The Good Doctor is a good show; chances are you probably watch it. In 2018, 47.7 million people watched the ABC drama.听 In the U.S. alone, season two averaged 6.2 million viewers per episode.
The hospital drama is also a huge hit in the U.K., Australia, Japan, Brazil and countries across Europe, so much so that the series was named the Most Watched Drama in the World by the Monte Carlo TV Festival, knocking out another hospital heavyweight, Grey鈥檚 Anatomy. His Serene Highness Prince Albert II, honourary president of the festival, handed out the Golden Nymph statue to two of the series鈥� stars, Nick Gonzalez and Christina Chang.
Shawn Williamson wasn鈥檛 able to accept the trophy in person because the award was presented on the first day of shooting for season three. But 鈥淚t鈥檚 actually in my office at the moment, it鈥檚 here 15 feet from me,鈥� he says, before adding 鈥淚 guess it鈥檒l have to go to Sony eventually.鈥�
Williamson is producer on the series and head of Brightlight Pictures, which develops and produces film and TV programs here in Vancouver. The Good Doctor is the latest of over 100 film and television features produced by Brightlight, including 50/50 and The Interview (with Seth Rogen), Horns (Daniel Radcliffe), 50 Dead Men Walking, The 9th Life of Louis Drax, Passengers (with Anne Hathaway and Patrick Wilson), White Noise (Michael Keaton) and TV鈥檚 Wayward Pines.
The Good Doctor is shot here in 麻豆传媒映画and stars Freddie Highmore as a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome trying to balance the medical crises of his patients with the more perturbing emotional needs of the people around him.
Williamson says the show resonates with audiences for many reasons. 鈥淭he show is strong frankly because of beautifully written, elegant scripts and a cast that can pull it off brilliantly. Freddie Highmore is amazing in his role and the directors pull the best performances from their actors. And then there鈥檚 the strength of our local crew鈥�.鈥�
It鈥檚 a show that discusses empathy often and roots for the underdog: the perfect tonic for today鈥檚 political climate. 鈥淚t is accidentally very well timed,鈥� Williamson agrees, noting that given the political shift in North America and in Europe, people are hungry for positive escapism. 鈥淲e are a show that does appeal as a feelgood escape, and it resonates in many languages,鈥� he says. 鈥淓verybody seems to want a warm, empathetic story and a soft, quiet hero.鈥�
The 麻豆传媒映画shoot is a nice commute for Williamson, who grew up in North 麻豆传媒映画and still lives in the city. After taking drama classes at Argyle Secondary he landed a job at age 18 at the Arts Club Theatre. 鈥淚 would love to go back,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut sadly the pay scales for live theatre and film and television are a little far apart.鈥� He remains active in theatre and sits on the Arts Club鈥檚 board of directors.
麻豆传媒映画has been a strong player in the film industry for 30 years now and can compete against Los Angeles and Toronto any day. Our products speak for themselves, Williamson notes, but 鈥渢he problem we鈥檙e running into is we just can鈥檛 take the volume.鈥� Until recently Brightlight projects alone booked up all the space at Burnaby鈥檚 Bridge Studios. 鈥淲e are very, very fortunate to have an industry that is thriving in our province. We can never take it for granted.鈥�
Right now that industry includes Williamson鈥檚 son, who works on the show as a Production Assistant. 鈥淚 get to see him every day, just in a different environment, which is great,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 nice seeing second and eventually third generations in the industry.鈥�
Williamson鈥檚 projects have won several Leos and now a Golden Nymph: so what鈥檚 next on the awards bucket list? 鈥淥bviously as a kid the international excellence [of] the Emmys and Golden Globes [have] always been the goal, but we would never presume,鈥� he says. The landscape has changed: whereas years ago there may only have been a dozen dramas in competition for the major prizes, now there are strong competitors from the likes of Hulu, Amazon and Netflix added to the mix. 鈥淏ut we鈥檙e always hopeful, it鈥檇 be awesome!鈥�
Until then, Williamson is quite content with his top-drama-in-the-world status and a handful of still-secret upcoming projects for Brightlight.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a good year,鈥� he says.
