‘The Good Doctor’ Star Leaves Series in Surprise Twist

The Good Doctor continues to run through doctors at a faster pace than Law & Order runs through detectives. Another character left the show during this week’s episode, “The Good Boy,” leaving another position open at St. Bonaventure Hospital in San Jose, California. The hour ended with one new doctor learning that you can’t just perform an unsupervised surgery without the Chief of Surgery knowing. Spoilers for the Jan. 30 episode follow!

In “The Good Boy,” Dr. Danica “Danni” Powell (Savannah Welch) performed an unsupervised operation on an old Navy friend, using supplies she stole from St. Bonaventure. Dr. Asher Wolke (Noah Galvin) helped talk Powell through the procedure before Chief of Surgery Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) arrived. When Lim learned what happened, she field Powell and put Asher on a two-month probation.

The episode marked the end of Welch’s short tenure on the show, TVLine confirmed. Welch was one of two recurring cast members added to The Good Doctor for Season 6, alongside Brandon Larracuente. He plays Dr. Danny Perez and was promoted to full-time cast member just four episodes into the new season.

Powell did not make friends during her time at St. Bonaventure, so it is not a complete surprise she was fired so soon. She had a combative relationship with her supervisor, Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore), and refused to learn from her mistakes. After firing her, Lim told her that she will have to make some compromises, both as a doctor and in life. Powell shrugged her former superior off though, insisting she did the right thing by saving her friend.

The Good Doctor will soon introduce even more new characters. The March 6 episode serves as a backdoor pilot for The Good Lawyer, the show’s first spinoff. Kennedy McMann will star as the show’s lead character, Joni DeGroot. Felicity Huffman plays her mentor, Janet Stewart, who has a relationship similar to Shaun’s with Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff).

In the episode, Shaun needs a lawyer after a case goes to court. Glassman hopes he will hire Janet, but instead, he picks a promising young lawyer, Joni, who has a personality similar to his own. Janet reluctantly agrees to let Joni take the case. McMann and Huffman will also star in The Good Lawyer, which is set to premiere during the 2023-2024 TV season.

The Good Doctor premiered in September 2017 and is based on the South Korean series of the same name created by Park Jae-bum. David Shore developed the ABC adaptation. Although the show is only in its sixth season, it has seen several stars come and go, including Nicholas Gonzale, Antonia Thomas, Chuku Modu, Beau Garrett, Jasika Nichole, and Tamilyn Tomita. New episodes air Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC and are streaming on Hulu.