Fans of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice” alike can take joy in the debut of medical drama “New Amsterdam,” which aired on NBC Tuesday evening.
On Saturday, Tyler Labine, along with other actors from the show, held a panel discussion and a private screening at the Paramount Theater in Boston. Labine, who plays Dr. Iggy Frome, said the series is “rebelling against what audiences” have come to expect from shows centered around hospitals.
“NBC took a swing with the show,” Labine said. “It still has to follow certain guidelines, but they are really taking a bold swing to touch on something more important than the “sexiness” of the actors playing the roles.
The series follows medical director Dr. Max Goodwin (Ryan Eggold) as he joins the staff at New Amsterdam, one of the oldest hospitals in America. While performing their daily jobs, the show will also portray social issues such as discrimination, politics and the economy. Featured will be patients from prisons and broken homes while following a true story.
Labine, Anupam Kher (Dr. Vijay Kapoor), and Jocko Sims (Dr. Floyd Reynolds) discussed the show with Dr. Eric Manheimer, whose book “Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital,” provided inspiration for the show.
Manheimer noticed that when a patient enters a medical facility, they explain why they are there and physicians will immediately recommend to run a series of tests before even listening to the patients story. He advises that if doctors were to assimilate what a patient is saying in relation to their injury, there could be a more efficient way to diagnose them.
As Manheimer explained the connection to his book, he finds “the vast majority of the material you’re going to see throughout the series is true to life.” Audiences will get to see what it is actually like to work in such a high stakes environment.
In the Q and A session, Manheimer stated, “business of medicine is viewed as a business, [when it should be] about the patient.”
What we can anticipate in this series are displays of the untold truths of mental and physical health, along with the everyday hardships living in America brings when it comes to the medical system. On the forefront, there will be surgeries and diagnoses, but in the background comes fractured relationships, heartbreak, torment and overall pain extracted from characters retelling the invigorating stories of real people.
In contrast to the tragedies the show will exhibit, Kher finds that “New Amsterdam” brings “compassion and warmth” to the audience. While watching it for the first time along with the audience, he especially noticed the compassion and relatability the show presents in correlation with the cold reality of a medical environment.
What viewers can continue to look forward to in New Amsterdam is the unraveling of its mini city as it features a courthouse, prison and a school inside for endless narratives. The intent of this show is to spread its philosophy, which is something that can be applied to current day practitioners or anyone who wants to understand the lifestyle of those working in the medical field.
