Ratings for the Good Doctor TV show were always a bit of a paradox. On one hand, you had critics who weren't always kind, often pointing to the "soapy" medical tropes or the way neurodiversity was handled. On the other hand, you had 18 million people tuning in during the first season. That’s a massive gap.
It’s rare.
Honestly, most network shows today would kill for the kind of numbers Freddie Highmore’s Shaun Murphy pulled in at his peak. But by the time the series finale aired in May 2024, the landscape had shifted so much that "success" looked completely different than it did in 2017.
The Explosive Start Nobody Expected
When The Good Doctor first landed on ABC, it didn't just walk into the room; it kicked the door down. Within just three episodes, it actually surpassed The Big Bang Theory as the most-watched show on television. That is wild. We are talking about 18.2 million viewers for an early episode titled "Oliver."
At that time, it was ABC’s most-watched Monday drama in over two decades.
Why? Basically, people were hungry for a protagonist who was fundamentally different. Shaun Murphy, a surgical resident with autism and savant syndrome, wasn't the typical brooding "God complex" doctor we’d seen in House or early Grey’s Anatomy. He was vulnerable. He was literal. People connected with that.
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The first season averaged about 15.61 million viewers per episode. That placed it at rank #7 across all of television. For a freshman drama, those are legendary numbers.
The Slow Bleed of Broadcast TV
If you look at the raw data, the ratings for the Good Doctor TV show seem to show a steady decline. It’s easy to look at a chart and think the show was "failing," but that’s a pretty narrow way to view modern media.
- Season 2: Dropped to 12.2 million (Rank #12)
- Season 3: Settled at 10.8 million (Rank #11)
- Season 4: Fell to 8.16 million (Rank #19)
By Season 5 and 6, the average viewership was hovering between 6 and 7 million. By the final shortened seventh season, it was at 5.11 million.
Sure, on paper, losing 10 million viewers over seven years looks bad. But look at what happened to every other show on network TV in that same window. Everyone was losing viewers to Netflix, Disney+, and TikTok. Compared to its peers, The Good Doctor remained a heavy hitter for ABC until the very end.
The Secret Life of DVR and Streaming Ratings
One thing most people get wrong about ratings is focusing only on the "Live+Same Day" numbers. You've probably heard of these—the people who actually watch the show at 10:00 PM on a Monday.
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For The Good Doctor, those numbers were just the tip of the iceberg.
For instance, the Season 6 premiere saw its viewership rise by over 4 million people when you added in the seven-day DVR and streaming window. The "Live+7" numbers for this show were consistently insane. In 2018, one specific week saw the show’s 18-49 demographic rating jump by 118% just from delayed viewing.
People weren't watching it "on time." They were watching it on their own terms.
Even now, years after the show technically "peaked," it’s seeing a massive resurgence. In January 2026, the series surged to the #5 spot on global Netflix charts. It was outperforming massive hits like Emily in Paris.
It turns out that medical procedurals are the ultimate "comfort food" for streamers. You can jump in anywhere. The stakes are high but usually resolved in 42 minutes. It’s perfect for binge-watching.
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Why was it actually canceled?
If the ratings for the Good Doctor TV show were still decent, why did ABC pull the plug? It’s a question that bothered fans, especially since Grey’s Anatomy is practically eternal.
It mostly came down to cold, hard business.
- Production Costs: After seven years, actor salaries—especially for a lead like Freddie Highmore—get expensive.
- Syndication: Once a show hits 100 episodes (it finished with 126), it’s "ripe" for syndication. The network and producers can make a killing selling the reruns without the cost of filming new ones.
- The 2023 Strikes: The writers' and actors' strikes messed up the production cycle. It made Season 7 shorter (only 10 episodes) and gave the network a natural point to say, "Okay, this is where we stop."
What the Numbers Say About the Show's Legacy
The IMDb audience rating for the show sits at a solid 8/10. That is a much more accurate reflection of its impact than the Nielsens. While critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season a measly 43%, the audience score was way higher.
It’s one of those rare shows where the people watching actually liked it way more than the people paid to write about it.
The global reach was also something most US-centric ratings reports missed. At one point, it was named the most-watched drama in the world, with nearly 50 million global viewers. From South Korea (where the original format came from) to the UK, Shaun Murphy’s journey resonated across cultures.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Content Creators
If you are looking at these ratings to understand the TV industry, or if you're just a fan wondering what to watch next, here’s the takeaway:
- Don't trust "overnight" numbers. If a show you love has low live ratings, check the streaming charts. That’s where the real power lies now.
- Procedurals are king for longevity. If you want a show that will stay on the air, look for ones with a "case of the week" format. They are easier to syndicate and survive longer than serialized dramas.
- Watch the Netflix Top 10. If you want to see which older shows might get a reboot or a spin-off, watch what’s trending on streaming. The recent surge for The Good Doctor in early 2026 suggests the "Shaun Murphy effect" isn't over.
If you finished the series and are feeling that medical-drama-sized hole in your life, you might want to check out The Pitt on Max or revisit the original South Korean version of The Good Doctor to see where the story began. The ratings show that while the broadcast era of the show is over, its life on digital platforms is just getting started.