NEW AMSTERDAM Post-Mortem: David Schulner Teases the Midseason Finale Twist ‘Changes the Show in a Big Way’

 

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Tuesday, November 23 episode.]

After a season of preparing to leave New York, NEW AMSTERDAM’s Max (Ryan Eggold) and Helen (Freema Agyeman) actually took the leap in the midseason finale, “Death is the Rule. Life is the Exception”…and not even a highly contagious (and deadly) superbug could stop them.

Sure, it delayed the duo a bit as they returned to New Amsterdam to get to help their colleagues save as many lives as possible and find what was causing the illness—which originated in the ice machine—but, despite a brief hesitation from Max, they did actually leave for London.

But they weren’t the only ones with life-changing storylines: Reynolds’ (Jocko Sims) found out Malvo (Frances Turner) was pregnant, while Leyla (Shiva Kalaiselvan) confronted Bloom (Janet Montgomery) over her purchasing Leyla a spot at the hospital.

So what comes next? NEW AMSTERDAM showrunner David Schulner teases what’s ahead…

Max and Helen actually left New York in the final moments. What does the show look like when it returns in 2022?
It definitely changes the show in a big way. We’re telling two medical [stories]—like a tale of two cities. We get to talk about socialized medicine in the UK, and we get to juxtapose it with American healthcare. We get to talk about how in the UK healthcare is a human right. Healthcare is not about how much money you have or the access you have. Where in America, and we show this with Veronica Fuentes, healthcare is run like a corporation. And when you run healthcare like a corporation, wealthy come out on top and those with no money come out on the bottom. And, unfortunately, that means death or chronic illness. So it’s really fun for us to be able to tell two different kinds of medical shows in one.

How much time has passed on-screen when the show comes back?
Well, I think we’re off the air for six weeks, so when we come back, that much time has passed. We’ll be in real time with the characters.

Though these characters have moved, but there are ways to keep in touch via FaceTime and calls/texts. How much communication has there been between Max/Helen and their friends they left behind?
None. Zero. Max and Sharpe have moved on and are starting new careers and new lives in London. And our characters back home are suffering the consequences of that and trying to move on as best they can without Max and Helen there to help.

As writers who have spent the past three-plus seasons entangling these characters, how has it changed the way you write them without those familiar dynamics to lean on?
Everyone gets a new challenge, which is so fun to be able to do—for the actors and for the writers.

Sharpe is now medical director of her own hospital. She has to come to terms with her relationship with her mother, which is based on a lie from what she learned this season from her [tainted] memories about the day her father left. So Sharpe has this huge challenge ahead of her.

When we pick up for Max, he’s a stranger in a strange land. This new healthcare system is everything he’s ever wanted for America, for New Amsterdam, where healthcare is a human right, and everyone’s entitled to it. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a license to practice medicine yet. So we’re really going to see Max trying to find his footing in this new place.

And then, man, for our characters back at New Amsterdam, Max and Helen really left them at the worst possible time. Fuentes has really remade the place in her image. And all of them are really suffering the consequences for that. Luckily, Dr. Wilder has started an underground resistance—undeterred by Veronica, because she just started, where everyone else has been beaten down by her already. But Wilder is going to fight the good fight and carry on Max’s legacy as best as she can. The only question is, will our characters help?

Looking to Reynolds, Malvo is pregnant. He’s on the cusp of having something he really wanted—but it also feels like a real risk to how he wanted this portion of his life to go if she is pregnant with his kid. How is he handling the uncertainty?
We gave Reynolds everything he thought he wanted. And now he has to realize that just because you get everything you want, doesn’t mean it comes in the package you wanted it in. Or maybe it’s in the wrong size. Or maybe it breaks after the first day you get it. But I feel like that’s life. You can get everything you want, but it’s not going to play out how you thought it would. So we complicated Reynolds’ journey by giving him exactly what he wanted. Now he’s got to deal with it.

How long is the paternity question going to be up in the air?
It’s a big part of Reynolds journey. I think it’s really fun, scary, and exciting to see what the character does not knowing who the real father is. So we’re going to keep him twisting for a little bit.

Bloom and Leyla’s relationship exploded thanks to the reveal that Leyla’s spot in the program was essentially bought. Where do we find them when things pick back up?
Bloom wants to atone for her actions. Bloom wants to make it right. She’ll do anything to make it right. And not only that, Bloom wants to make sure that Leyla is okay. And safe. Because when she met Leyla, she was living in her car, was not a doctor, was not able to practice. I think more than anything, Bloom wants to know that Leyla is okay. But Leyla is MIA. Bloom doesn’t know where she is or what’s become of her when we pick up. And that’s really scary.

Does Bloom realize at this point how much damage she really may have done to Leyla’s career? Even in success, right now, there’s the risk people will think Leyla only has a seat at the figurative table because her girlfriend paid to get her a spot…
I think Bloom understood everything in season 3. I think she knew if she made this decision…I just remember that final moment in season 3 where Bloom is holding Leyla and she says, “It was all you; it was all you. I had nothing to do it.” And the way Janet played it, I think Bloom understood everything in that moment. But she was willing to risk everything to keep them together. And that to me [is] the tragedy of what happened: Bloom knew it was wrong. And she knew it had the potential to destroy them, but it was the only way to keep them together. So I really feel for her and I think she cares about Leyla more than anyone at this point.

NEW AMSTERDAM, Tuesdays, 10/9c, NBC

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• NEW AMSTERDAM Post-Mortem: Tyler Labine Previews the Hospital’s Reaction to the Sharpwin Twist
• NEW AMSTERDAM Season 4 Premiere: ‘More Joy’ Photos
• NEW AMSTERDAM Post-Mortem: Ryan Eggold and Freema Agyeman Break Down the Big Sharpwin Moment
• NEW AMSTERDAM: Ryan Eggold and Freema Agyeman Preview the Unconventional Season 3 Finale
• NEW AMSTERDAM: Jocko Sims and Frances Turner on Reynolds and Malvo’s Chemistry and Connection
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• NEW AMSTERDAM Says Goodbye to a Series Regular
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• NEW AMSTERDAM’s Ryan Eggold on the Season 3 Premiere Twist: ‘We’re Not Invincible’
• NEW AMSTERDAM: What You Need to Know About the Season Premiere
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