World News – CA – ‘The Good Doctor’ EP on Season 4’s First Pandemic, Shaun and Lea’s Romance, and More

The Good Doctor dives headfirst (and in mask) into the COVID-19 pandemic in Monday’s season 4 premiere

Entitled « Frontline, » the emotionally charged two-part opener follows Dr Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) and the rest of the medics for several months as they deal with the devastating crisis and its effects on their lives – from how Shaun and Lea (Paige Spara) deal with separation so early in their new romantic relationship, to Dr Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) and Dr Claire Brown (Antonia Thomas) juggling the pressures of work and need to mourn Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez), who passed away in the Season 3 finale Since we’re still stuck in the midst of the pandemic with no end in sight, the premiere is coming quite close to home Fortunately, the season doesn’t not stay too long in this mode

In Episode 3, the ABC drama shifts its attention to some of the season’s main storylines.In addition to Shaun and Lea’s new pairing, the season will explore how Shaun and the other surgical residents deal with becoming supervisors. with the introduction of new first year residents

« I’m always excited to see Dr. Murphy in a new context, and I know Freddie is too. So it’s exciting, » The Good Doctor showrunner David Shore told EW. new context being these new kids, these first year residents who are where Shaun was three years ago I think we have some really interesting characters there I think these are some very real people that the audience will find compelling and appreciate to spend time with « 

Below, EW chats with Shore about writing the pandemic-centric season premiere and what else is happening this year.

WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT: I ​​know we’re still experiencing the pandemic, but I was surprised at how visceral the first was How Was It Writing this Episode and Engaging in the Current Situation? Did you have trouble dealing with these emotions? DAVID SHORE: When you’re working on something you put your head down and you get to work and there’s that intellectual part of your brain that takes over You are aware of the emotional reactions – you have to be aware of that and you have to be aware of them. accept and you have to try to make them stand out in the audience – but it’s kind of a detached approach you have to take to write Then it sort of comes back and hits when you watch it What you said, I l heard from so many people in a way that I honestly hadn’t anticipated

We were just trying to be honest We always feel responsible for being honest with all of our stories and not just acting in melodrama [and portraying] only real people with people issues in real situations, and embrace that and embrace the story that unfolds week after week We felt an added obligation here in terms of making the right medicine – and the medicine was constantly changing – and accurately describing what so many people are going through. at the moment So yeah, we felt extra weight in that regard I think the word is ‘visceral’ People watching it hits them, I think, harder than an average show because it’s so about what we’re all going through right now

What moment hit you in a way you didn’t expect when you looked at it? Looking at it I realized how much of a theme that I’m not even sure I understood when we were writing it But then when you look at it and you say, « Oh my God, everything is about separation It’s about not being together It all depends on the frustration that results, the challenges that arise « Not knowing that the answers are there, and not being able to do more is there, but the fundamental problem is separation and its consequences

As you mentioned, medicine is constantly changing Did this episode get more rewrites or updates than usual because of this? We tried to avoid the things that could change from day to day, but yes there was a fear of that What we tried to do is be very honest in saying that we stand for what people were living at that time and that we could be specific about Right from the start, [a character says] « such and such is not a symptom » then of course we have since learned that it was a symptom C ‘was kind of the intention at the time: the doctors are just wrong because they just didn’t know We tried to come up with the best drug available at the time, even in terms of delivery of the drug. oxygen to people If you look closely enough you will see how it is done in the episode change over time Doctors have been more successful at protecting themselves and their patients But it’s a real challenge [because] we write something that we don’t know the end of the story about When we wrote it we thought it would be over now, but obviously it’s not

At New York Comic-Con, you said the pandemic is not taking over most of the season Do you see this two-part episode as a prologue to the new season? Is Episode 3 really where the new stories take place? These two episodes are largely stand-alone, not completely. We will definitely get things going The impact of these two episodes on our characters personally will be carried over This is the kind of thing where it would just be wrong of us to do it and forget it But episode 3 will pick up a little while after these episodes and it will pick up in a world that is not the world we currently live in, and it’s a world that is past-COVID We are a little worried about this because we don’t want people to look and think, « Oh, the good doctor implicitly approves of people who don’t wear masks indoors » But we also want the stories we tell to be self-sufficient and not be overshadowed by this pandemic We wanted to deal with, shall we say, smaller human stories, but very real, very powerful and very emotional

What we’re going to do is there will be a post before each episode for at least a little while after the first two in which we recognize that this episode, like the series, speaks of hope for a future where COVID is behind us and to remind people that they still have to take precautions, because that’s what we do We’re filming, but boy we’re taking precautions on set: testing, masks, distancing We have several people in our crew right now, who weren’t employed on our team last year, whose job it is to make sure everyone is on the COVID protocol, which everyone wants to do but it’s easy to forget Everything is fine so far

Last season explored Shaun’s first experience with the romance What do you hope to explore through Shaun and Lea’s long-awaited pairing this season? What turns you on about the fact that these two are finally together? [Laughs] We had a wonderful time with Carly [Jasika Nicole] last year, and it was about dating Shaun I consider this more like Shaun in a relationship This is not the first date , second date, third date It’s about living your life with someone Not that they’re married or anything like that, but their relationship is at a different stage and the challenges which ensue We will have wonderful times and difficult times

The latest promotion revealed that Shaun and his company are overseeing new residents, but they have more applicants than places in the program, which obviously reminded me of playing House’s Survivor in House season 4. you learned or taken from this season’s writing and applied to this one? [Laughs] We’re not gonna play the same [game] You know, on House we went through a whole bunch of episodes where he was just winnowing the band until he had his winners. About that The first episode is a bit about that But after that it’s a lot less about who’s going to win and who’s going to lose, but it’s about bringing in some interesting people because, like House, I thinks House was at his best when we saw his relationship with people and what it brought out in him and what it brought out in them so I can’t wait to do this with Dr Murphy and these new people

But it’s really a question: we made a really conscious decision, and I think it was a risky decision to some extent, to not just [always ask] « Can he do this surgery? » ! from the start we played a bit of that, [like] « Can he survive? » Can he meet this challenge? We want to move forward with him and grow with him, and see him take on new challenges every year and to some extent every episode So he’s not a first year resident anymore He’s proven he can do that He’s got weaknesses as we all do and he has great strengths But now it is a new challenge for him to supervise. Can he be a leader? Can he supervise, and given his communication issues and given his genius, how is this all going to move?

How are Claire, Dr Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) and Dr Alex Park (Will Yun Lee) fairing in their new roles? Well Morgan in particular has a challenge because Morgan is actually in a different specialty now So she has a particular challenge with that and she’s going to have to deal with that Park and Claire are going to have these challenges as well. stuff with Park and Morgan’s relationship that I think [the audience] will find entertaining So yeah, all of those things are happening

How does Claire deal with the loss of Melendez at the start of the season? We’re still exploring this We’re moving forward with this Claire lost someone very important We see the impact on her in episodes 1 and 2, and beyond Lets not forget Lim She lost someone which was important to her too Both go through hell at first We want to explore their relationship How are they there for each other and are they supporting each other in this challenge?

News has broke that Melendez’s ex Jessica (Beau Garrett) will be appearing in the What Can You Tease About Her Comeback Premiere? She will be there, but I don’t want to promise too much about it

What is Andrews up against this year? Andrews will develop a connection – has a connection with one of these new residents that will become a pretty big part of our storylines as we go along

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The Good Doctor, Dr Neil Melendez, Freddie Highmore