Want dramas? ABC has a Tuesday surge (briefly)

Tuesdays have become a feast-or-famine time for ABC.
For months, the night was confined to reruns and reality and such. Now, starting Feb. 20, comes a drama surge.
It’s the second season of “Will Trent,” the sixth of “The Rookie” (shown here), the seventh and final one of “The Good Doctor.” Three popular shows return, back-to-back.
And then, after just 10 episodes, their seasons will be done. More on that later.
These are shows that have key things in common. As Alyssa Diaz, a “Rookie” star, put it for her show: “It has something for everyone. It has the romance. It has the action. It has the drama. It has the comedy. And it keeps you entertained.”
A similar formula works for “Will Trent” and (minus the action) “Good Doctor.” They wrap up its prime story each hour, while the characters evolve gradually. “I think it’s the characters and the relationships that keep people coming,” said Nathan Fillion(right), whose “Rookie” character is getting ready for his wedding.
Each of the shows is in a high-stakes arena – a police detective in “Will Trent,” uniformed cops in “The Rookie” and the “Good Doctor” hospital.
“It’s a great place to throw your characters,” said “Good Doctor” producer David Shore. “You see what happens to people in the highest stakes available.”
Shore jumped into the medical field with “House” in 2004 and boasts that “I’ve learned no medicine over those 20 years.”
Friedman verifies that. “He has an aggressive commitment to not knowing medicine, understanding any of it, and it has worked really well.”
He sometimes turns to humor, even in life-and-death situations. “I think it’s very natural,” Shore said. “I think it’s very real; it’s fun to do.”
The combination of light and heavy can work well. Fillion’s most-recent shows — “Castle” and “The Rookie” – have followed that formula.
“Both those shows have engines that allow for a real variety of episodes to happen,” he said. “It could be very light fare …. It could be very heartfelt, lots of family, and you can raise the stakes and people can die.”
Even “Will Trent” has room for humor. Some of it involves the dog Will reluctantly brought home; some involves his own distant nature. “He’s like, refreshingly honest,” said Ramon Rodriguez, who plays him. He’s “really good at his job … but also has things he’s not great at.”
Which makes him a lot like Shaun, the autistic “Good Doctor” title character. “As a Brit, I think I’m naturally cynical,” said Freddie Highmore, who plays him. “Shaun, hopefully, has made me a little bit of a better person and a bit more optiimistic.”
Now his time is ending. In a cost-cutting spree, ABC trimmed all three dramas.
“We were initially planning for 13 and then we ended up (with) 10,” Friedman said. “But I think we’re going to be able to deliver a really good finale.”