The Good Doctor Bringing Back Fan-Favorite Original Star to Finish Season 6

Chuku Modu, who played fan-favorite Dr. Jared Kulu in the series’ first season, is set to reprise the role in seven episodes of the series’ sixth season, making him a recurring guest star for the rest of the season. The character is set to return on Monday, March 6, an episode called “Old Friends,” in which Dr. Kalu will arrive at St. Bonaventure with a billionaire patient. Deadline first broke the casting news, and the trade’s sister site TVLine were the ones who found out Modu is sticking around beyond just that one episode. 

In the first season, Dr. Kulu worked under Dr. Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez), alongside fellow residents Shaun (Freddie Highmore) and Claire (Antonia Thomas). His close relationship with Claire was a defining trait, as well as being his ultimate undoing; the character was fired after assaulting another doctor who had sexually harassed Claire.

Modu’s return comes just a week before the backdoor pilot for The Good Lawyer, in which Nancy Drew star Kennedy McMann will debut as a lawyer with obsessive compulsive disorder, who is brought in to help Shaun with an issue. Whether that could suggest a Good Lawyer appearance for Modu is not clear.

McMann, who actually does live with OCD, will star in the spinoff series opposite Emmy and Golden Globe award winner Felicity Huffman. Best known for her roles on SportsNight, Desperate Housewives, and American Crime, The Good Lawyer will be Huffman’s first major acting role since 2019.

“I could say a million things,” McMann said when she was cast. “Thank you to my incredible team. Thank you to my parents and my husband, who have been by side through my lifelong journey with OCD. Thank you to all of you who have made me feel safe enough to talk openly about it. To be working on a project like this, to be a part of a representation of OCD in media that is genuine and true, is all I have ever wanted, and more than I could have ever hoped for. To do it with this team is even better.”

The dynamic between McMann’s character and Huffman’s seems likely to be very similar to what Highmore’s character has with Richard Schiff’s on The Good Doctor. Schiff is a seasoned veteran and a mentor figure to Highmore, and Huffman’s character is described as “a highly regarded attorney and partner at the law firm with a fierce intellect and dry wit. A seasoned veteran, Janet has represented Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) in several legal matters over the years, so he turns to her to represent his beloved protégé. But when Shaun declares that he wants Joni to represent him, Janet is forced to let Joni take lead on the case.”