Coming to an end. Following New Amsterdam‘s emotional series finale, creator David Schulner and co-showrunner Peter Horton opened up about the show’s memorable conclusion.
In the final episode of the hit NBC show, Max Goodwin (Ryan Eggold) discovered that his ex, Helen Sharpe (Freema Agyeman), was behind the problematic experimental trial for the cancer cure drug he was about to sign off on.
Amid the shocking discovery, Max wrapped up his last day as medical director in order to be more present in daughter Luna’s (Nora and Opal Clow) life. The series ended on a hopeful note with a flash forward showing Luna following in her father’s footsteps as the new medical director.
Shortly after the two-hour finale aired on Tuesday, January 17, Schulner and Horton weighed in on what they felt was missing from the episode.
“We felt really satisfied with the endings we came up for everybody who was still with us. Obviously, we wish we could have had a great ending for Helen Sharpe and Freema, same thing with Anupam. They were such great characters in our show and such good actors,” Horton explained to Entertainment Weekly. “It would have been great to have been able to resolve their stories with as much freedom, so that’s a little frustrating. Otherwise, I feel good about where everyone ended up.”
For Schulner, knowing that the show was wrapping up helped their writing process.
“It was a blessing and a curse to know we were ending. A curse because we had more stories to tell and more places to go, and we thought we had a couple more years left,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “But a blessing because we got to end it on our terms and so few shows get to do that.”
In March 2022, NBC announced that season 5 would be the medical drama’s last. Fans were shocked when Agyeman later confirmed she would be exiting New Amsterdam ahead of its final chapter.
“Dearest Dam Fam. First off I would like to say a huge heartfelt thank you for your unending, dedicated and deliciously ferocious support!” the Sense8 alum, who had been part of the show since 2018, told TVLine in a statement in July 2022. “I feel very fortunate to have connected with so many of you over these past few years, while rolling around in the skin of Ms. Helen Sharpe, and witness every ebb and flow of your emotional investment. What a ride! Thank you for being on it with me. She has meant so much to me, but the time has come for me to hang up her white coat, as I officially share the news that I will not be returning for the final season of New Amsterdam.”
Agyeman continued: “While I am saddened, I am also incredibly excited to see how the story concludes as a fan of the series. It has been such a joy to play Dr. Helen Sharpe for 4 seasons — those writers built a badass! Beyond grateful for the opportunity to tell some of her stories! Fanfic — it’s over to you to tell the rest!! Lots of love Fam!”
At the time, Schulner and Horton hinted at their plans to explore Max and Helen’s connection without their female lead. “We wish Freema the best of luck on her next chapter and the doors of New Amsterdam will always be open if she wishes to return! We are extremely proud of the impact Freema and Dr. Helen Sharpe have made over these past four seasons and are so grateful to have been a part of that story,” the duo said in a statement. “As we head into the fifth and final season, we want our #Sharpwin fans to know we still have a few surprises in store for them.”
After the finale, Schulner noted how important it was to not answer every question the viewers may have had.
“It just gave us the best of everything. As Peter always says, ‘Leaving a door open is better than [closing one].’ That was his one thing. First thing Peter said to me when we started producing the show, ‘Just a word of advice: Yes is almost always a better answer than no,’” the screenwriter said to ET. “And so leaving the door open is so much more satisfying than telling you what to think, telling you what happens exactly. Because then you get to participate in it. Then you get to be an active part of the show too.”
Scroll through for more answers to the series finale’s burning questions:
Credit: Youtube
‘New Amsterdam’ Creator David Schulner Answers Burning Questions After Series Finale: From Helen’s Absence to Max and Wilder’s Split
Coming to an end. Following New Amsterdam‘s emotional series finale, creator David Schulner and co-showrunner Peter Horton opened up about the show’s memorable conclusion.
In the final episode of the hit NBC show, Max Goodwin (Ryan Eggold) discovered that his ex, Helen Sharpe (Freema Agyeman), was behind the problematic experimental trial for the cancer cure drug he was about to sign off on.
Amid the shocking discovery, Max wrapped up his last day as medical director in order to be more present in daughter Luna’s (Nora and Opal Clow) life. The series ended on a hopeful note with a flash forward showing Luna following in her father’s footsteps as the new medical director.
Shortly after the two-hour finale aired on Tuesday, January 17, Schulner and Horton weighed in on what they felt was missing from the episode.
“We felt really satisfied with the endings we came up for everybody who was still with us. Obviously, we wish we could have had a great ending for Helen Sharpe and Freema, same thing with Anupam. They were such great characters in our show and such good actors,” Horton explained to Entertainment Weekly. “It would have been great to have been able to resolve their stories with as much freedom, so that’s a little frustrating. Otherwise, I feel good about where everyone ended up.”
For Schulner, knowing that the show was wrapping up helped their writing process.
“It was a blessing and a curse to know we were ending. A curse because we had more stories to tell and more places to go, and we thought we had a couple more years left,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “But a blessing because we got to end it on our terms and so few shows get to do that.”
