New Amsterdam
Season 3 M-Net (*101) 20:30 Drama
Season 2 of medical drama series New Amsterdam (2018-now) ended with a message of hope from Ryan Eggold (as Dr Max Goodwin) and Daniel Dae Kim (as Dr Cassian Shin) about COVID-19, which cut the season short by four episodes. And it’s a theme that continues in season 3 as the global pandemic has New York in its clutches. “I think that it was an important decision by the production team to include COVID-19 in our storylines,” says lead star Ryan. “We are a medical show, to ignore it – which other shows have the luxury of – would be irresponsible.” It’s not just a feature in season 3, COVID-19 is the main star…
The majority of people don’t understand just how terrifying the pandemic is and that frontline workers are in the firing line, which Ryan and his co-stars got to experience just a fragment of. “We had full personal protective equipment (PPE) for a lot of the scenes. For us, it was like being on an alien planet. Everything changes, from your hearing to your sight. Things are muffled and you’re wearing two layers of gloves. That was to give us a feel of what real doctors and nurses are dealing with and let me tell you, it’s scary,” admits Ryan, whose character tackles more than just COVID-19 this season. “There is personal drama, Max is going to go through a lot. Even at the hospital, it’s normal business with everything from bus accidents to heart attacks. No one sleeps at a hospital.”
The show has also made sure to add important social awareness messages to its episodes, adds Daniel. “We’ve got a banner about getting vaccinated, about social distancing, about sanitiser. This is not going away any time soon.”