ABC's "The Good Doctor" aired its pilot episode with strong ratings on September 25.
The remake of the 2013 Korean TV series got 2.2 percent and drew in 11.2 million viewers and "ranks as ABC's most watched Monday drama debut in 21 years, since Dangerous Minds in September 1996, and highest rated in 18-49 in 8.5 years, since Castle in March 2009. Vs. the launch of the now-defunct legal drama Conviction in the slot last year, The Good Doctor was up +115% in total viewers and +144% in adults 18-49," according to Deadline.
"The Good Doctor" stars Freddie Highmore as Shaun Murphy, a surgeon who has autism and savant syndrome.
Actor Joo Won played the role of the doctor in the original Korean series. His co-stars were Moon Chae-won, Joo Sang-wook and Kim Min-seo.
It premiered on August 5, 2013 with a rating of 10.9 percent, according to Nielsen Korea. It ran for 20 episodes with an average rating of 18 percent.
The Korean drama won Joon Won the Top Excellence Award at the KBS Drama Awards and Best Performer award at the Korean Producers and Directors' Awards.
But US critics are not happy with "The Good Doctor."
"The problem with 'The Good Doctor' is that it doesn't trust Highmore's versatile and substantial acting skills. Every other aspect of the show is either overwrought or frustratingly simplistic, as if it's determined to get the viewer to care about Shaun by hook or by crook," according to a review by "Variety."
However, it praised Highmore for making "the viewer care, thanks to his intense presence and precise portrayal. Unfortunately, the actor can't undo the flat writing and one-dimensional elements in the show's unpromising pilot."
The review added that "almost every scene with other doctors at St. Bonaventure Hospital scene comes off like a third-rate 'Grey's Anatomy' ripoff: various subplots arrive complete with hot doctors, hookups and banter that doesn't quite make the grade. Flashbacks to Shaun's childhood are even worse — they're so preposterously tragic that they're almost funny."
USA Today declared that "overall, The Good Doctor needs to be more."
"It needs to be more than a medical drama with a gimmick. It needs more from its supporting characters and stories. It needs to show other sides of its protagonist. And it needs to be more of itself, considering the first episode spent so much time setting up Shaun's new life and his backstory that it's impossible to tell what the series will look like week to week," according to the review.
