"There will be moments of comedic conflict"- The Good Doctor EP breaks down final season premiere 

The Good Doctor season 7 dropped on Tuesday, February 20, 2024. The premiere marks the beginning of the last season of the beloved ABC series.

The first episode of The Good Doctor season 7, titled Baby, Baby, Baby, saw Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) and Lea (Paige Spara) dealing with the challenges of being new parents. Shaun also returned to the hospital after a hiatus.

As the story arc for Shaun nears its conclusion, executive producer Liz Friedman provided a breakdown of the first episode and what viewers can expect from the last season. In an exclusive interview with TVLine, he said:

"There will be moments of comedic conflict"

Read on to know all about Friedman's breakdown of season 7 of The Good Doctor and his answers to big-picture questions.

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"A lot of it is certainly going to be about being a parent" - The Good Doctor EP Liz Friedman on the final season of the ABC series

The Good Doctor kicked off season 7 with Shaun and Lea adjusting to parenthood and debating how to set a schedule for their newborn son. Glassman (Richard Shiff) and Lim (Christina Chang) were named co-presidents of San Jose St. Bonaventure after Dr. Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper) resigned as hospital president.

Amid the premiere, TVLine conducted an in-depth Q&A session with executive producer Liz Friedman. One of the first questions asked was how Shaun will approach fatherhood, as he and Lea already have conflicting points of view.

This is what Friedman had to say:

"We’ll see them struggling and juggling. I think those are two key things that happen in parenting. There will continue to be things that each of them are good at and weaker at. There will be moments of comedic conflict, moments of real conflict, and we’ll see Lea have her own struggles."

Another question was how Shaun's fatherhood would impact his decisions at the hospital. Friedman had the following to say in this regard:

"You’re going to have to watch and see! He is going to have a big challenge with the med students who come in and who really know nothing — one of whom is a real, hardcore Shaun Murphy fan. That proves to be a much more challenging relationship than he ever imagined."

Meanwhile, Glassman and Lim now have to deal with being co-presidents. Friedman claimed that the characters' dynamic will be an interesting one, saying:

"There’s a lot of fun in it, and some competition, too. That story in the first episode gave me the giggles; it made me so happy. They’re both such smart characters, but they’re also quite capable of being immature with each other, which is fun. They do have some real disagreements about how to manage things and how to approach matters."

As the first episode suggested, the final season of The Good Doctor will deal with the various challenges of parenthood while maintaining a comedic and dramatic tone. Most of the characters will be stepping into unfamiliar roles, and per Friedman, there will be a lot of growth.

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Stay tuned for new episodes of The Good Doctor streaming on ABC every Tuesday at 10/9c.