Though only a few TV shows have suffered cancellation news so far in 2022, that number will only get bigger as time goes by, and NBC’s medical drama New Amsterdam is now the latest victim on the list. Currently in the midst of a hiatus during its fourth season, New Amsterdam will actually wrap up its run after the upcoming and already ordered Season 5, so fans won’t be saying goodbye to Ryan Eggold & Co. just yet.
As New Amsterdam viewers may remember, NBC granted the drama a monster of a three-season renewal in early January 2020, which is why the cancellation news won’t be effective immediately after Season 4 wraps, presumably in May. However, Deadline reports that Season 5 will be a shortened run of 13 episodes, making it the shortest season yet. When all is said and done, New Amsterdam will reach an impressive total of 92 episodes. Never enough for the most hardcore fans, but certainly better than how NBC's own freshman drama Ordinary Joe fared.
It’s unclear if this news means New Amsterdam will be ending in 2022 proper, allowing for NBC to fill the time slot in 2023 with a midseason replacement, or if the network may hold the medical drama for a January 2023 debut. That plan might not even be completely figured out yet within the network, so stay tuned for updates on that front.
Here’s what Universal Television’s president Erin Underhill had to say after the cancellation went public, almost making it sound as if the show was already over:
When I first read the pilot script for New Amsterdam, I knew we had a winner. We cheered Max’s disruption of the status quo and applauded when he asked his patients the simple yet profound question, ‘How can I help?’ Over the last four seasons, David, Peter and our incredible cast have tackled important and thought-provoking stories that have touched on the human condition, but also made us laugh and imbued hope. We’re so proud of this series and are indebted to everyone involved in bringing New Amsterdam to life. Bravo!
At the time of the extended renewal, New Amsterdam was a winner for NBC, both in terms of total viewership and key demo ratings, averaging around 9.7 million viewers during Season 2 after delayed viewing totals were added in. Unfortunately, the 11-month gap between that season’s finale and the third season’s premiere in March 2021 seemed to take a major toll on the numbers, with the season average dropping to 6.9 million, and it’s only gotten worse for both live episode audiences and DVR viewing in Season 4.
Already in Season 4, New Amsterdam fans officially bid farewell to Anupam Kher's Dr. Vijay Kapoor, whose absence since Season 3 was concluded by the news that the character had suffered an off-screen death. That twist was due to the actor having exited the show following his wife's cancer diagnosis in 2021. And with the series' ending now in the crosshairs, it's quite possible another couple of character tragedies are imminent.
New Amsterdam will return to NBC with new episodes on Tuesday, April 19, at 10:00 p.m. ET. While waiting to see where things go next for Sharpwin, head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule!
