# New Amsterdam (2018 TV series)
**New Amsterdam** is an American medical drama television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 2018 to 2023, running five seasons and following Dr. Max Goodwin, the new medical director of a New York public hospital modeled on Bellevue.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/new_amsterdam_2018) • [2](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/best-medical-drama-shows/) It was created by David Schulner and based on the book *Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital* by Eric Manheimer, who served as medical director of Bellevue for 15 years.[3](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/tv-reviews/2025/3/10/new-amsterdam) • [4](https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/culture/article/new-amsterdam-sur-tf1-la-serie-tres-realiste-s-inspire-des-memoires-d-un-vrai-directeur-d-hopital_224539.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and run | NBC, premiered September 25, 2018; five seasons through 2023[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/new_amsterdam_2018) |
| Episode counts | Season 1: 22; Season 2: 18; Season 3: 14; Season 4: 22; Season 5: 13[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/new-amsterdam-2018/) |
| Source material | *Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital* by Eric Manheimer, Bellevue's medical director for 15 years[3](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/tv-reviews/2025/3/10/new-amsterdam) • [4](https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/culture/article/new-amsterdam-sur-tf1-la-serie-tres-realiste-s-inspire-des-memoires-d-un-vrai-directeur-d-hopital_224539.html) |
| Setting | The fictional New Amsterdam Medical Center, inspired by Bellevue, New York City's oldest public hospital[2](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/best-medical-drama-shows/) • [6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/features/doctors-our-dreams) |
| Lead | Ryan Eggold as Dr. Max Goodwin, with Freema Agyeman, Janet Montgomery, Jocko Sims, Tyler Labine, and Sandra Mae Frank[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/new_amsterdam_2018) |
| Critical reception | Season 1 Metascore of 47 from 14 critic reviews; average user score of 5.0 from 77 ratings[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/new-amsterdam-2018/) |
| Distinctive focus | 16% of narrative time is devoted to professional plot, compared with 8-9% in other medical dramas studied[7](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/23821205231175037) |
## Premise and setting
The series centers on Dr. Max Goodwin ([Ryan Eggold](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryan-eggold)), who becomes medical director of the New Amsterdam Medical Center, a fictionalized version of Bellevue, the oldest public hospital in the United States.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/new_amsterdam_2018) • [6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/features/doctors-our-dreams) Goodwin sets out to tear down the hospital's bureaucracy and put patients first in an institution described as understaffed, underfunded, and underappreciated, one capable of treating Ebola patients, prisoners from [Rikers Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/rikers-island), and the president of the United States under one roof.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/new_amsterdam_2018) The hospital's fictional name refers to [New Amsterdam](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-amsterdam), the seventeenth-century Dutch name for Manhattan.[8](https://oglobo.globo.com/cultura/revista-da-tv/new-amsterdam-ryan-eggold-conta-historia-real-do-hospital-que-inspirou-serie-24122161)
Goodwin's signature line, "How can I help?", became associated with the character well beyond the show; a [Michigan Medicine](https://www.edgepedia.org/michigan-medicine) marketing executive told Becker's Hospital Review that she uses the same phrase, which is also attributed to Goodwin on the series.[9](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/digital-marketing/what-medical-dramas-get-right-and-wrong-about-hospital-work/)
## Origins
David Schulner brought Eric Manheimer's memoir *Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital* to [Universal Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-television) in 2016, a period he described as one in which all conversations revolved around immigration and health care.[6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/features/doctors-our-dreams) Details from Manheimer's own life and stories from the book appear in the series, and real Bellevue physicians spent time with their television counterparts, with some appearing onscreen as extras.[10](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-new-amsterdam-mayo-clinic-faith-hope-science-review-20180925-story.html) • [6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/features/doctors-our-dreams) Even the show's most outlandish medical cases were inspired at least in part by real cases or incidents, according to showrunner David Schulner.[11](https://www.bustle.com/p/how-new-amsterdam-showrunner-david-schulner-came-up-with-the-medical-dramas-wildest-cases-17282089)
## Themes and approach
Unlike medical dramas built around patient-of-the-week mysteries or relationship storylines, New Amsterdam treats the hospital itself as a subject: reviewers and viewers describe it as a drama about running a public hospital in the corporate world of American medicine, with recurring storylines about racism, misogyny, mental illness, addiction, poverty, and medical misinformation.[3](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/tv-reviews/2025/3/10/new-amsterdam) A quantitative study of medical dramas found that 16% of the show's narrative time goes to professional plot, roughly double the 8-9% measured in comparable series.[7](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/23821205231175037)
