The Good Lawyer originated as a spin-off of The Good Doctor and the backdoor pilot aired last spring as an episode of the popular medical drama. It was well received and ABC bosses were very pleased with McMann and Huffman's performance.
The options on the cast expired on August 15. Because of the SAG-AFTRA strike, the hold period was extended for the duration of the work stoppage, so ABC had another month to make a decision on The Good Lawyer. (For The Rookie: Feds, the deadline was in December.)
The longer the strikes went past Labor Day, the longer the odds were for outstanding series to get a pickup. ABC also canceled Home Economics at the end of September.
ABC had planned to launch The Good Lawyer this coming spring as the broadcasting networks are running out of shelf space as they try to accommodate all of their popular returning scripted series.
For that reason, ABC in late September opted to push its only new scripted series, the one-hour High Potential to next fall. That project, starring Kaitlin Olson, is the only ABC 2023 pilot to get a series order.
The Good Lawyer, from Sony Pictures Television and ABC Signature, was written by The Good Doctor co-showrunners David Shore and Liz Friedman. In the backdoor pilot episode, Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) seeks legal representation to help him win a case and puts his faith in a promising, young lawyer, Joni DeGroot (McMann) who has obsessive-compulsive disorder.
