NBC Postpones ‘New Amsterdam’ Episode About Deadly Flu Pandemic in NYC

Meredith Jacobs March 25, 2020, 2:35 pm

New Amsterdam Season 2 Flu Pandemic Episode Postponed — Karolina Wojtasik/NBC

New Amsterdam was going to air an episode that mirrored what’s currently happening in the world on April 7, but NBC has decided not to air it.

The episode, “Our Doors Are Always Open” (and initially “Pandemic”), was set to feature Daniel Dae Kim’s introduction to the Dam Fam as Dr. Cassian Shin as the hospital dealt with a deadly flu pandemic in New York City. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the network has decided to remove it from the schedule and hold it for a later date, according to an essay creator David Schulner provided to Deadline.

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“We shot a fictional pandemic episode right before a real pandemic hit,” he said.

So, what can fans expect to see from the rest of Season 2? (The series has already been renewed for three more seasons.) New Amsterdam will be moving to the 9/8c time slot and air reruns on March 31 and April 7. The only remaining Season 2 episode to air now will serve as the finale on April 14.

Kim, a writer, two directors, and an AD from New Amsterdam have tested positive for the coronavirus but are now recovering.

Ryan Eggold Freema Agyeman New Amsterdam Max Helen Season 2

(Virginia Sherwood/NBC)

“David [Foster] wrote the episode in 2019 about a flu pandemic overtaking our fictional hospital in New York. During a bad year, influenza can kill up to 80,000 Americans. We wanted to get this message out. And the best way to do that was to scare you so bad you’d be washing your hands during the commercial breaks,” Schulner wrote.

“We showed what happens when our hospital has to erect tents in the parking lot because every bed is taken. When the doctors and nurses and medical techs have been working back to back shifts because their replacements are sick. When panic sets in. When people are quarantined. When people die,” he continued. “Sometimes, what the mirror reflects back is too horrifying to look at.”