The Good Doctor is currently airing its seventh and final season on ABC in the 2024 TV schedule, with fewer episodes than usual due to delays from the WGA writers strike and SAG-AFTRA actors strike. The medical drama wasn't cancelled until production had begun on Season 7, and it came as a surprise when the show was axed. For co-showrunner Liz Friedman, this is the second medical drama she has guided towards the end, and she opened up to CinemaBlend about revisiting House as The Good Doctor winds down.
Liz Friedman was an executive producer and writer for Fox's medical drama House from Season 2 in 2006 through to the eighth and final season in 2012. The Hugh Laurie-led series was a smash hit in its day, but the finale was divisive as – spoiler alert – Dr. House faked his own death to avoid the consequences of his drug use and rode off into the sunset with his dying best friend.
The Good Doctor – on which Liz Friedman has worked as a showrunner, executive producer, and writer – is about as different from House as possible when it comes to the leading men. Still, after Friedman spoke with CinemaBlend about the big changes for Shaun and Lea in Season 7, I asked if there was anything she learned from House that she's applying to the end of The Good Doctor, and she shared:
What I'll say is that what's been really interesting about this is as I'm preparing for the end of The Good Doctor, I've gone back and have been studying the end of House. I feel like I can't tell you what lessons I'm taking from it or I'll give myself away, but yeah, there definitely are lessons.
Liz Friedman didn't drop all the details about her takeaways from the end of House so that she could avoid dropping all the spoilers about the end of The Good Doctor, but it's interesting that she is indeed taking some lessons from her previous medical drama. More than a decade has passed since Hugh Laurie set down his cane as Dr. House, so perhaps the passage of time has a part to play as she looks back.
It does seem safe to say that Shaun is on a much healthier journey than House was in their respective final seasons. Freddie Highmore's character is still facing his share of challenges, and his conflict with Dr. Glassman couldn't be resolved at the drop of a hat, but I'm pretty confident that nobody will be faking their death when the final credits roll on The Good Doctor.
Friedman previously explained to CinemaBlend why The Good Doctor didn't end with Shaun becoming a father despite that being the original plan for the show; now, it's just a matter of time before fans find out how the series truly does come to an end, and how House's final act affected it. The silver lining to the ABC cancellation is that it came in time for Liz Friedman and Co. to craft a proper ending for the medical drama.
The end isn't nigh just yet, though. While The Good Doctor is on a brief break until the next new episode on March 19, you can always revisit earlier episodes streaming with a Hulu subscription. If you're now in the mood to check out House, you can find that medical drama streaming via Peacock Premium subscription.
