NEW AMSTERDAM Post-Mortem: David Schulner and Jocko Sims on the Relationship Shakeups and Shocking Return

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the two-hour fall finale of NEW AMSTERDAM.]

NEW AMSTERDAM’s fall finale ended with one heck of a surprise: Helen (Freema Agyeman) is back in New York.

Unfortunately for Max (Ryan Eggold), he found out by seeing his former fiancée on television—right as Wilder (Sandra Mae Frank) decided to not leave the hospital and to explore what was happening between them.

This marks the first time Max had seen Helen, even from afar, since their engagement fell apart. The duo were set to marry in the season 4 finale, but she called him in the final moments to say she couldn’t go through with it; viewers found out in the season 5 opener that she also sent him a note, apologizing and acknowledging that what they had was real, but so was her desire to stay in London and not get married.

At the time, NEW AMSTERDAM boss David Schulner told Give Me My Remote that there was still more to come from Helen. “This isn’t the last time you’ve seen Helen Sharpe,” he said in September. “But it’s not the focus of our show. And it’s not the focus for Max in season 5. It’s a flavor that will always be there, because [Helen’s] clearly left an indelible mark on the show and on Max. But the season is…not even about closure. It’s about new possibilities.”

But now that Helen is back, how will Max handle things? Schulner offered a few teases, via email, about what’s to come for Sharpwin, Wilder and Max’s start-stop, Bloom’s (Janet Montgomery) grief, Iggy’s (Tyler Labine) marriage, and more in the final episodes…

With Helen being back in New York, what can you tease about her presence in the final run of episodes?
We knew we wanted to bring Helen Sharpe back to test Max’s resolve. To test his feelings for Wilder. To test whether or not he’s truly healed. And we knew we wanted it to happen at the worst possible moment for him. Just because that’s our job as dramatists. It’s in the job description! We’re very nice people otherwise.

Wilder’s speech in “The Empty Spaces” about why she was hesitant to start a relationship with Max was really gorgeous and poignant, even if it was also a little heartbreaking—
Agree. Sandra and Ryan played it beautifully.

Putting aside the Helen of it all for a moment, how will those thoughts—as well as her thwarted attempt to move things forward in episode 10—play into the Wilder/Max relationship going forward? 
In that moment Wilder didn’t feel that Max really saw her. Really heard her. And therefore couldn’t truly know her. And in episode 10, Max does something that makes Wilder reconsider that assumption. There will be challenges for sure, but, at that moment, they’re in it together. And then Helen comes back. 

Bloom lost her mom, and her sister is spiraling. How will she be balancing caring for Vanessa going forward, while also protecting herself and her own sobriety?
I don’t think she can do both. And that’s what Bloom ultimately learns in episode 10. But there are still three more episodes to go, so, I hope everyone is excited to see what Bloom does next.

Iggy and Martin appear to be done again. How will Iggy handle things in his world being turned upside down again, and what did the split teach him about how he might want to move forward?
Iggy has to respect Martin’s wishes. There is no going back to their old life. The people they used to be. But, they love each other so much…. and that’s the dilemma.  

Anything else you want to/can tease we haven’t touched on?
In the final episode, I want to leave the audience with the feelings they felt when they first fell in love with the show. I hope fans who left when Freema left come back for the end. I hope fans who left when the show got “too political” come back for the end. Because there’s always been more to the show than Sharpwin. There’s always been more to the show than the issues we tackle. NEW AMSTERDAM is all of that and more. So most importantly, I want to honor the fans who stayed with us for five years. This is for them.

–

Additionally, Reynolds (Jocko Sims) also had a big fall finale, as his father quickly opted to move out, in the hopes of letting Reynolds actually live his life.

Of course, with Helen back, it also means Reynolds can be a shoulder (and ear) for Max as he figures out what to do next. “We have a great opportunity to have a great buddy conversation, for Reynolds and Max as a result,” Sims says with a laugh in the video below. “Reynolds is sort of getting a kick out of the fact that Max saw her and was startled—he sort of pokes and prods. He was like, ‘What are you going to do? Did you know she was here? Oh my God, I wish I could have seen the look on your faces. You gotta see her right?’ So [he’s] just kind of throwing things at him.”

“That’s such a fun scene, and I just cannot wait until that airs,” he continues. “That was directed by our amazing producer, Peter Horton, who just did a fantastic job with that. So look out for that.”

Watch the video for more from Sims….

NEW AMSTERDAM, Tuesdays, 10/9c, NBC

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