Get your scrubs ready, because all five seasons of New Amsterdam are on Netflix. The medical drama, which first premiered in 2018 on NBC, just wrapped its final season earlier this year. Starring Ryan Eggold as medical director Max Goodwin, the series follows the staff of New York City’s New Amsterdam Medical Center, the oldest public hospital in America, as it undergoes a complete systemic overhaul, with quality patient care in mind.
Whether you’ve never watched New Amsterdam or are getting ready for a rewatch, here’s everything you need to know about the series.
New Amsterdam is a medical drama that follows Dr. Max Goodwin (Eggold) as he becomes the medical director at one of the oldest public hospitals in the country. The series focuses on Goodwin’s mission to reform the neglected New Amsterdam Medical Center in New York City by shaking up its bureaucracy to provide exceptional medical care to patients. Throughout the series, Goodwin does everything he can to save the understaffed and underfunded hospital, working with a team of committed and passionate doctors to ensure their patients get the care they deserve.
The cast includes:
The series is based on the book Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital by Dr. Eric Manheimer, who was the director of the hospital for 15 years. Manheimer shares the stories of 12 different patients from vastly different walks of life that he met during his time at Bellevue, including a United Nations dignitary, a person imprisoned at Rikers Island, and an undocumented immigrant, among others. He also writes about the Bellevue medical staff and how they worked to provide exceptional care to vulnerable New Yorkers, as well as Manheimer’s personal experience as a patient when he was diagnosed with cancer.
The fifth and final season of New Amsterdam arrived Sept. 20 on Netflix, meaning you can stream all five seasons now.
New Amsterdam wrapped up its five-season run with a full-circle ending — and by opening a new chapter. The final episode, aptly titled “How Can I Help?”, revolved around Goodwin’s final day as medical director at New Amsterdam Medical Center before he left to begin work for the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland as head of the Global Health Police. His new job and life was the direct result of a decision he’d made to be a better father and to prioritize his daughter, Luna (Nora Clow and Opal Clow).
Of course, his last day at the hospital wasn’t without its hiccups, as a mind-boggling medical case involving a mother from Ukraine gave Goodwin –– and most of the New Amsterdam doctors –– one last chance to showcase his peerless skills. Thankfully, he and his fellow surgeons were able to save the patient, sending Goodwin off on a professional high note.
Prior to his departure from New Amsterdam, Goodwin discovered that his ex, Dr. Helen Sharpe, made unethical decisions to push through the cancer cure drug he was about to sign off on. Likely in an attempt to help him during his cancer battle, her problematic choices forced Goodwin to kill the cancer drug for good –– and potentially any chance of a reconciliation with her. Goodwin also abruptly shut the door on his relationship with Dr. Elizabeth Wilder after giving her the keys to New Amsterdam, anointing her his successor and putting an end to their romance (but still clearly harboring feelings for her).
Throughout the series’ last hour, there were glimpses of a woman trying to find her way around the hospital on her first day. That woman, it’s later revealed via a flash-forward in the final moments of the series, was actually Goodwin’s grown-up daughter, Luna (Molly Griggs), as she stepped into her new role as medical director at New Amsterdam, following in her dad’s footsteps.
Delivering a motivational speech in front of hospital staff, Luna explained how she became inspired to become a doctor herself after watching her father practice medicine on his last day there decades earlier. And even though it took her a while to come around to this fact, medicine didn’t take her dad away but rather gave him to her. Luna’s speech ended on an inspiring note as she adopted her father’s favorite catchphrase as her own: “How can I help?”
As for where the other doctors of New Amsterdam ended up? Everyone got their happy endings and new starts. Dr. Lauren Bloom reconciled with her estranged sister, Vanessa (Kathryn Prescott), who had nearly died from a fatal drug overdose; Dr. Floyd Reynolds professed his love for his girlfriend, Gabrielle (Toya Turner), and reunited with his father; and Dr. Iggy Frome and Martin remarried in a small ceremony after divorcing earlier in the season.
