NBC’s ‘New Amsterdam’ Pickup Raises Questions About ‘Chicago Med’

The first pilot-to-series order for the 2018-2019 TV season is another medical drama. NBC picked up New Amsterdam, which has led to questions about the future of Chicago Med.

NBC picked up New Amsterdam back on May 4. The series is essentially an in-house drama, since it is produced by sister studio Universal TV. It was formerly know as Bellevue and was written by David Schulner (Emerald City), reports Deadline.

Ryan Eggold (The Blacklist, The Blacklist: Redemption) stars as the brilliant and charming Dr. Max Goodwin, who wants to fight the bureaucracy at America’s oldest public hospital. The rest of the cast includes Freema Agyeman, Janet Montgomery, Jocko Sims, Anupam Kher and Tyler Labine.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the script was inspired by executive producer Dr. Eric Manheimer’s memoir Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital.

NBC previously had two medical dramas on in the same season when Chicago Med and The Night Shift were both on, although they were never on the schedule at the same time. There is a good chance that New Amsterdam and Chicago Med could be on the schedule at the same time if Med is picked up for another season. The series has not been renewed for season four, but then again, NBC still has not officially renewed any of its dramas for next season.

According to TV Series Finale, Chicago Med‘s third season averaged 6.7 million viewers, which was up from the previous season. It also averaged a 1.24 18-49 rating.

Although medical dramas are always popular with audiences, there could be another renaissance ushered in by the success of ABC’s The Good Doctor. ABC also had no issue with two medical dramas on the schedule at the same time this year, since it is also home to Grey’s Anatomy.

NBC’s 2018 pilot slate also includes L.A.’s Finest, a spin-off from the Bad Boys movie franchise, which is likely to be picked up. According to Deadline, The Village, an ensemble drama set in an apartment, and the thriller No Way Back with Raul Esparza are also still being considered. The peacock network also has a handful of sitcom pilots, including Norman Lear’s Guess Who Died with Christopher Lloyd and Bright Futures with Emily Ratajkowski.

The new New Amsterdam is not a revival of Fox’s 2008 series of the same name, which starred a pre-Game of Thrones Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as an immortal detective in New York.

For a full list of NBC’s pilots, click here.

Photo credit: Francisco Roman/NBC