Disability is an idea that Hollywood addresses but isn’t a very prominent concept in TV or films. Movies such as “Rain Man” and “My Left Foot” both are able to show the struggles someone with a disability has to deal with.

“The Good Doctor” is a show that has the concept of an autistic surgeon, and the show is both heart wrenching and inspiring and is, in my opinion, one of the best new shows on TV. “The Good Doctor” is the story of Dr. Shaun Murphy, portrayed by “Bates Motel” star Freddie Highmore, a surgeon who has both autism and Savant Syndrome.

Shaun has a photographic memory and can see things that many people can’t, but he also can’t express emotions like many people and doesn’t understand emotions like other people do. Shaun begins his journey as a surgeon by saving a boy’s life in an airport and against obstacles, he begins his residency at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital.

The cast of the show is stellar and help flesh out a show that could have comparisons drawn to it against another ABC doctor show, “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Highmore portrays Shaun in a very childlike and innocent way. Shaun doesn’t understand everything about the world but he is an unmeasurable genius and gifted surgeon. Through flashbacks to his childhood, we see how hard it was for Shaun, being bullied by other kids and even running away from a father who thought of him as a burden.

Highmore’s best scene is when he presents himself to the board of directors of the hospital and tells them exactly why he wants to be a surgeon. It brought tears to my eyes seeing that even someone with a disability like Autism can feel and have dreams of their own.

Graham Verchere portrays Shaun at a younger age and shows us how difficult it was for a child with Autism to relate to people and even his own family.Verchere has two of the most heartbreaking scenes in the whole show, and he is able to show how someone close to an autistic person takes care of them when they need it most.

Richard Schiff plays Aaron Glassman, the president of the hospital and a mentor and friend to Shaun since the boy was 14. Schiff is able to show that Glassman cares for Shaun and wants everyone to have a chance at a career and the life they hope for. A flashback where we see Shaun and Glassman meet for the first time allows the audience see how Glassman wants to help Shaun and treats him like his own son.

The rest of the cast rounds out and makes the show even better.

Antonia Thomas plays Claire, a surgeon who at first doesn’t seem to care for Shaun begins to grow towards him and even a friendship blossoms.

Thomas and Highmore have an exchange about pretending before the board of director’s scene and Thomas goes from being very tough-willed to very off guard and honest and I can already tell that she will be a major standout in the cast.

The character of Neil Melendez is played by Nicholas Gonzalez and as the attending surgeon he can decide who is on the team of surgeons and while he is portrayed as a villain at first, I can tell that his issues with Shaun are not just ones to put him down. I feel that his character can grow and evolve from just an arrogant surgeon into a more 3-dimensional character.

“The Good Doctor” is a show that I feel is a standout in a world saturated in medical shows. The show is able to let viewers see the world of surgeons from a totally new avenue and I feel that it is important to show that. Glassman has a speech about how the hospital changed over time to allow different types of people to be doctors and surgeons and that speech, to me, is so true.

No matter what someone has or goes through, they all deserve to have a chance at life and their goals.

I highly recommend “The Good Doctor” to anyone who loves medical shows, as well as a very real and heart-wrenching look at disability and how that affects someone and their life.

I give “The Good Doctor” a 10 out of 10.