The summer break is the perfect time to binge-watch TV shows and avoid all basic duties as a human being. It’s also necessary to distance ourselves from all the summer-themed content that gets thrown in our faces over the season, so a drama series about doctors in a hectic hospital fits right in and will satisfy your needs for solid entertainment.
“New Amsterdam” follows Medical Director Max Goodwin as he revolutionizes the system at New Amsterdam Public Hospital. Unbeknownst to his wife and colleagues, Max has cancer and his prospects look bad. Before the disease consumes him, Max is determined to make as many positive changes as possible. Having the power to change things as he sees fit, Max makes it his mission to actually help the patients first and ensure a top-quality treatment while fighting the damaging bureaucracy that affects hospital across the United States. It’s impossible not to like Max from the start. His first decisions as MD are bold and make a big difference, his charisma and genuine kindness are revealed through actions instead of just words and he is unstoppable in the face of adversity.
Beside Max, there is an impressive cast of doctors handling different departments, often collaborating with each other, but standing out on their own with their distinct personalities and skills as physicians. What’s refreshing about “New Amsterdam” is how each main character receives as much attention as Max, making it easy to feel attached to all of them despite their flaws … which are plenty. This show focuses on the human traits in the patients and doctors alike, emphasizing the often said but rarely acknowledged fact that everyone comes with baggage, and they all have to be dealt with.
This show is ideal for those who want to enjoy a hospital drama without having to commit to the seemingly endless seasons of “Grey’s Anatomy.” Not having a defined underlying plot makes ‘New Amsterdam’ really easy to binge-watch as no episodes feel like filler and the narrative isn’t dense. The main characters do develop their individual storylines throughout the episodes, but these are weaved in seamlessly with the episode’s medical drama. One could expect this dynamic to get repetitive, but with something as broad and complex as medicine, the possibilities are endless and allow for action-packed and emotional episodes. I’ve cried in all of them.
My favorite aspect of the show is how it addresses the countless flaws of the American Healthcare system and other social issues that are relevant today. The show aired in 2019 so you can expect a timely sense of awareness that holds no punches and takes time to analyze the most pressing problems that Americans face today. Being a public hospital, New Amsterdam criticizes the abusive billing system in the country as in many cases patients are more concerned about the bills over their illness. Max and his team encounter patients who suffer from things such as mental health issues, poor diagnosis and treatment in the past, harmful living and working conditions, discrimination and racism, rare diseases, deep family wounds and trauma. On top of that, the doctors have issues of their own that sometimes interfere with their professional work and affect their relationships with colleagues and patients alike.
The show succeeds at evoking empathy from the viewer while also providing quality entertainment tied to an emotional roller coaster that becomes addictive. I’ve watched fifteen episodes in the past three days and have absolutely no regrets.
