NEW AMSTERDAM Boss David Schulner Shares Even NBC Didn’t Believe the Show Would Go Through With its Biggest Twist

When NEW AMSTERDAM picks up in 2022, the medical drama will be splitting its focus: Part of its storytelling will follow Max (Ryan Eggold) and Helen (Freema Agyeman) in London, while the other portion will follow the remaining doctors at New Amsterdam.

“We’re telling two medical [stories]—like a tale of two cities,” NEW AMSTERDAM executive producer David Schulner teased after the midseason finale aired. “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…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.”

It’s just the latest of big swings the medical drama has taken—something Schulner is excited about.

“In season 4 of a broadcast, procedural drama where we do 22 episodes a year, I feel it’s our responsibility to subvert those expectations,” Schulner says. “And, honestly, I don’t think we do them enough. We try to blow up the show every year [like] with Georgia’s death, with Iggy not seeing patients anymore. We really tried to blow things up as much as possible every season, so the audience comes back not knowing what to expect.”

But he does acknowledge where the show is at now, splitting the focus between two countries, is the fallout of “our biggest bomb.”

“It was all created by the fact that we knew Max had to give up New Amsterdam to follow Sharpe,” Schulner says. “That’s Max’s biggest obstacle: his two loves—which would he choose? So we knew if Max and Sharpe were really gonna make it, then he had to give up New Amsterdam. That was the only way to prove his mettle.”

“So character dictated the story, in a great way, and NBC was skeptical, but receptive,” he continues. “Because I remember that Lisa Katz [President, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming], who has been our biggest cheerleader since the [initial series] pitch, was like, ‘Max isn’t really leaving New Amsterdam, is he?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, he’s really leaving.’ And she was like, ‘Okay. All right.’ She was totally skeptical. Not to say that our audience didn’t believe Max would actually leave, but the president of NBC couldn’t believe he would actually leave. So it was just a great way for us to surprise everyone. But it was the inevitable thing that had to happen to prove his love for Sharpe.”

NEW AMSTERDAM, Tuesday, January 4, 10/9c, NBC

RELATED:

• NEW AMSTERDAM Post-Mortem: Jocko Sims Teases Malvo’s Bombshell Causes Reynolds to ‘Start to See the World Differently’
• NEW AMSTERDAM Post-Mortem: David Schulner Teases the Midseason Finale Twist ‘Changes the Show in a Big Way’
• NEW AMSTERDAM: Jocko Sims Previews the Hospital’s Deadly Superbug in the Midseason Finale
• NEW AMSTERDAM Post-Mortem: Jocko Sims on the Ramifications of Max and Karen’s Big Swing
• NEW AMSTERDAM’s Jocko Sims Previews the Fallout of the Hospital Shake-Up
• 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
• Ryan Eggold Previews NEW AMSTERDAM’s Timely VBAC Debate
• NEW AMSTERDAM Says Goodbye to a Series Regular
• NEW AMSTERDAM: Ryan Eggold Previews Max’s Reunion with Luna
• NEW AMSTERDAM’s Jocko Sims on Reynolds’ Return: ‘No One’s Safe’
• 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
• NEW AMSTERDAM’s Ryan Eggold Previews Max’s Search for a ‘Fundamental Kind of Change’ in Season 3

Follow @GiveMeMyRemote and @marisaroffman on Twitter for the latest TV news. Connect with other TV fans on GIVE ME MY REMOTE’s official Facebook page.

And be the first to see our exclusive videos by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made through links/ads placed on the site.