ABC Developing The Good Doctor Spinoff The Good Lawyer
ABC is developing a spinoff of one of its most popular series. On Monday, it was announced that the network is working on a law-centered spinoff of The Good Doctor titled The Good Lawyer with a backdoor pilot set for The Good Doctor's upcoming sixth season. The Good Lawyer is coming from The Good Doctor executive producers and co-showrunners David Shore and Liz Friedman, Sony Pictures TV, and Shore's Shore Z Productions with ABC Signature co-producing.
According to Deadline, The Good Lawyer would be centered around a female lead with two characters from the series, Joni and Janet, appearing in Episode 613 of The Good Doctor. The series will tell the story of Joni, a 20-something woman who battles OCD but is a brilliant lawyer. She's introduced when she's hired as a defense attorney for The Good Doctor's Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore). Casting for both Joni and Janet — described as "Armed with a fierce intellect and a dry, rapier wit, Janet is a highly regarded attorney and partner at the firm. A seasoned veteran, Janet has represented Dr. Glassman in several legal matters over the course of 30 years, so Glassman turns to her to represent his protégé Shaun" — is underway.
"Relatively new to her upscale law firm Joni, who is funny, eager, self-aware and a bit anxious, is part of Shaun's legal defense team. Despite breezing through law school and her Bar exam, Joni's OCD symptoms take a severe toll on her personal and professional life. Living with OCD, Joni has never wanted to be treated differently and is often embarrassed of her symptoms. She is a great lawyer but was forced to threaten to sew the firm (for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act) when they tried to fire her because of her peculiar behaviors."
This is the second of ABC's popular series to get a recent spinoff. ABC previously ordered a spinoff of The Rookie, The Rookie: Feds, which will premiere this fall and star Niecy Nash as Simone Clark, the oldest rookie in the FBI Academy.
The Good Doctor Season 6 premieres Monday, October 3rd on ABC.