Hill Harper will not appear in The Good Doctor season 7 after launching a senate campaign.

“Hill Harper feels strongly that there is a crisis in American democracy — too often, government only works for the rich and powerful while the rest of us struggle to find a voice,” Harper’s campaign spokesperson told TVLine on Monday, November 20. “Hill is dedicating his efforts full time to fixing that, and he’s running for the U.S. Senate as an active union member to give working people more of a voice in Congress.”

Harper, 57, is one of the original stars of The Good Doctor, first appearing as Dr. Marcus Andrews in the 2017 pilot. He has starred in 116 episodes of the ABC medical drama. Without him, the only remaining original cast members will be Freddie Highmore, who plays Dr. Shaun Murphy, and Richard Schiff, who portrays Dr. Aaron Glassman.

The Good Doctor viewers saw Dr. Andrews resign as the president of San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital in the season 6 finale. It seems that’s the end of the character’s arc going into season 7 of The Good Doctor, which will premiere Tuesday, February 20, at 10 p.m. ET.

Prior to becoming an actor, Harper was a lawyer who completed his undergrad at Brown University before going on to Harvard Law School (where he was classmates with future president Barack Obama). He started acting on screen in the 1990s, booking guest starring gigs on Married… With Children, Walker, Texas Ranger and other hits. He later played major characters on CSI: NY, Covert Affairs and Homeland before landing on The Good Doctor.

Since leaving the show, Harper has been in Michigan, where he owns a coffee shop called The Roasting Plant and announced he was running for U.S. Senate in July. He is vying for the seat of Senator Debbie Stabenow, who will not seek reelection. Harper first has to win the Democratic primary against five competitors.

The Iowa native, who bought a Detroit home in 2016, wouldn’t say if he would get an endorsement from Obama. However, he hinted that a possible endorsement wouldn’t come until he won the primary.

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“You know, obviously, President Obama has been a longtime friend and he’s somebody that ever since I’ve met him I’ve looked up to and not just because he’s taller than me,” he joked to the Michigan Advance in a July interview. “I look up to him because he is committed to seeing the world become better. He’s committed to democracy and our democracy, and he’s committed to doing things the right way. And the right way is that folks are supposed to stay out of open seat primaries. That’s the way you’re supposed to do it.”

The primary will be held on August 6, 2024.

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