In March 2022, NBC announced that season 5 would be the medical drama’s last. Fans were shocked when Agyeman later confirmed she would be exiting New Amsterdam ahead of its final chapter.
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“Dearest Dam Fam. First off I would like to say a huge heartfelt thank you for your unending, dedicated and deliciously ferocious support!” the Sense8 alum, who had been part of the show since 2018, told TVLine in a statement in July 2022. “I feel very fortunate to have connected with so many of you over these past few years, while rolling around in the skin of Ms. Helen Sharpe, and witness every ebb and flow of your emotional investment. What a ride! Thank you for being on it with me. She has meant so much to me, but the time has come for me to hang up her white coat, as I officially share the news that I will not be returning for the final season of New Amsterdam.”
Agyeman continued: “While I am saddened, I am also incredibly excited to see how the story concludes as a fan of the series. It has been such a joy to play Dr. Helen Sharpe for 4 seasons — those writers built a badass! Beyond grateful for the opportunity to tell some of her stories! Fanfic — it’s over to you to tell the rest!! Lots of love Fam!”
At the time, Schulner and Horton hinted at their plans to explore Max and Helen’s connection without their female lead. “We wish Freema the best of luck on her next chapter and the doors of New Amsterdam will always be open if she wishes to return! We are extremely proud of the impact Freema and Dr. Helen Sharpe have made over these past four seasons and are so grateful to have been a part of that story,” the duo said in a statement. “As we head into the fifth and final season, we want our #Sharpwin fans to know we still have a few surprises in store for them.”
After the finale, Schulner noted how important it was to not answer every question the viewers may have had.
“It just gave us the best of everything. As Peter always says, ‘Leaving a door open is better than [closing one].’ That was his one thing. First thing Peter said to me when we started producing the show, ‘Just a word of advice: Yes is almost always a better answer than no,'” the screenwriter said to ET. “And so leaving the door open is so much more satisfying than telling you what to think, telling you what happens exactly. Because then you get to participate in it. Then you get to be an active part of the show too.”
Scroll through for more answers to the series finale’s burning questions:
Credit: Youtube
Why Was Helen Missing From the Finale?
During an interview after the finale, Schulner said the show attempted to bring Helen back to wrap up her story.
“We wanted Freema back for the finale. That was our goal,” he told ET. “We knew Peter’s episode, episode 11, where that shot of her at the bar, we knew that we had that in the can, so we knew we could use that. But we were really hoping to have her in the finale. That would’ve been special. But we couldn’t make it work.”
Horton, for his part, added, “Yeah, we tried. We tried. And it just was timing.”
Credit: Youtube
Will Max and Wilder End Up Back Together in the Future?
The creator joked that fans would find out about Max and Wilder’s (Sandra Mae Frank) future in a reboot, telling EW, “Criminal Minds was canceled and then rebooted two years later. In our reboot, we will give you that answer.”
Meanwhile, Horton admitted that the writers were aiming for ambiguity with the last episode.
“I had a writer explain to me one time that there’s a difference between confusion and ambiguity. In storytelling you don’t want confusion, but you want ambiguity. We wanted to leave it hanging there for the audience to participate in it,” the executive producer shared. “If we tell them what happens they don’t get to imagine it and take whatever direction they want to take it in. We wanted to give them that freedom.”
Credit: Youtube
What Inspired the Reveal With Luna?
“Once we knew that essentially we were telling Luna’s origin story on the day she was inspired to be a doctor, we thought wouldn’t it be great to tell everyone’s origin story,” Schulner explained to E! News. “Because the thing we wanted the finale to honor was the actors we loved and the characters they created.”
Credit: Youtube
Were There More Stories to Tell?
According to Horton, the writers didn’t have the time they wanted to end the show with their original vision.
“I still think this thing could have, should have run for another couple years. There are still so many stories to tell and these characters are so interesting,” he detailed to Deadline. “David came up with just a raft of amazing characters and I want to know more about all of them. We’re No. 3 on Netflix right now. I don’t think the audience is ready for it to end, either.”
Schulner added that it was a “bit of a mystery” why the show was canceled ahead of its final season.
Credit: Youtube
Did the Writers Leave the Door Open for a Revival?
“I’m still in shock over it. Don’t all shows go 19 years?” Horton joked to ET. “But that’s part of the frustration is we really felt like this had a number of years left. What you’re pointing out is really a delicate path you walk, because you have to find that thing that’s satisfying, but not pat and not romanticized too much.”
He continued: “But that is also going to tell you enough that you feel satisfied by it, which is one of the reasons that we didn’t tell you what happened with Max and Wilder.”
Credit: Youtube
Were They Satisfied With the Show’s Ending?
Schulner revealed the team behind New Amsterdam was “never satisfied” with the final product. “We’re never content, we’re never satisfied. But no, please, we’ll give you our phone numbers, call us. We’ll do the reboot,” he quipped to ET.