ABC's 'The Good Doctor' champions inclusiveness
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- The new season of the ABC drama, "The Good Doctor" premiered on ABC7. The show is based at a fictitious hospital in San Jose, but its storylines, cast, and producers, reflect a new direction in portraying people who are sometimes marginalized or ignored.
One word seems to embody "The Good Doctor" -- inclusiveness. The central character, Dr. Sean Murphy, played by actor Freddy Highmore, is a young surgeon with autism. The show also features a diverse cast playing roles with challenges of our own, such as characters struggling with wanting children or not.
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Tamlyn Tomita plays the administrator at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. "Our show tries to treat each individual individually, and it really respects that person's background. It respects that person's heritage. It respects that person's set of social skills."
Actor Daniel Dae Kim has moved behind the camera, serving as one of the show's executive producers. Opportunities have expanded this year for Asian Americans, both on TV and in film.
"We saw the success, we saw the box office blow up with "Crazy Rich Asians." We have to totally widen these doors," said Kim.
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And "The Good Doctor" may be an important vehicle to showcase how inclusiveness could be a game changer.
"You're seeing much more complex, nuanced roles out there and I can only imagine we're getting much closer to more Asian Americans having the roles that will get the critical acclaim that they deserve," Kim added.
There is always room for improvement. "The Good Doctor" is set in San Jose but maybe you've noticed there's no scenes showing the skyline or real streets. There's hope that might be rectified.
"If we can collude and present the wonderful city of San Jose properly, I'll root for it," said Tomita. "I'll root for that to happen."
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