life can matter and the difference it can make when a person has someone fighting for them.

New Amsterdam (2018)

Watch on Netflix

7 'ER' (1994-2009)

Created by michael crichton.

The NBC medical drama ER followed the emergency room staff of Chicago’s County General Hospital. With an ensemble cast, it helped launch the careers of such actors as George Clooney and Julianna Margulies . The series lasted for 15 seasons and over 300 episodes, making it the second longest-running primetime medical drama in American history, outdone only by Grey’s Anatomy . ER was created by writer Michael Crichton , best known for writing the novel Jurassic Park .

ER is still regarded as one of the best medical dramas ever made and has been praised for its realistic depictions of medical procedures and how chaotic true medical emergencies can be . Although its quality did decline in its later seasons, most of ER 's episodes were still consistently enjoyable, and it helped make medical dramas a staple of primetime TV. ER was a ratings hit for NBC at the time and won 23 Emmy Awards in its time on the air.

6 'The Resident' (2018-2023)

Created by amy holden jones, hayley schore, and roshan sethi.

In Fox's The Resident , charming yet cocky Dr. Conrad Hawkins ( Matt Czuchry ) was the best doctor at Chastain Park Memorial Hospital, known for using unconventional treatments on his patients, making him beloved by his colleagues. The series also focused on aspects other than treatment, such as the hospital’s financial situation, the ways patients’ financial situations affected the care they received, and the manipulation and dishonesty staff used to protect their careers. The Resident lasted six seasons .

What set The Resident apart from other medical dramas was its focus on not just medical procedures but also the bureaucracy of the hospital, adding a more compelling piece to its stories and making it more interesting than other medical shows . But its strength also comes from its characters. Conrad was fun to watch, even at his most arrogant and insufferable, especially as he clashed early on with his resident, Devon Pravesh ( Manish Dayal ).

The Resident

5 'house' (2004-2012), created by david shore.

Set at the fictional Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey, House follows the titular painkiller-addicted, antisocial, and at times outright cruel Dr. Gregory House ( Hugh Laurie ) as he uses his knowledge of medicine and people, to solve the most baffling medical mysteries, something of a medical Sherlock Holmes. The series aired on Fox and lasted eight seasons. House was created by David Shore , who worked as the showrunner for The Good Doctor .

Unsurprisingly, given Shore’s involvement, the similarities between House and The Good Doctor are clear. Both follow a brilliant but outcast doctor as they uncover diagnoses and treat ailments others can’t, all while facing criticism , doubt, and even outright dislike from colleagues. House was a fantastic show thanks to fascinating and little-known maladies, as well as Laurie’s portrayal of the doctor, who was great to watch even in his worst behavior.

4 'Chicago Hope' (1994-2000)

Created by david e. kelley.

Yes, Chicago Med is one of the best medical dramas on television, but one must show love to the show that paved the way for that series to be the hit that is: Chicago Hope . Created by legendary producer David E. Kelley , the underrated CBS drama is centered around Dr. Jeffery Geiger ( Mandy Patinkin ), a know-it-all surgeon at a private charity hospital who performs daily medical miracles despite battling emotional demons stemming from his wife ( Kim Greist ) drowning their infant son.

Much like The Good Doctor , Chicago Hope showcases a surgeon who strives to save others despite the personal traumas that life throws at him . It also didn’t hurt that this series had a tremendous supporting cast surrounding Patinkin, making this series one that will take you by surprise in how similar both shows truly were.

Chicago Hope

Buy on Amazon

3 'Nurse Jackie' (2009-2015)

Created by liz brixius, evan dunsky, and linda wallem.

One must be thinking: “Is it a requirement for a medical professional to face trials and tribulations before being hired at a hospital?” We’re not sure that this is an exact job requirement, but what we do know is that it makes for great television, and Nurse Jackie is no different.

Starring the ever-talented Edie Falco as Jackie Payton, Nurse Jackie follows this iconoclastic nurse as she struggles to juggle her troubled personal life with the extreme grind of working in a hospital in New York City. She relies on narcotics to get her through the days, an element gives this dramedy a darker tone than some of its peers , and does a decent job highlighting the stress that nurses have to go through on a daily basis. Somewhat forgotten in the medical drama universe, Nurse Jackie is well worth a re-visit for those looking for a show to fill that Good Doctor-sized hole in their binge-watch schedule.

Nurse Jackie

2 'grey's anatomy' (2005-).

One absolutely cannot talk about great modern medical dramas without mentioning the biggest of them all . Beginning its life as a little-known mid-season replacement to Boston Legal in 2005, no one could have foreseen that Grey’s Anatomy would go on to re-define the medical drama genre.

The series follows the physicians of a surgical residency program at Seattle Grace Hospital, who strive to be accepted as full-time surgeons while balancing their personal lives. Along the way, Grey’s Anatomy has been a career launching pad for actors and behind-the-scenes personnel alike, most notably series creator Shonda Rhimes, who used the booming success of the series to create other legendary shows such as How to Get Away With Murder and Bridgerton .

Grey's Anatomy

1 'good doctor' (2013), created by park jae-beom.

2013 South Korean drama Good Doctor followed Park Si-on ( Joo Won ), a savant doctor on the autism spectrum hoping to become a pediatric surgeon in a renowned hospital, where his mentor also worked. Si-on was often in conflict with the hospital’s best pediatric surgeon, Kim Do-Han ( Joo Sang-Wook ), and things between them became even more tense when they fell for the same woman. In addition to the American remake, a Japanese version was also created.

Good Doctor was a popular, award-winning show, and without it, we wouldn’t have its American counterpart . Although the premise is the same – and the plots of the first episodes nearly identical – Good Doctor differed in some ways, such as Park Si-on’s specialty as a pediatrician compared to Shaun’s work as a surgeon, and was also much shorter, with a single season. Yet the two shows are different enough that there’s plenty to enjoy.

Good Doctor

Watch on Viki

NEXT: The Most Ridiculous Episodes in TV Medical Dramas, Ranked

The Untold Truth Of The Good Doctor

First debuting on ABC's fall schedule in 2017, "The Good Doctor" stars Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon whose perspective transforms the people around him.

An autistic man with savant syndrome, Shaun is a surgical resident at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. His gift for photographic recall and understanding of anatomy make him a natural fit for medicine. However, Shaun's neurodivergence makes some colleagues like Dr. Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) doubt his gifts. Allies like his mentor, Dr. Glassman (Richard Schiff), and Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) aid Shaun, but the young doctor ultimately has to prove for himself that he has what it takes to be a professional surgeon.

Over the course of several seasons, Shaun goes through a great deal of turmoil, but he also opens up his life to others,  including agreeing to marry his girlfriend Lea (Paige Spara) . Showrunner David Shore said in an interview with Deadline that he sees Shaun's experiences, regardless of his differences, as universal: "I think this series is about finding new opportunities and new challenges for him, and seeing that those challenges are the same that we all experience."

As the show, now in Season 5, gets closer to airing 100 episodes, we'll take a look at actor Daniel Dae-Kim's hand in producing the show, the original South Korean version, how the visual effects work, and much more. This is the untold truth of "The Good Doctor."

The Good Doctor was originally a South Korean drama series

The series is in fact a remake of a South Korean TV show simply titled "Good Doctor." Both shows have similar first episodes before they diverge into very different narratives. In the Korean series, actor Joo Won plays Park Si-on, who, like his American counterpart, is an autistic savant working as a surgeon. "Good Doctor" originally ran 20 episodes in 2013 to strong ratings (via Tenasia ).

In 2014, "Lost" and "Hawaii Five-0" star Daniel Dae Kim bought the rights to remake "Good Doctor" overseas through his production company 3AD. According to The Hollywood Reporter , Dae Kim's motivation was in part to translate the unique feeling of Korean television to American audiences, because as Kim commented, "in America, there are more serialized dramas and there can be room for something inspired by Korean TV...I believe good content can transcend cultural barriers." "Good Doctor" being a medical drama — much like successful shows like "Grey's Anatomy" or "ER"— also influenced the decision as well.

ABC later agreed to air the series with Kim serving as a producer and "House" creator David Shore hired as the showrunner (via Deadline ). Shore's approach was not to "Americanize" the series but make something original: "I think we're just going, 'That's a great story. I would like to tell that story and make it my own.' And that's what happened here" (via TV Guide ).

Paige Spara auditioned from a bathroom to land the part of Lea

Fresh off the "Psycho" drama "Bates Motel," actor Freddie Highmore appears to have been the first choice to play Shaun Murphy. Highmore originally turned the part down because he wasn't sure about leading another show so soon after "Bates Motel" (via  Adweek ). It's lucky that he changed his mind then, as he became the star of a highly-rated network drama with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor (via  IMDb ).

Antonia Thomas' casting as Dr. Claire Browne was actually announced first, shortly before Highmore signed on alongside Nicholas Gonzalez (via  Deadline ). According to Town & Country Magazine , she was attracted to the role of Claire primarily because "she's a ball of contradictions in that she's very smart and driven and has a huge heart, but...quite quickly she makes some very big mistakes."

Paige Spara, who plays Shaun's eventual girlfriend and fiance Lea , was meant to be a guest star but soon became a regular character on the series. This was despite having to record an audition for the show from her parent's bathroom. Spara also had no steady Internet connection, and no access to a computer or printer, not to mention poor lighting, but she landed the role anyway. She'd later attribute the success to her mother's patience and help: "I appreciated my mom so much that day...[with her help] I was able to be calm and collected and it helped me find who Lea was" (via  The Blast ).

The Good Doctor's depiction of autism has been criticized

David Shore did heavy research into Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) before writing "The Good Doctor," telling a TCA panel that "we [the writers] saw a lot of doctors, we consulted with people, we've got people on the spectrum who we're working with" (via Deadline ).

Nevertheless, the medical drama has been criticized by professionals as well as neurodivergent writers for, like other popular media such as "Rain Man," depicting ASD characters as primarily "awkward white male geniuses" as well as interpreting Shaun's differences and challenges as a superpower. Three experts wrote in an op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter that the series "creates a mythical autistic superhero who deceives the public by misrepresenting how disabling autism can be in this society."

An actual autistic doctor wrote that they liked the show but noted how many autistics have extreme empathy, not a disconnect from others as the series suggests, and wished it also depicted more of the range of behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorder (via The Conversation ). For  Slate , autistic writer Sara Luterman also praised Shaun's humanity as a disabled character "even if it frequently seems to be by accident" on the part of the neurotypical creative team.

Ultimately, the series has received positive reception as well as sharp criticism from the autistic community.

You can thank MastersFX for the graphic surgery scenes

"The Good Doctor," like other medical dramas, isn't always accurate about actual hospital procedures, but it has to depict surgeries and gruesome injuries in a realistic way or it wouldn't feel believable. This is where visual effects company MastersFX comes in.

MastersFX works on the bodies shown during surgeries, intending to make the procedures look as real as possible. Artist Lori Sandnes told VFX Voice that "if the actors need to be dissecting, cutting or suturing something in the body, we want to make it easy for them to be able to perform the action as close as possible to the script." The team also works with the show's medical consultants as well as uses clips of actual surgeries for reference points.

The prosthetics and practical effects involved can include hearts, body casts, facial injuries, and even fake marlins. The most important thing for MastersFX founder Todd Masters though is "helping to create an organic, relatable character in service to the story –- [this] is always paramount" (via VFX Voice).

The Good Doctor is fairly medically accurate

In terms of medical accuracy and realistic depictions of hospital life, TV has always received mixed reviews from actual doctors. The hookups and egregious errors by interns and residents on "Grey's Anatomy" are considered extremely unrealistic by the medical community. "Scrubs" meanwhile has always been regarded as highly accurate and very aware of working dynamics in a hospital (via TV Insider ).

"The Good Doctor" has some errors  but is more realistic than many other medical TV shows. In an interview with TV Insider , the show's medical consultant Dr. Oren Gottfried discusses how he suggests actual medical incidents from real life to the writers. The doctor noted that "Some [cases] do seem so outlandish, but the fact is they're really medical truth."

Experts praised the drama in one article about medicine on television as "more accurate than other shows in terms of medical terminology, diagnoses, and treatments" but criticized small errors in depicting protocol and basic procedures (via Insider ). Professional nurse and actor Rebecca Brown, who often appears on the show, said in an Instagram Live chat that "there are things we sometimes have to tweak but the steps that we're doing that the viewers are watching are correct" (via Country Living ).

You can watch all five seasons of "The Good Doctor" currently streaming on Hulu.

Antonia Thomas was ready to say goodbye

Sure, it's sad to see our favorite actors leave, but it's understandable that playing the same character for 20-plus episodes year after year might lead someone to seek new opportunities. Antonia Thomas played the fan-favorite character Dr. Claire Browne since the beginning, but  Thomas decided to leave "The Good Doctor"  after the Season 4 finale, telling  Deadline  that her co-stars were nothing but supportive and specifically cited Highmore's encouragement as she sought out new ventures: "It's deeply sad to say goodbye, especially having all been together for four years, but I think, ultimately, they all understand that you have to follow your creative needs and wanting to try some different things."

However, Thomas doesn't want to say goodbye to Claire forever. She noted that she's completely on board with returning to the show when it makes sense for the story. In fact, she already made good on her promise during Shaun and Leah's wedding. Of course, it's a lot easier to say goodbye when it isn't final. One thing that separates TV from films is the heavy workload and near-constant filming. Actors are able to take on multiple movies at once, but Thomas noted that the inability to embark on other projects during filming contributed to her decision: "Really, for me, if there was more time in the year to be able to shoot the show and to be able to go off and do some of the other things that I'm wanting to explore now, I'd do both."

Nicholas Gonzalez was bummed by his character's death

Sometimes, a story takes characters on a specific journey that bums out the actor just as much as the fans. "The Good Doctor" frequently confronts mortality with the doctors' patients, however, we didn't get much of that energy regarding the doctors prior to the earthquake storyline explored at the end of Season 3 — which is the main reason that writers chose to kill off Nicholas Gonzalez' Dr. Neil Melendez .

Creator David Shore apparently didn't want to get into it during an interview  Deadline  in 2020, saying, "None of it is personal. You know, Nick was fantastic, and there's nothing I can say to you that will make you go, 'Oh, yeah. Okay. It had to be that way.'" After noting that they had to kill off someone the audience adored, he added, "New characters are going to come, old characters are going to leave, and we feel the pain when they leave, and we feel excitement when they come."

While Gonzalez knew about his character's fate well before fans, he only found out late in the third season. He confirmed to Entertainment Weekly : "Part of me is sad to see a character I respected a lot go — someone I felt that still had a lot more to say — but there wasn't always that opportunity, and I feel like we really built a beautiful world around that character, as much as can be in a show like ours where we're still a procedural as well." The actor compared his last day on set to "saying goodbye to something that felt like home." Ouch.

Freddie Highmore wanted to honor service workers during COVID storylines

Plenty of shows ignored the pandemic when filming resumed, yet medical procedurals offered Hollywood the perfect opportunity to tackle COVID-19 and the conditions healthcare workers faced. Freddie Highmore told  ABC , "We would've been doing them [first responders] a huge disservice to somehow ignore the realities of our time and choose not to focus on that." Like all Hollywood sets, "The Good Doctor" cast and crew had strict guidelines for filming, but Highmore noted that it added another level of understanding while playing these characters: "There are challenges, and there are differences, but it just puts into perspective what real-life doctors are having to do."

Because the series isn't sex-heavy, Highmore noted that the filming restrictions didn't change too much in terms of how the characters engage with each other. And though everyone involved wanted to honor the plight of healthcare workers, they were also intent on keeping things hopeful for fans watching at home, as Highmore explained.

Creator David Shore  Entertainment Weekly that he had to remain moderately detached while writing the pandemic storylines, but that they affected him more upon watching the final product. On how they approached the medical components, Shore said, "We tried to avoid stuff that might change day-to-day, but yes, there was a fear of that." He also noted the real-life relevance of having a doctor say that a symptom isn't related to COVID, only for that to be proven untrue later — because that's what happened with real doctors during the first waves.

