‘The Good Lawyer’: What We Know About the ‘Good Doctor’ Spinoff

While ABC renewed  for Season 7, the network has yet to announce anything about the potential spin-off The Good Lawyer. ABC previously picked up while axing four other potential pilots. This leaves The Good Lawyer still in contention. However, there’s no way of knowing when the network could make its decision on the possible series, meaning that it may be a while until we find out whether or not The Good Doctor will be expanding its universe. In the meantime, here is everything we know about The Good Lawyer.

It was first announced back in January that ABC ordered a backdoor pilot of a potential spin-off of, this new one focusing on a lawyer instead, hence The Good Lawyer. Fresh off her role as the titular young sleuth in The CW’s Nancy Drew, Kennedy McMann was tapped to star as the brilliant and self-aware lawyer Jodi DeGroot, who has obsessive-compulsive disorder. Her boss, a highly regarded attorney named Janet Stewart, would be played by Felicity Huffman.

The backdoor pilot, “The Good Lawyer,” officially premiered in March on ABC, which saw Shaun seeking legal representation, and after seeing how great of a lawyer she is and knowing what it’s like to be different, he asks her to represent him. Despite some bumps in the road, she proves to herself and everyone else that she can handle herself when she puts her mind to it and even impresses her boss. According to TVLine, the episode reached 3.4 million viewers, which was on track to match the series’ best audience of the year. 

Not much else is known about the series since it still is in development. If ordered to series, it will mark McMann’s first post-Nancy Drew role. The CW series is currently airing its fourth and final season, with the Nancy Drew set for August 23. Huffman, meanwhile, has started to get back into acting following the College Admissions Scandal. Her role on The Good Doctor marked her return to acting since 2019’s Tammy’s Always Dying, but whether or not The Good Lawyer is ordered, it likely won’t be her last time acting.

It’s unclear when ABC could announce news about The Good Lawyer, but it’s possible the network could be waiting until after the writers’ strike to make any more decisions. A decision could literally come at any time, so fans will just have to wait and hope for any news. In the meantime, though, the backdoor pilot is streaming along with Season 6 of The Good Doctor on Hulu.