‘Good Doctor’ needles harassers
TV’s most popular drama takes aim.
Sexual harassment is going under the knife on The Good Doctor.
In Monday’s midseason finale episode of ABC’s breakout medical procedural (10 ET/PT), which has surpassed This Is Us as the highest-rated network drama this fall, surgical resident Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) encounters a new doctor who is more insidious than she first realizes.
“He’s very friendly from the beginning, and there’s a sense of confusion from Claire’s point of view from the start as to what his intentions are,” says Freddie Highmore, who stars as Claire’s colleague Shaun Murphy, an autistic savant. “It reflects the struggle of so many women in the workplace, of potentially feeling guilty or responsible, and hopefully reaching that point of Claire realizing she’s done nothing wrong.”
Adds Thomas: “It’s a big episode, and it’s extremely current. It’s a huge learning curve for Claire, and she has to really dig deep to find the courage to deal with that situation. I think it will resonate a lot with women, especially in the current climate.”
The episode, titled “Sacrifice,” was written before the scores of sexual abuse allegations against Hollywood power players made headlines, starting with mega-producer Harvey Weinstein in October. But accusers’ stories did have an influence on the Good Doctor cast and creator David Shore while it was shooting.
“The more I read, the more I wanted to make sure we were honest with it all,” says Shore, who shepherded another hospital hit with Fox’s House, starring Hugh Laurie. “We’re exploring the insidiousness of subtle harassment in the workplace. Unfortunately, the nature of this sort of harassment is that there are men who are very well-versed in walking the line in deniability but who are threats and predators just the same.
“It makes it harder on the women involved to know what to do and how to handle it.”
The episode also throws a wrench into the relationship between Shaun and Dr. Glassman (Richard Schiff ), Shaun’s surrogate dad and mentor who helped get him the job at the hospital. Despite being his constant champion, Glassman encourages Shaun to go to therapy, which he stubbornly opposes.
“He refuses the suggestion and Glassman refuses to back off, and it reaches a very unfortunate climax,” Shore says.
For Shaun, who has gradually gained confidence and the trust of his peers over the course of the season, “it’s the anxiety that he’s been building over the last few episodes in terms of wanting independence and not being sure what that means for him,” Highmore says. “That builds toward this big confrontation between him and Dr. Glassman” and “the start of this breakdown in communication between the two of them.”
Despite these darker story lines, The Good Doctor is still imbued with the trademark positivity that has made it such a smash in its freshman season, averaging more than 17 million viewers a week. Highmore believes the show’s authentic portrayal of autism and feelgood, case-of-the-week story lines are what resonate with viewers.
“There’s an optimism to Shaun that people are drawn to today, when there seems to be some of that hopefulness lacking elsewhere,” Highmore says. “He’s a good person. He’s not judgmental. He always try to see the good in people, and believes that if you do the right thing, things will turn out OK.”