Freddie Highmore can't do CPR

Dr. Shaun Murphy may declare that he's a surgeon on more than a few occasions, but Freddie Highmore isn't interested in following in his character's footsteps — even for simple emergencies. After playing a doctor on TV for years, it would be easy to forget, even for a moment, that you don't have actual training. But Highmore is hyper-aware of the fictional components of his on-screen doctorate.

Jimmy Kimmel asked if Highmore could see himself as a doctor, to which the actor responded, "I think the more I do the show, the more dangerous it would be for me to try to do surgery, because I have this fake accumulated knowledge that when someone's like, 'Oh, could you fix my gallbladder,' I'd think, 'Oh yeah, it's just like a two-minute surgery." He added, "So I stay away. I have to refrain myself from claiming to be a doctor."

Not only can Highmore not fix your gallbladder, but it wouldn't be wise to ask his assistance for a medical emergency on a plane, either. He told Kimmel that he doesn't even know how to do CPR and joked, "First aid is still ... I'm working on it. I just went straight to surgery. You don't need to know the basics." Well, if there was ever a time for the time-honored cliche, 'Kids, don't try this at home,' this would be it.

Richard Schiff and Sheila Kelley are married IRL

Meet-cutes aren't just relegated to the small screen. Love is in the air for Richard Schiff, and it's not just his character Dr. Glassman. Fans watched Glassy fall in love with Sheila Kelley's character Debbie Wexler in Season 3 of the show, but what they may not know is that Schiff and Kelley are actually married in real life as well. Schiff joked at  PaleyFest that he "lobbied to get her the job." "No, [it was] David's idea, actually, and [he] said, [...] 'How do you feel about Sheila coming up to Vancouver as if it would be like a problem [..] like you didn't really know what goes on in the household." Schiff continued, "I could not be more in love and in awe of my wife. [...] But [we were] a little bit nervous [because] we don't get to act with each other very often."

Schiff noted that they played exes on "NCIS" and starred together in "a little movie called 'Santa Fe' many years ago." On the concept of flirting with his wife on set in front of everyone, he said that Kelley was "ecstatic and giddy" to do these scenes. Schiff gushed about working with his wife, saying he "enjoyed every second of her being up there with me." He also cheekily noted that Kelley balanced out his "acerbic nature on set." Luckily, Schiff and Kelley are more successful in the marriage department than their now-divorced characters, as the real couple has been married since 1996. Take notes, Glassy.

Fiona Gubelmann was almost a good doctor

While Freddie Highmore isn't picking up a scalpal in real life any time soon, Fiona Gubelmann (Dr. Morgan Reznick) was on her way to becoming an actual doctor before switching career paths. Though Gubelmann was interested in acting from pre-school, Hollywood wasn't always at the top of her career list. The actor told  Collider , "I went to UCLA as pre-med. When I was there my freshman year, I auditioned for a play and got it, and I was so passionate. I just loved acting so much that I decided to switch majors and pursue acting."

She explained that because she was young and didn't have a family, college was the chance to dive deep into her dreams even though being an actor isn't always a stable career choice — especially in the early years of pursuit. Given that she was only pre-med for a portion of her freshman year, it's unclear just how much, if any, that experience has helped her during "The Good Doctor." Yet given how ambitious and cutthroat Dr. Reznick can be, it's certainly possible that intense vibes informed some of that energy during her pre-med stint at UCLA.

Hill Harper comes from a medical family

Fiona Gubelmann isn't the only "The Good Doctor" actor with some pre-show experience in the medical field. Dr. Marcus Andrews actor, Hill Harper, spoke to  ABC on the medical aspects of the show and the care that the writers put into every piece of the procedural puzzle. He noted, "Both [of] my parents were physicians. They met in medical school, so I have a great deal of respect for the medical profession."

Having deep family ties to the kind of character he plays is no doubt helpful in understanding the weight that doctors hold every time they pick up a scalpal or decide which cases to take. Hill added, "I have a great deal of respect for the fact that we get to play people that I consider to be heroes in this world, people who are literally on the front lines saving lives."

With that in mind, Hill continued to praise the writers "for doing a great job of making the professional heroes — the doctors — look great, but at the same time, also really interesting stories and stories to tell that kind of connect back to people's personal lives." Given that Hill's character has taken on a hefty leadership role, knowing the ins and outs of the medical profession was no doubt an asset.

The Good Doctor (I) (2011)

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The Good Doctor Reviews

• 52   Metascore
• 1 hr 25 mins
• Drama, Suspense
• Watchlist Where to Watch

In this arresting drama, an ambitious young doctor who's eager to impress his colleagues treats an 18-year-old patient with a kidney infection. Before long, his enthusiasm becomes something closer to an obsession.

Most actors love to play against type -- comedians are always looking for a chance to prove they can be “serious” actors, guys who are usually heroes want a chance to be the scenery-chewing villain, and beautiful sex symbols look to get respect by dressing down and playing someone “real.” Orlando Bloom has been a handsome and heroic leading man in not one but two very successful movie franchises, portraying Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and the following two sequels, as well as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. So who can blame him for taking the bait when he was given the opportunity to play a character who is not only sinister and socially awkward, but has questionable fashion sense and a bad haircut? Bloom was eager enough to star in The Good Doctor that he also signed on as a co-producer in order to give  the film some extra marquee value, but the results were probably not quite what he expected. In The Good Doctor, Bloom plays Dr. Martin Blake, a young internist who is serving his residency at a hospital in California. Blake is a bit stuffy and has trouble making friends, and his first few days don’t go especially well after he accidentally prescribes the wrong medication for one of his patients. He gets on the wrong side of Theresa (Taraji P. Henson), the no-nonsense head nurse on his floor, and his mistake puts him in an awkward position with his superior, the casually inscrutable Dr. Waylans (Rob Morrow). One of Blake’s patients is a pretty 18-year-old woman named Diane Nixon (Riley Keough), who has a kidney infection. Diane clearly likes him, and looking in on her becomes the highlight of his day -- so much so that Blake is deeply disappointed when she’s released to recover at home. Diane’s family invites Blake over for dinner, and he hatches a plan to bring her back to the hospital: He replaces the antibiotics she’s been given with sugar pills, and soon Diane returns to his ward and is under his care again. Blake digs himself in deeper, replacing her IV drips with different medicines and changing test results to ensure that the woman he loves doesn’t go home too soon. As Blake seemingly puts his best efforts into Diane’s increasingly difficult case, he earns the respect of Theresa, Waylans, and his fellow interns. However, an orderly named Jimmy (Michael Pena) discovers that Blake is up to no good, and demands that the internist use his prescription pad to buy his silence. Orlando Bloom certainly gives The Good Doctor his best effort, but while he appears to relish playing a cold, corrupt character for a change, the truth is that he never seems terribly convincing as a bad guy. His infatuation with Diane feels real enough, and Riley Keough plays off him beautifully, giving her distracted teenage monotone just enough of a come-hither underpinning that it’s not hard to see why he’s attracted to her. But as Bloom plays him, Blake simply doesn’t lie very well or cover his tracks with much skill, and given how often he has to do both in this story, it’s hard to imagine why so few people are capable of seeing through him. Michael Pena gives Jimmy plenty of charm and menace, and he’s spot-on as Blake’s nemesis -- in fact, one wishes he had played a bigger role in the film earlier on. And if Rob Morrow, Taraji P. Henson, and J.K. Simmons mostly provide window dressing in this movie, they play their roles with assurance and bring a sense of naturalism that Bloom does not. John Enbom’s screenplay has the bones of a good psychological thriller in it, and Lance Daly directs with a solid, workmanlike touch that’s short on flash but tells the story with efficiency and elegance. But at its heart, The Good Doctor is a tale about a man whose romantic obsession turns him into a criminal, and Orlando Bloom never seems to possess the nerve or the skill to be the sort of crook this movie needs him to be. Maybe The Good Doctor would have been better off if someone else played the unscrupulous Dr. Blake, and Bloom came in to save the day in the final reel.

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The good doctor, common sense media reviewers.

Romance, blood in medical drama about doctor with autism.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Life is full of difficult decisions, many of them

Lead character Dr. Shaun Murphy works hard to beco

The series centers around Dr. Shaun Murphy, who ha

As the show is a medical drama, there are frequent

Characters have crushes, date, break up, get marri

Language includes "bitch," "hell," and "damn." Sex

Drugs are frequently used in a medical context. Ch

Parents need to know that The Good Doctor is a medical drama based on the same-named Korean series and has plenty of workplace romances, bloody surgery scenes, and disagreements between the lower-level staff and the upper management. Main character Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) has autism and savant…

Positive Messages

Life is full of difficult decisions, many of them life or death, and it's important to maintain a support system and take care of your mental health to get through it. Themes of acceptance run throughout the show, with frank discussions about how our differences make us stronger.

Positive Role Models

Lead character Dr. Shaun Murphy works hard to become a surgeon in order to help others, having been deeply affected by troubling losses in his childhood. He speaks his mind (but regularly breaks protocol if he needs to when a life is at stake, which sometimes causes him problems). His mentor, hospital president Dr. Aaron Glassman, is a fervent advocate for Murphy. Various medical residents, doctors, and nurses populate the series—they're all capable and compassionate professionals who want to help others, even as they have their own flaws and quirks. They work hard to communicate in order to maintain healthy professional and emotional bonds with one another.

Diverse Representations

The series centers around Dr. Shaun Murphy, who has autism. Though he has savant syndrome (which is overrepresented in media portrayals of autism) and isn't played by an autistic actor, the series still meaningfully explores issues of accessibility in the workplace and navigating love while living with disabilities. Another main character temporarily uses a wheelchair; her story also explores disability issues with nuance, and it's crucial that she finds happiness as a disabled person, but ultimately the series still uses a "miracle cure" cliche that allows her to walk again. A resident who appears for two seasons is an amputee, portrayed as very capable. The series is racially and ethnically diverse, though the main leads—Dr. Murphy, Dr. Glassman, and Dr. Murphy's partner, Lea—are all White. Women are empowered and have significant screen time. Recurring LGBTQ+ characters eventually arrive later in the series: Gay characters Dr. Wolke and nurse Jerome have a positive and complex relationship, but it gets abruptly cut short. Religion is also explored through characters such as Dr. Allen, who's Christian, and Dr. Wolke, who comes from an Orthodox Jewish upbringing.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

As the show is a medical drama, there are frequent operating room scenes, including brief close-ups on open surgeries with organs visible and blood occasionally gushing or spurting during emergencies. Accidents leading up to hospitalizations include earthquakes, car accidents, an active shooter and hostage situation, etc. Topics of sickness and grief frequently come up. Main characters flash back to incidents of bullying, plus family members' terminal illnesses and deaths.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Characters have crushes, date, break up, get married, and discuss marital issues like divorce and separation. They kiss, discuss sex, have implied sex (no nudity), and have phone sex—sometimes at the hospital they work at. Love interests who work together, sometimes in different levels of seniority, thoughtfully grapple with workplace dynamics.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Language includes "bitch," "hell," and "damn." Sexual references to "screwing."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Drugs are frequently used in a medical context. Characters drink and occasionally get drunk in celebratory settings (the main character has a catchphrase, "Tequila, stat!"). They also infrequently get high on marijuana. A late-season resident struggles with opioid addiction and his story arc is thoughtfully handled.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Good Doctor is a medical drama based on the same-named Korean series and has plenty of workplace romances, bloody surgery scenes, and disagreements between the lower-level staff and the upper management. Main character Dr. Shaun Murphy ( Freddie Highmore ) has autism and savant syndrome, and the series tackles issues of disability (accessibility in the workplace, navigating love as a disabled person, etc.) with sensitivity, but also falls into some disability cliches (a wheelchair user accepts a cure and can walk again). The cast is ethnically diverse, and women have strong, empowered roles. Accidents leading up to hospitalizations include earthquakes, car accidents, an active shooter and hostage situation, etc. Topics of sickness and grief frequently come up. Characters go on dates, kiss, discuss sex, and have implied sex (no nudity). Language includes "bitch," "hell," and "damn." Drugs are frequently used in a medical context. Main characters drink alcohol and (very infrequently) smoke marijuana to relax—a late-season character grapples with opioid addiction. The Good Doctor has positive messages about compassion, maintaining a support system, and the joys of found family. Characters grapple with mental health and relationships in healthy, responsible ways, including working hard to communicate with one another.

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (34)
• Kids say (55)

Based on 34 parent reviews

Was really good until every single episode became about sex

What's the story.

In THE GOOD DOCTOR, Dr. Shaun Murphy ( Freddie Highmore )—an aspiring surgeon with autism and savant syndrome—leaves his isolated life in the country for a job at San Jose's prestigious St. Bonaventure Hospital. He finds himself working alongside colleagues who are either curious about and befuddled by his atypical social behaviors—like fellow residents Claire ( Antonia Thomas ) and Jared (Chuku Modu)—or openly hostile, like the attending surgeon who brusquely informs Shaun that he has no intention of ever letting him actually perform surgery in his operating room. Shaun's only real advocate is a mentor from childhood, hospital president Dr. Aaron Glassman ( Richard Schiff ). As Shaun gains respect at work—and romantically pursues IT technician Lea Dilallo (Paige Spara)—other medical professionals come and go, each leaving their mark on the hospital and on the other characters.

Is It Any Good?

While it may follow the same contrived formula that so many hospital dramas have relied on, this show is elevated by Highmore's thoughtful performance and a stellar supporting cast. At first, The Good Doctor relies on the cliche of a "quirky professional who's bad with people but great with medicine"—someone who's nearly always a White male professional to boot, as in show creator David Shore's last medical outing, House . But Shaun's relationships quickly expand, and other fascinating characters get their turns to develop and shine, from tough-as-nails Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) and overachiever Dr. Morgan Reznick ( Fiona Gubelmann ) to the wise but playful Dr. Jordan Allen (Bria Henderson), among so many more. Like many long-running dramas, the show's handling of tricky topics such as disability, race, gender, and sexuality improve over time, even if it does usually go for easy answers in the pursuit of feel-good viewing. But what starts as a simple premise—a doctor with savant syndrome fights to be seen in the medical field—turns into the more engaging efforts of a broader, powerhouse cast. Viewers will quickly get lured into the difficult, complicated, funny, and loving relationships that build the foundation of this solid drama.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about diversity in The Good Doctor. How does the show champion the idea that our differences make us stronger? In what ways does the series still perpetuate existing cliches?

Specifically, how do you feel about the show's portrayals of autism? Are some characters more stereotypical than others? What areas of Dr. Murphy's character feel more nuanced, and which areas feel cliched? Are there similarities or differences between The Good Doctor' s portrayals and the autistic people you might know in real life?

How does this show compare to other medical dramas you've seen? Do you have a favorite in the genre? What aspects of medical dramas appeal to you?

How does the show tackle ideas of faith and religion? Do the show's depictions of atheism, Christianity, and Orthodox Judaism seem realistic or stereotypical?

How do characters demonstrate compassion and communication ? Why are these important character strengths ?

• Premiere date : September 25, 2017
• Cast : Freddie Highmore , Richard Schiff , Hill Harper , Antonia Thomas
• Network : ABC
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : STEM
• Character Strengths : Communication , Compassion
• TV rating : TV-14
• Award : Golden Globe - Golden Globe Award Nominee
• Last updated : July 28, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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The Good Doctor (2011)

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Dr. Martin Blake (Orlando Bloom) is an ambitious young doctor, eager to impress his superiors and colleagues - Chief Resident Waylans (Rob Morrow), self-assured fellow intern Dan (Troy Garity) and no-nonsense nurse Theresa (Taraji P. Henson) – but things are not going his way and he can't seem to shake off his insecurities. When 18-year-old Diane (Riley Keough) is admitted to the hospital for a kidney infection, Martin gets the boost of self-esteem he has been craving when he is able to quickly diagnose and begin treating her condition. However, his enthusiasm for his work and interest in his new patient quickly veer into inappropriate territory when he starts to develop romantic feelings for Diane. As her health improves, Martin fears losing her and quickly loses sight of hismedical ethics. When orderly Jimmy (Michael Peña) discovers the doctor's budding relationship with his young patient and uses it to his own advantage, things really start to get out ofhand. Martin is no longer just fighting for respect, but his reputation andcareer.

