David Shore, creator of House, debuts a new medical drama on Monday, September 25th at 10 pm on ABC. The show is based on a South Korean format and executive produced by Hawaii Five-0 co-star Daniel Dae Kim.
Freddie Highmore stars as Dr. Shaun Murphy, young surgeon with autism who relocates from a quiet country life to join a prestigious hospital’s surgical unit. A medical savant, Shaun has survived a troubled childhood to become a talented doctor. Unable to access emotions but brilliant and intuitive when it comes to medicine, Shaun is up for his first job as a surgeon and championed by his mentor and good friend, Dr. Ira Glassman, played by Richard Schiff.
According to the Hollywood Reporter Daniel Dae Kim, said “The primary thing that made me really want to purse this show and bring it to American audiences is the fact that the character of Shaun is someone who was born with a set of obstacles — the obstacles were not put in his own way by his own choices. And in so many dramas that we see today, we see people getting in their own way. But Shaun is not one of those people,” Kim explained. “Shaun is trying to overcome his challenges in a way that I wholeheartedly root for. And that is a really positive message that I think is particularly resonant given these political times.”
Speaking on a panel, the show’s executive producer, David Shore explained the steps the show took to portray autism. “We saw a lot of doctors, we consulted with people, we’ve got people on the spectrum who we’re working with,” Shore said, according to Deadline Hollywood. “But he is a specific character, he’s not there to represent autism, he’s there to represent Dr. Shaun Murphy.”
Take a look at the trailer: