‘New Amsterdam’ Boss on Max Without Helen, ‘Unexpected Romance’ & More in Season 5

Ryan Eggold as Dr. Max Goodwin, Nora and Opal Clow as Luna in New Amsterdam
Fall Preview
Eric Liebowitz/NBC

The hospital drama’s Season 4 finale was a rough one: Medical director Max Goodwin (Ryan Eggold) was left at the altar; psychiatrist Iggy Frome’s (Tyler Labine) husband asked him to leave their brownstone; and ER doc Lauren Bloom (Janet Montgomery) split from her girlfriend.

“We blew up everyone’s life so they can help each other recover,” explains showrunner David Schulner. In Season 5 — New Amsterdam’s last — he wants to remind fans why they first fell in love with the show, which means bringing the core characters together more and “trying to heal everyone’s fatal flaw.”

But first, Max will take Helen Sharpe’s (Freema Agyeman) abandonment “really hard,” and Bloom lands a “very surprising roommate,” Schulner hints. Following her promotion to series regular, Sandra Mae Frank’s passionate Dr. Elizabeth Wilder becomes an integral part the team.

Keep your eyes peeled for “unexpected romance,” but don’t look for another hurricane: “I think we’ve used every [natural disaster] in our 80 episodes,” Schulner says. “Now all the fireworks are going to be between our characters.”

New Amsterdam, Season 5 Premiere, Tuesday, September 20, 10/9c, NBC

This is an excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s 2022 Returning Favorites issue. For more first looks at fall’s returning shows, pick up the issue, on newsstands now.