The Good Doctor Featurette [Exclusive]

Orlando Bloom and Riley Keough star in this riveting medical drama from director Lance Daly, in theaters August 31st.

The Good Doctor Trailer

Orlando Bloom stars as an ambitious young doctor whose success starts to go to his head.

2011 Tribeca Film Festival Lineup Announced

The festival revealed the films on display in the Spotlight, Cinemania, Special Screenings and ESPN Sports Film Festival sections.

Lance Daly Ponders the Magic of Kisses [Exclusive]

The Irish director brings his award-winning drama to the USA this summer.

SDCC 2010: Saturday Schedule for Comic-Con 2010 Released!

Take a look at all the events in this third full day at the Con.

How Can Robert Downey, Jr. Be Doctor Doom? The Shared History Between Doom and Iron Man Explained

Doctor doom is iron man now it makes more sense than you might think..

This year’s Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic-Con may not have been overflowing with new reveals and announcements, but there was one huge shocker to cap off the evening. We learned that Avengers 5 has now become Avengers: Doomsday , and none other than Robert Downey, Jr. has been cast as iconic Marvel villain Doctor Doom.

Marvel fans are still trying to wrap their heads around that announcement . It’s a big deal that arguably Marvel’s biggest and most important villain is finally going to make his MCU debut. But why is he being played by Downey of all people? Is Doom an evil variant of Tony Stark?

We have a lot more questions than answers at this point. But it’s important to remember one thing - Iron Man and Doctor Doom have a long history together in Marvel’s comic book universe. We can only assume this casting will play on that history one way or another. As we grapple with this surprise announcement, let’s break down the relationship between Doom and Iron Man in the comics and how that might play into the MCU’s unusual take on Doctor Doom.

Was Robert Downey Jr being cast as Doctor Doom the right move for the MCU?

Iron Man and Doctor Doom’s Shared History

Doctor Doom will always be defined by his feud with Mister Fantastic. As the traditional origin story goes, Reed Richards and Victor von Doom were college roommates and intellectual rivals from pretty much the very beginning. Victor was obsessed with building a machine that would allow him to communicate with his dead mother. Reed warned his frenemy that the machine was dangerous, but the arrogant Victor didn’t listen. That stubbornness wound up blowing up in his face - literally - when the machine exploded and scarred Victor’s handsome mug. One soul-searching journey around the world later, Victor von Doom was reborn as Doctor Doom.

Mister Fantastic has certainly remained Doom’s arch-enemy over the years, but the Latverian monarch has also tussled with Iron Man a fair few times. Their rivalry really took shape in a 1981 storyline called Doomquest, where both Tony Stark and Victor von Doom are dragged back in time to the court of King Arthur. Doom attempts to forge an alliance with Morgan le Fay, but they’re no match for the combined might of Iron Man and King Arthur’s knights.

Doom and Iron Man had another major faceoff in 2007’s Mighty Avengers, which is set in the aftermath of the Civil War crossover and Tony Stark’s promotion to Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. After Doom is implicated in an attack on New York City, Iron Man leads the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. in an all-out invasion of Doom’s kingdom of Latveria. Though Doom wasn’t actually responsible for the attack, he winds up in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

Basically, as one of the only people on the planet smart enough to rival Victor von Doom himself, Tony was always going to wind up on Doom’s s*** list. It’s the same reason Doom and T’Challa have always had such a love/hate relationship. It doesn’t help that Tony is purely a man of science, whereas Doom is all too happy to tap into the power of the supernatural in his never-ending quest for more power. That conflict between technology and magic is what has also made The Mandarin such an enduring Iron Man foe.

But their relationship isn’t always purely antagonistic. Following the events of 2015’s Secret Wars (which ends with Doom being redeemed and getting his old face back), Doom turns over a new leaf. He becomes a supporting character in 2015’s Invincible Iron Man, insisting on lending a helping hand despite Tony refusing to believe that the former Doctor Doom is on the level.

Doom even becomes the new Iron Man for a time after Tony is left in a comatose state due to the events of 2016’s Civil War II. That’s the premise of a series called Infamous Iron Man , as Doom forges his own suit of Iron Man armor and attempts to carry on Tony’s heroic legacy. Doom even defends Stark Industries from an attack by The Hood and his minions, but at the cost of his recently healed face.

It’s also worth pointing out that there are versions of Doctor Doom in the Marvel multiverse who actually are Tony Stark. One of these is Iron Maniac, a version of Tony Stark introduced in 2004's Marvel Team-Up #3. Another is featured in 2010’s What If? Iron Man: Demon in an Armor #1. In this world, Victor von Doom swapped bodies with Tony Stark in college. Trapped in his rival’s body Tony swears revenge and begins a yearslong quest to destroy Doom’s Stark Universal company.

How Can Robert Downey, Jr. Be Playing Doctor Doom?

At this point, we’ve established that Doctor Doom and Iron Man have a long shared history together in the comics. But that still doesn’t answer the basic question - why is Downey of all people playing Doctor Doom? Why cast the actor who made Iron Man a household name as a completely different Marvel character now?

One possibility is that Downey is simply playing a new MCU role, independent of any connection to Tony Stark. Don’t forget that Doom is well-known for never taking off his mask. Whether because he can't or simply won't is part of his mystique. Depending on how over-the-top Downey’s performance is (and there’s plenty of room to go big with a character like Doom), the movies may simply be able to ignore the fact that the guy underneath Doom’s armor looks and sounds an awful lot like Tony Stark. If Downey proved anything with his performances in 1992’s Chaplin and Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies, it’s that he can really transform himself with the right accent.

And it’s not as if Downey would be the first MCU actor to return in a completely different role. Michelle Yeoh played Aleta Olgord in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and Ying Nan in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. David Dastmalchian played Kurt Goreshter in the first two Ant-Man movies and pivoted to playing Veb in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Gemma Chan played Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel and Sersi in Eternals. There is a precedent for this kind of double-casting.

That said, it seems hard to imagine that Marvel just decided to cast Downey again without intending to reference his history as Tony Stark. Another option is that Doom has been reimagined as a variant of Tony Stark. We know that the newly retitled The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set in an alternate-universe, retro-futuristic version of New York City. Perhaps in this universe, Tony Stark is the one who rooms with Reed Richards in college and develops an unhealthy obsession with besting his rival.

This Tony may undergo some twisted inversion of the origin story seen in 2008’s Iron Man, leaving him disfigured and retreating inside a powerful suit of armor to plot vengeance against the Richards family. Doom may not be the primary antagonist in The Fantastic Four: First Steps (that would be Ralph Ineson’s Galactus ), but we have to imagine he’ll appear in the movie in some capacity. Ideally, the FF movie will provide Downey’s new character with an origin story prior to him taking center stage in Avengers: Doomsday.

We also know that the FF are eventually making the jump to the MCU, as they’re now confirmed to be appearing in both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. It’s probably safe to assume that Doom will make the journey with them. Making Doom a refugee from another world would also help explain why the character has yet to appear in any previous MCU project. Like with the FF, the MCU has no Doctor Doom of its own. The Fantastic Four: First Steps can change that.

Whether Downey’s Doom is Victor von Doom or Tony Stark, it may not matter much in the end. This is a villain who’s egomaniacal to an extreme. He hides from the world inside a suit of armor. He combines the most advanced technology his mind can conjure and the darkest spells the supernatural realm has to offer to make himself a god among men. He’s a twisted inversion of everything Iron Man stands for. Where Iron Man was the savior of the MCU, Doom is its greatest nightmare.

That’s why you cast Robert Downey, Jr. as Doctor Doom. It’s a chance for the MCU’s most pivotal actor to play a completely different kind of character, but one who can have an equally profound effect on the future of this universe. We’ve seen Downey at his heroic best. Now it’s time to see just how evil he can be.

Deadpool & Wolverine: Easter Eggs, Cameos and References

For more on Marvel's SDCC panel, learn what we saw in the Captain America: Brave New World footage and the stunt-heavy Thunderbolts* footage .

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter .

