The Good Doctor sparks major backlash with coronavirus storyline as fans rage ‘we want to ESCAPE the pandemic’
THE Good Doctor has sparked a major backlash with itscoronavirus storyline as fans rage 'we want to ESCAPE the pandemic'.
The ABC medical drama returned last week for its fourth season with the staff at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital tackling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
However, some fans have taken issue with the subject matter of the two-part season opener, as many watch TV to escape the real life pandemic, not be reminded of it.
Taking to Twitter, one fan wrote: "WHY does the have a coronavirus storyline? We’re already living it. People watch tv for an escape. Is creativity that low??"
Another added: "I wish wasn’t about this season. Sometimes we watch TV to escape this crazy time."
A third tweeted: "Why would they make the new episode of about corona??? I’m trying to escape reality."
Meanwhile a fellow viewer agreed, writing: "Mixed feelings with new season, was looking forward to an escape from reality and losing myself in TV drama but…more pandemic unfortunately #TheGoodDoctor."
Despite many fans frustration with the show's decision to feature Covid-19, its boss David Shore previously explained why it was important to factor it into season four.
At New York Comic Con last month, he said: "It would’ve been so false, I believe, to not deal with it…This has taken over every aspect of our lives for an unbelievable amount of time.
"The world hopefully will go back to what we viewed as normal, but it just would have been dishonest not to deal with this story."
He added: "Having said that, it is an incredible story. We’re a show about regular people that do heroic things. The impact [of COVID-19] is incredibly dramatic, so we wanted to dramatize it."
But fans will be pleased to know the pandemic doesn't dominate the entire season, as David is fully aware fans watch the show to escape.
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David continued: "On the one hand, we need to deal with it, and do it in an honest but entertaining way.
"But we’ve been living with this so much for the last six months…I do think we have a responsibility, as entertainers, to provide a little bit of an escape.
“So, the rest of the season will not be about COVID. It will be returning to the stories that we tell, the stories of life, of ethical choices and these characters in life-or-death [moments].”
The Good Doctors airs on Monday's on ABC