The show also engaged with current health events. Its season 2 finale, which fictionalized the then-new COVID-19 outbreak, was not aired; season 3 then addressed problems faced by people during the pandemic.[3](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/tv-reviews/2025/3/10/new-amsterdam) Season 2 storylines examined cracks in the American health care system, including defective implants and the hurdles of preventive care in communities of color.[12](https://www.tvguide.com/news/5-times-new-amsterdam-exposed-the-cracks-in-our-broken-healthcare-system-in-season-2/) A storyline about a heart condition affecting African American men drew coverage from the [American Heart Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-heart-association) as grounded in reality.[13](https://www.heart.org/en/news/2019/10/16/new-amsterdam-may-be-a-drama-but-its-looking-at-this-real-life-heart-issue)
## Reception
Critical response to the first season was mixed. Metacritic recorded a Metascore of 47 from 14 critic reviews, with 2 positive, 8 mixed, and 4 negative; the user score stood at 5.0 from 77 ratings.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/new-amsterdam-2018/) Reviewers variously called it "a fine if unremarkable broadcast network-style series" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), "heartfelt, well-meaning and dull" (The New York Times), and "smart and far more original than most of the new series this season" (Reason.com).[5](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/new-amsterdam-2018/) • [14](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/new-amsterdam/critic-reviews/) On Rotten Tomatoes the series holds an average Popcornmeter score of 49% from more than 500 user ratings.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/new_amsterdam_2018)
On medical realism, TV Insider scored the series 6 out of 10, noting mostly accurate depictions of medical treatment but deducting for over-the-top drama.[15](https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/realistic-accurate-medical-tv-shows/)
## Run and conclusion
The series was canceled in 2023, along with The Resident, after its fifth season.[16](https://assets.pubpub.org/0udfsz51/Investigating%20Medical%20Drama.%20TV%20Series%20Approaches%20and%20Perspectives-41703235697121.pdf) The final season was criticized for tying up loose ends rapidly, and the series concludes with a flash-forward revealing that Max's daughter, Luna, has become the new medical director of New Amsterdam.[3](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/tv-reviews/2025/3/10/new-amsterdam) • [17](https://discover.hubpages.com/entertainment/new-amsterdam-doctors-are-humans) A Netflix streaming boost in 2023 brought the series renewed attention.[2](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/best-medical-drama-shows/)
## References
1. [New Amsterdam (2018) - Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/new_amsterdam_2018)
2. [The 15 Best Medical Shows to Watch Right Now - Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/tv-shows/best-medical-drama-shows/)
3. [New Amsterdam - Mediaversity Reviews](https://www.mediaversityreviews.com/tv-reviews/2025/3/10/new-amsterdam)
4. [« New Amsterdam » sur TF1 - HuffPost France](https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/culture/article/new-amsterdam-sur-tf1-la-serie-tres-realiste-s-inspire-des-memoires-d-un-vrai-directeur-d-hopital_224539.html)
5. [New Amsterdam (2018) Reviews - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/new-amsterdam-2018/)
6. [The Doctors of Our Dreams - Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/features/doctors-our-dreams)
7. [Students - Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development (SAGE)](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/23821205231175037)
8. ['New Amsterdam': Ryan Eggold conta a história real do hospital que inspirou a série - O Globo](https://oglobo.globo.com/cultura/revista-da-tv/new-amsterdam-ryan-eggold-conta-historia-real-do-hospital-que-inspirou-serie-24122161)
9. [What medical dramas get right and wrong about hospital work - Becker's Hospital Review](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/digital-marketing/what-medical-dramas-get-right-and-wrong-about-hospital-work/)
10. [Two looks at hospitals and healthcare come to TV - Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-new-amsterdam-mayo-clinic-faith-hope-science-review-20180925-story.html)
11. [How 'New Amsterdam' Showrunner David Schulner Came Up With The Medical Drama's Wildest Cases - Bustle](https://www.bustle.com/p/how-new-amsterdam-showrunner-david-schulner-came-up-with-the-medical-dramas-wildest-cases-17282089)
12. [5 Times New Amsterdam Showed Cracks in the Medical System - TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/news/5-times-new-amsterdam-exposed-the-cracks-in-our-broken-healthcare-system-in-season-2/)
13. ['New Amsterdam' may be a drama, but it's looking at this real-life heart issue - American Heart Association](https://www.heart.org/en/news/2019/10/16/new-amsterdam-may-be-a-drama-but-its-looking-at-this-real-life-heart-issue)
14. [New Amsterdam critic reviews - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/new-amsterdam/critic-reviews/)
15. [What Is the Most Realistic Medical Show? - TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/realistic-accurate-medical-tv-shows/)
16. [Investigating Medical Drama: TV Series Approaches and Perspectives - Eszter Nádasi](https://assets.pubpub.org/0udfsz51/Investigating%20Medical%20Drama.%20TV%20Series%20Approaches%20and%20Perspectives-41703235697121.pdf)
17. ["New Amsterdam": Doctors are Humans - HubPages](https://discover.hubpages.com/entertainment/new-amsterdam-doctors-are-humans)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Genre and subject-scripted series › Medical drama series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license