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The most important things in life happen between the words. Subterranean noise is often louder than dialogue. This is a truth we all experience, but it is challenging to pull off in film, particularly if the subterranean moments are small shifts in consciousness where the character (and audience) understands that nothing will be the same again. A film camera captures thought, and yet so many films seem to distrust this, their air filled with unnecessary dialogue, either exposition or explanation. India Donaldson's "Good One" is extraordinary in so many ways, but its most distinctive quality is how much Donaldson and her trio of actors (James LeGros, Danny McCarthy , and Lily Collias ) trust the subterranean, and allow it to do its work far beneath the surface, between the words.

Chris (Le Gros) and Matt (McCarthy) are lifelong friends, with a relationship like an old bickering married couple. Chris is the responsible one, but his marriage has ended and he's in a state of unwelcome middle-aged upheaval. Matt is a failed actor, openly flailing with disappointment. His teenage son wants nothing to do with him. Chris' 17-year-old daughter Sam (Collias) is a senior in high school, gearing up for college in the fall. She's a good kid and excited about the future. She's looking forward to a weekend hiking trip in the Catskills with her father, Matt, and Matt's son. When Matt's son refuses to go, Sam is without a peer to keep her company. It's too late to back out.

The hike isn't a casual afternoon walk. It's a three-day affair, everyone carrying gear on their backs, hiking long distances over sometimes arduous terrain. Chris and Sam are practiced hikers. They've got all the rituals down. Matt is a buffoon. He's wearing jeans. He packs inappropriately. He can't set up his tent. Chris is rigid and critical. The dynamic between the friends feels like a habit more than anything else. Chris is perpetually irritated with Matt, while Matt cracks jokes. His lightheartedness is a thin veneer placed over misery so deep it's practically existential. "I don't know how I became so untethered," he says in a naked moment.

We see all of this through Sam's eyes. She is perceptive and thoughtful. When the two men ask for her opinion on their grown-up problems, she surprises them with her insight. Something's "off" about all of this, though. Sam is 17 years old, but she's still a kid. These guys are a lot to handle, and one of them is her dad. They forget she's young, they forget that maybe getting tipsy and swapping stories about infidelity isn't something she needs to see. What starts off as a nice time (albeit chaotic with all the bickering) quickly becomes not so nice. In fact, there's a feeling in the air, more and more distinct as the film goes on, that Sam is not safe with these two men she's known all her life.

What happened, though?

"Good One" is intriguing in its disinterest in explanations. The film's refusal to "satisfy" an audience with easy explanations or even cathartic moments pulls you into its atmosphere, dragging you into the weird dynamic which grows more claustrophobic by the moment. Sam has her period and keeps leaving the path to put in a tampon, as Chris and Sam wait in the background, completely oblivious to her extra burden. She's got this whole world going on they have no idea about. The period is an intriguing detail (all the details are intriguing in this beautiful film, including its evocative title), highlighting the biological difference, but also highlighting her isolation. The only women in the movie are back home. Sam is on her own.

I took a friend to the press screening, and we walked home, talking about it the whole way. There was so much to discuss, and I can't help but think it's because what it all "means" is left unsaid. Donaldson does not take the easy way out.

The majority of the film takes place outside. Cinematographer Wilson Cameron (who also directed two of Donaldon's shorts) captures the lush greenery, the way the bodies move through it, the vistas. In some of the more intimate scenes, he utilizes very interesting framing where one head looms in the foreground, and another head peeks out from behind the blockage. The characters are crammed into the frame, but in each others’ way. The sound design is exquisite: the vivid sounds of rushing water, bugs, and birds take the place of dialogue. There are long sequences where we watch the characters hike, set up tents, break down their campsite. The rhythm is soothing, but underneath, things are curdling, shattering.

Most of the film happens on Collias' face. She is an astonishing young actress, where every flicker of thought, discomfort, humor, and shock shows. Her face leads us. The subterranean shift is Sam's, a tectonic plate moving far beneath the surface of her life, marking her indelibly. When Sam exits the forest, she's not the same girl as when she went in. Everything has changed.

Sheila O'Malley

Sheila O'Malley received a BFA in Theatre from the University of Rhode Island and a Master's in Acting from the Actors Studio MFA Program. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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The Good Doctor Is Filled With So Much Goodness It Might Make You Sick

The guiding principle of The Good Doctor is summarized right there in its title. This is an ABC drama about a promising young surgeon who wants to make a positive impact and should be celebrated — and probably will be in every episode, if the pilot is any indication — for his extraordinary capacity to perform medical miracles.

In fact, less than ten minutes into the first episode, which airs tonight at 10 on ABC, Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) is already performing one of those miracles, using his borderline telekinetic ability to diagnose and treat a boy suffering from a serious accidental injury in the San Jose airport. The first half of the episode, the only one ABC made available in advance, toggles between those suspenseful moments, as Shaun attempts to bring breath back into the child’s lungs, and a board meeting at St. Bonaventure Hospital, where Shaun’s mentor, Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff), is arguing that Shaun should be brought on staff despite the fact that he is autistic. The initial portion of the hour also sprinkles in some flashbacks to Shaun’s childhood, as well as scenes involving other members of the St. Bonaventure staff, who mix business with pleasure to a degree that suggests they may have stumbled over to The Good Doctor after a stint on Grey’s Anatomy .

Every time the action cuts away from the dire situation Shaun is dealing with, all the tension in the episode gets punctured, which speaks to an overall tendency on The Good Doctor to soften every conceivable edge. There’s a lot going on here; too much, really. Like so many TV pilots, this one is auditioning for our attention and trying to cram every key character, theme, and backstory into that first tryout. It’s possible that once the show settles in, it could improve. It certainly has some factors that, at least theoretically, should work in its favor.

The Good Doctor comes from executive producer and writer David Shore, who created Fox’s House , a medical drama centered around a lead character who was nothing but edges. Its two leads, Highmore and Schiff, are both excellent and manage to make some very heavy-handed dialogue sound less didactic than it otherwise might. (“He sees things and analyzes things in ways that are just remarkable, in ways that we can’t even begin to understand,” Schiff says of Shaun. This is not the last time the actor will remind us that The West Wing provided excellent training for grounding overly earnest moments.) Seth Gordon — executive producer and a director of Netflix’s Atypical , another recent series about an autistic protagonist — directed The Good Doctor ’s pilot, which is why some of the visual cues that convey autistic sensory overload may feel a tad familiar.

The Good Doctor is one of multiple new or recent shows centered around young men on the spectrum. In addition to Atypical, the best of the lot so far, there is also Young Sheldon , the Big Bang Theory prequel that, like The Good Doctor , emphasizes the magnificence of its young hero’s mind but, unlike The Good Doctor and in keeping with Big Bang ’s approach, never outright discusses his condition.

The ABC series, like Dr. Glassman, is very open about Shaun’s autism and the fact that he has savant syndrome. But it’s mostly on a mission to prove that he is capable of doing extraordinary things, able to express compassion, and, most important from the show’s perspective, deserving of the audience’s empathy. Basically, Shaun is a superhero, right down to the X-ray vision and the extremely tragic childhood that made him realize he had a calling to help others in need.

There is nothing wrong at all with making a show about an autistic character that emphasizes his skills and talents, but, as with any lead on any drama, he should also have what every person has: some flaws. While The Good Doctor doesn’t shy away from presenting Shaun’s difficulties with communication and social norms, it tends to spin those qualities into a positive. When he says things in an overly blunt fashion — like telling a superior that he is very arrogant, then asking, “Does that make you a better surgeon? Does that hurt you as a person?” — it frames this as honest, laudable truth-telling rather than an ill-advised comment.

Shaun exists not only to make patients better, but, apparently, to make everyone around him a better person. There’s not a lot of nuance in that. Hopefully The Good Doctor will find some more of it in the episodes ahead. If it doesn’t, all the over-the-top sentimentality is going to make viewers feel sick pretty quickly.

• the good doctor

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How ‘Good One’ Director India Donaldson Crafted the Film’s Devastating Twist

By Ethan Shanfeld

Ethan Shanfeld

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SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for “ Good One ,” in theaters now.

