Kevin C. Wong

New Amsterdam (2018) [+]

New Amsterdam is a medical drama tv show. Dr Max Goodwin (Ryan Eggold) is the new Medical Director of New Amsterdam, the largest public hospital in New York. As he battles throat cancer he turns the hospital upside down remaking all the procedures and focusing everything on helping people over any sort of budgetary restrictions.

With Freema Agyeman as Dr Helen Sharpe, possible love interest which finally happens in season 4; Janet Montgomery as Dr Lauren Bloom, who battles addiction throughout the series; Jocko Sims as Dr Floyd Reynolds, handsome surgeon who can't seem to find the right woman for him that would also get his mom's approval; Tyler Labine as Dr Iggy Frome, psychiatrist who eventually suffers PTSD from treating his patients; Anupam Kher as Dr Vijay Kapoor, a doctor who is often exasperatingly holistic about his methods; Dr Elizabeth Wilder (Sandra Mae Frank), who comes in season 4 as a brilliant (and deaf) surgeon.

Season 1 is great, 2 is ok, 3 is getting old with Max's antics, 4 turns it upside down with a new Medical Director (played by Michelle Forbes) who wants to return to profits over patient care, 5 is a bit more normal hospital drama though some good high concept episodes like how they tried to help after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. Adding Sandra Mae Frank was great as her character has Max's dynamism while showing how a deaf surgeon could work at a major hospital.

The season finale was well done. In Max's final day before leaving for his new job in Europe a patient requires a prolonged surgery that will require 51 doctors. Meanwhile we get shots of New Amsterdam's new Medical Director. It's only at the end that we realize the B plot is a couple of decades in the future and the new Medical Director is Max's daughter Luna Goodwin (played by Nora and Opal Clow throughout the series and as an adult by Molly Griggs).

Overall a pretty good American tv series.