The Good Doctor boss hits back at coronavirus complaints and insists future episodes will come with a warning

THE Good Doctor boss has hit back at complaints about its coronavirus storyline and insisted future episodes will come with a warning.

The ABC medical drama returned last week for its fourth season with a two-part premiere which saw the staff at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital tackling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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However, some fans have took issue with the subject matter, as many watch TV to escape the real life pandemic, not be reminded of it.

Addressing their complaints, show boss David Shore revealed the pandemic will not be the main focus of the rest of the series, but will still be present in the background.

He told : "We will allude to it on occasion, but it is a post-COVID world [moving forward]. Our decision in that regard, it was a very difficult decision.

"In my opinion, there is no simple answer to this one… no perfect answer to this one. If we embrace that COVID is still among us, that it’s still with us and we are still dealing with it, I think that would overshadow all the other stories we could tell.

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"Watching our characters wearing masks as they are dealing with somebody who needs, say, something as serious as brain surgery, would be a distraction. The distancing would be a distraction."

However, David was also keen to make it clear to viewers that the world is not "back to normal" as the series progresses.

He explained: "The real world is not back to normal, and we do not want to be seen as endorsing not wearing masks, or endorsing not social distancing.

"The compromise we’ve reached is we are going to have a statement [by Freddie Highmore] before upcoming episodes [saying] that this episode takes place in a post-COVID world — that this episode represents our hope for the future."

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This will hopefully appease viewers who were unhappy having to watch the pandemic on TV while still living through it in real life.

Taking to Twitter, one fan had 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."