From first-time feature director India Donaldson , “Good One” is a breezy dramedy about three people on a backpacking trip. Until, suddenly, it isn’t.

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After premiering at Sundance, “Good One” was picked up by Metrograph Pictures as its first acquisition, as the New York cinema expands into distribution. The film will open in theaters in L.A. and New York on Aug. 9, with a wide release planned in the following weeks.

“People talk about how big movies need to be seen in a movie theater, but I sort of feel the opposite,” Donaldson says. “You can’t really experience the quiet of an intimate film unless you’re in a movie theater.”

Donaldson chatted with Variety ahead of “Good One’s” theatrical release to discuss the process of making an indie in the elements and break down its pivotal scene.

What is the hardest part about making a debut film besides getting funding?

Hm… I’m like, “Obviously the money.” Well, money is connected to getting people to trust you, and when you haven’t made a feature film before it’s that much harder to get people to trust you. It’s equally hard, for me, to trust yourself. I had so many moments of self-doubt along the way. To make a film, you have to keep barreling forward and shut that voice out. For me, the vigilance of keeping that voice out was the hardest part.

“Good One” hinges on a climactic moment between a teenager and her dad’s friend. Is that where the idea for the film started?

I imagine this is the type of film that, when you’re scripting it, you have no idea if it’s going to work. Because of the nature of the story, it relies so much on the performances, and capturing subtle moments on the characters’ faces.

I always knew that the success of the film would hinge on casting the right people. That comes back to my gut, following my instinct about people and the potential for their collaboration and with me. We also whittled the form down into its finished form as we went, and part of that was the dialogue and how the actors interpreted the characters. You discover things along the way once these amazing actors become the characters. The scene where Sam confronts her father, when I look back at my script for that, there is so much more dialogue than what ended up in the film. It was a much longer scene. I learned to let things go that felt important in the scripting process that then become totally irrelevant once you see it on camera.

What did shooting that scene look like in practice?

James Le Gros was looking at the script and suddenly suggested that some of the dialogue was not necessary. Even more of it got cut out in the edit, but he circled the line, “Let’s just have a nice day,” and said, “That’s what the whole scene is.” He was so right. Outside of what she was saying to him, that was the most important moment, and it immediately illuminated for me how irrelevant some of the more direct things he was saying were.

While these movies share basically nothing else in common, “Good One” reminded me of the Peacock comedy “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain” in that both films take place almost entirely outdoors, and they both center on three people hiking. When I interviewed Paul Briganti , the director of “Foggy Mountain,” he said filming in nature poses a lot of unexpected challenges, and that he had to deal with hornet nests, ticks, snakes and 100-degree weather. Did you have similar obstacles?

The movie turns when Matt makes a pass at Sam after her dad goes to bed, essentially inviting his friend’s teenage daughter into his tent to keep him warm. How did you strike the subtlety of the moment? A less confident filmmaker might have made the transgression more extreme.

I just lean into what I find satisfying. A more subtle moment allows you to see more complexity. A simpler, quieter moment allows for more layers and perspectives to be revealed, where a more aggressive note would have flattened the complexity or made Matt a more one-dimensional, villainous character. I adore that character. However the audience feels about him, I have empathy for him. Part of the reason that scene happens so late in the movie is I want to provide the opportunity for the audience to get to know him and trust him, and feel disappointed in him in the way that Sam might.

After the transgression occurs, did you feel a responsibility as a filmmaker to maintain a sense of empathy for Matt?

Where my empathy comes from for Matt, and how I depicted his presence in the last third of the movie, is that we say goodbye to him. He gets ejected from the story in a way, but really he ejects himself. He makes himself smaller and more invisible, which is connected to his shame and all of the feelings in the aftermath.

And then you have the greater betrayal of the film, which is Sam’s dad’s indifference, or unwillingness to confront Matt. It speaks to the character being conflict-avoidant, but might it also speak to a broader idea that men tend to side with other men in these sorts of instances?

There’s a certain universality to the dynamics of the story that does broaden it. For me, I’m just living in the specificity of these characters and this relationship. Thank you for saying that is the bigger betrayal, because for me it is too. That moment that you realize, “Oh, my parent is a flawed human being who, in this moment, is in denial or can’t face this difficult thing I’m saying — or doesn’t have the confidence in himself to listen to me.” That is more the broader thing that I was speaking to — the universal disappointment we all have at a certain point in our parents. It’s OK, our parents are human beings, too, and I think we as human beings rarely say the right thing in the moment. How things play out in the movie, I imagine maybe in 10 years Sam and her dad will have a more productive conversation about the weekend, but it wasn’t going to happen on that day.

How do you interpret the final moments of the film, when Sam’s dad begs her to drive and hands her the car key?

And she locks the two men outside of the car for a moment, letting them bask in their discomfort. But there is no blowout fight, no big confrontation between them.

In the short term, it’s easier to forget and push aside than it is to really live in conflict and confront things that are difficult. An alternative I’ve imagined is that their friendship just expires and fizzles and they lose touch, but they never talk about what happened.

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The Good Doctor Reviews

An intermittently fascinating character study about a plain man who does evil things for selfish reasons.

Full Review | Aug 26, 2015

...the picture never pushes the creepiness of Bloom's doctor far enough to make the experience wholly effective but it's fun to watch Bloom stretch his legs in a sinister role.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 25, 2013

A solidly constructed little character study of dark romantic bloom commingled with slipping-knot mental instability.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Feb 7, 2013

Visually capturing that chemistry between god-in-training and his just rewards silently sums up the film long before the kindest cut of all.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 6, 2013

A Dr. Kildare drama gone berserk on meds.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Dec 13, 2012

After watching this film you should be doubly determined to stay away from hospitals.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Dec 10, 2012

Wants to be a twisty nail-biter, but never creates much suspense or surprise.

Full Review | Original Score: 5.5/10 | Oct 9, 2012

... a tale of quiet obsession ... one of those queasy little thrillers, like One-Hour Photo, that'll have you talking back to the screen, shouting, 'No, he wouldn't possibly do THAT!' And then he does.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 11, 2012

[VIDEO ESSAY] "The Good Doctor" is a seriously creepy Euro-styled thriller. Regardless of their position on Obamacare, no one who sees this movie will feel any better about being a hospital patient.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Sep 4, 2012

Orlando Bloom gives one of his most interesting performances; It's a creepy, effectively chilling piece of work.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 4, 2012

Daly uses Bloom's chilly exterior to hook you into the often preposterous doings ... It's just plausible enough to give you a good case of the chills.

Full Review | Sep 4, 2012

Suspenseful and sinister, making one wary of checking into a hospital.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Sep 3, 2012

A compelling, character-driven film about a particularly antiseptic form of madness.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 1, 2012

It's too bad that the events leading up to it are so ridiculous that they undermine what's otherwise a powerfully disquieting denouement.

Full Review | Original Score: 5.5/10 | Aug 31, 2012

Don't allow this doctor to treat you.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 31, 2012

Targeting age-old English class consciousness, not contemporary American healthcare woes, the movie is a shrewd commentary on careerism and status.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 31, 2012

Whether you take it as a comment on our rote acceptance of authority figures or just a deliciously creepy character study, you'll come away from "The Good Doctor" wanting to keep religiously eating that apple a day.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 31, 2012

The film is an observant examination of cognitive dissonance, the torment felt by a person who is simultaneously holding two completely opposite values.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 30, 2012

If "The Good Doctor" isn't a bad movie, it tells only half the story.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 30, 2012

Suspense is anemic in this dark hospital drama about a resident getting too intensive in his care for an attractive patient.

Full Review | Aug 30, 2012

The Good Doctor Review: ABC's Inclusive Medical Drama Attempts A Fresh Take

If there's one tried and true TV genre that will never go out of style, it's the medical drama. The weaving of interpersonal issues with emergency surgeries never ceases to thrill TV fans, although it's often hard to stand out from the pack. But ABC is attempting to do just that with its new series The Good Doctor . While the title makes it seem like another Good Wife spinoff, new series follows a group of surgeons in a San Jose hospital. The twist? One of these surgeons is a young man with both autism and a genius level intellect. Move over Meredith Grey, there's a new surgeon in town.

The Good Doctor was created by Hawaii 5-0 and Lost actor Daniel Dae Kim and writer/producer David Shore ( House ). The series largely follow Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore), as he begins his first days in the surgical program at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. Murphy's entrance is an exciting and flashy one, and it sends waves through the hospital staff, particularly in the surgical program and Hospital Board. The series follows much like most medical dramas, as conflict arise both in the operating room and between the personal drama of the staff.

While the show's title may make it seem completely focused on Shaun's storyline, the first few episodes introduce a fairly large cast of characters. Standouts include Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas), who immediately charms the audience and will likely become the secondary protagonist as The Good Doctor continues developing. Shaun's father figure Aaron Glassman is also the President of the Hospital, played with appropriate levels of anxiety and kindness by The West Wing 's Richard Schiff. The main cast also includes surgeons and members of the Hospital's board, played by Nicholas Gonzalez, Chuku Modu, Beau Garrett, and Tamlyn Tomita.

While The Good Doctor is a strong enough medical drama, it's best scenes truly do surround its lead character. The way that Shaun sees and hears the world are shown through the use of visual affects. When he's agitated by loud noises or crowded spaces, they're amplified for the audience. But more thrilling than this is when the young doctor is combing through his extensive medical knowledge or assessing a medical emergency. Shaun's knowledge becomes our own, and we see as he processes the situation and realizes a plan of action.

Aside from the scenes involving the series lead, The Good Doctor may still be able to separate itself from other medical dramas like Grey's Anatomy and Chicago Med . Because rather than focusing solely on the doctors and nurses of the hospital, ABC's new series also heavily involves members of the board. By including the business side of running a hospital, The Good Doctor can include moments of law and business drama, giving audiences a breather from the medical hoo-hah that comes with the genre. It's these group of people that were taught a lesson in empathy by giving Shaun the chance to join the program, so perhaps his myriad skills and perspective will help change more minds in future episodes.

If there's one thing that could be improved improved in The Good Doctor , its fleshing out the supporting cast. The series has quite a few series regulars, so it's going to take a number of episodes before they all start feeling real. One exception to this is Claire Brown. While she's certainly a good person, her ignorant first interaction with Shaun will allow the series to deliver an educational narrative to the audience, without it feeling forced or exposition heavy. Another standout is the surly Doctor Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) who is a stereotypical arrogant doctor. He regularly demeans both Claire and Shaun, and is the hard ass doctor that every medical drama needs. Unfortunately, the rest of the starring cast members fail to make a particularly strong impression in the first handful of episodes.

It should be interesting to see how The Good Doctor functions in the ratings, especially with Grey's Anatomy already airing on the same network. Grey's is gearing up for its whopping 14th season this week, so will the network's fans be willing to watch two similar shows? They both contain dueling egos, shocking surgeries, and on call room sex sessions; it's going be up to the show's two previously mentioned unique characteristics to captivate viewers. Luckily, the moments featuring Shaun are pretty great, so The Good Doctor may end up having legs on it.

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Due to the concept, The Good Doctor will no doubt be compared to Netflix's recent dramedy Atypical . Both star a young man on the autism spectrum, and show as he attempts to navigate the world of personal and professional relationships. Atypical was met with some backlash regarding its portrayal of autism, and its currently unclear if The Good Doctor will fare any better. Although I will say that Shaun is far more likable that Keir Gilchrist 's Sam, if only because of his vastly more optimistic outlook and natural charm. But Atypical has already been renewed for a second season on the streaming service, so we'll see if The Good Doctor is able to follow suit.

The Good Doctor airs Monday nights on ABC , so be sure to tune in and form your own opinion on the newest hospital show to hit network television.

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more. 

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Right, that “loss of innocence” bit: There’s a sense of something looming, just past the picture-postcard landscapes and breathtaking views of Mother Nature’s bounty, in the movie’s slow-tick pacing and tiny pivots of people caught in undertows of self-pity. A single sentence drastically changes the tone of both the trip and the movie itself, and the audience is left to sift through the wreckage of what turns into betrayals — plural, not singular. For something so “small,” the ripples left in this remark are gigantic. The movie was always Sam’s from the jump, but so much of Donaldson’s film is generously given over to being Brooklyn Sad-Dad catnip, as these two men wax poetic and bathetic about second marriages, second families, a lack of second chances. Then it completely shifts allegiance to Collias’ character, and you feel as if, like her, you truly see things clearly. A little too clearly. Good One is, among its infinite attributes, an ode to a style of filmmaking that appears to be humble, yet still manages to be devastating and humanistic to its very core. Mostly, it’s just a great fucking movie, full stop.

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Movie Review: Delicate and powerful, ‘Good One’ is one of the year’s indie breakouts

This image released by Metrograph shows Lilly Collias in a scene from “Good One.” (Metrograph via AP)

This image released by Metrograph shows James Le Gros,, left, and Lilly Collias in a scene from “Good One.” (Metrograph via AP)

This image released by Metrograph shows James Le Gros, left, and Lilly Collias in a scene from “Good One.” (Metrograph via AP)

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A 17-year-old’s perception of her father is forever altered on a three-day backpacking trip in India Donaldson’s excellent debut “ Good One ,” in theaters Friday .

Something happens. And then something doesn’t happen. But that’s more of the tear point on the already delicate fabric of a relationship that has been deteriorating from neglect for years.

The trip to the Catskills was envisioned as a joint family trip. Chris (James Le Gros) and his daughter Sam (newcomer Lily Collias) planned to go with Chris’s old friend Matt (Danny McCarthy) and his teenage son. But when they pull up to Matt’s place, there’s an argument taking place between the father and son, who retreats to the apartment as Matt stomps to Chris’s car. The teenage son is no longer joining them.

Donaldson focuses her camera on Sam, whose face and deeply expressive eyes tell you everything you need to know: This is weird and it doesn’t feel right. Suddenly she’s on a boys trip with a pair of sad middle aged men who have known one another for decades and whose lives haven’t worked out the way they thought. Both are divorced. Chris has moved on and has a new baby. Matt is still in the early stages of having his life upended. And, boy, do they talk about their failed relationships, one of whom is obviously Sam’s mother. “I couldn’t make her happy.” “She was the one who started doing things first.” “I didn’t want to get divorced.”

Sam rolls her eyes a lot of the time; Other times she responds insightfully. The guys seem to half hear her, but also not. They long ago decided on their own narrative, their victimhood, and Sam is not going to change that with a bit of innocent truth.

Are they always this honest with their disappointments, failures and shortcomings around their kids, you wonder? Or is this a new thing happening on this trip? Chris, in particular, has forgotten that Sam, as worldly and wise as she seems, is still ultimately just a kid. You sense that Sam has already started to realize that her father is as flawed as anyone; but on this trip, his full self is on display.

All of the acting is terrific and so naturalistic that it’s easy to forget that these are actors performing lines that they’ve memorized in front of a camera. Le Gros as the fastidious super camper, who freaks out about his daughter’s safety from bears when he discovers that Matt was eating in his tent, but does little later on; And McCarthy as a failed actor and now failed husband who can be charming and fun but is mostly annoying and gross. But the real breakout is Collias. Her face and presence, empathetic and knowing, carries the whole film in an unforgettable depiction of modern girlhood with all of the dreaminess, awkwardness and boredom.

Donaldson, like Kelly Reichardt , has a keen eye for the smallest of details; A reaction, a wince, even a blank expression that says everything. She also knows when to turn away from the dialogue and the people and give the audience a nature break. One of many great decisions was to have Sam on her period during the trip, something she deals with silently behind trees and bushes as the guys wait impatiently.

At one point the guys are dreaming about what they’d do differently if they had a second chance at life. Matt would be a philosopher. Chris would own a bookstore. What about Sam, they ask. She responds that hopefully she still has a shot at deciding on this life. Indeed.

These stakes might seem comparatively small in a movie landscape of deadly tornadoes, apocalypses and multiverses colliding. But that’s what makes it so special. It is humanity, with all of its beauties and disappointments, as most of us experience it. And it’s one that will likely stay with you for some time.

“Good One,” a Metrograph pictures release in limited theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “language.” Running time: 90 minutes. Four stars out of four.