REALITY TV
TV
MOVIES
MUSIC
CELEBRITY
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Accuracy & Fairness Corrections & Clarifications Ethics Code Your Ad Choices
© MEAWW All rights reserved
MEAWW.COM / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

5 shows like medical drama ‘New Amsterdam' with pandemic plot: 'Chicago Med' to 'The Good Doctor', here's full list

Fans are desperately awaiting Season 3, to see how the pandemic episode plays out, but until then there are shows similar to 'New Amsterdam' that depict the pandemic consequences
PUBLISHED NOV 5, 2020
(NBC/ABC)
(NBC/ABC)

Since the pandemic began this year, many productions across the entertainment industry took a hit when it came to costs. Therefore, they either wrapped up the production or halted it for a while to prevent the loss. Many creators also got creative and produced shows that echo the current sentiment of the pandemic, one of them is HBO's 'Coastal Elites' starring Sarah Paulson.

But, in most cases, production has started back up with sets taking extreme precautions such as administering multiple Covid-19 tests and asking staff and artistes to follow quarantine rules when required. Amid this scenario, a lot of shows that were either cut short or halted, will eventually come back from this month. For many of us, this is the first pandemic we've lived through, and naturally many creators thought it would make sense to incorporate it into their shows. Especially, shows that are medical dramas.

NBC's 'New Amsterdam' shelved its pandemic episode as it was filmed before the real pandemic hit, and was eerily scary to put out. There is no concrete release date for the series as of yet, but we know that their pandemic episode will air at a future date. Of course, fans are desperately awaiting Season 3, to see how the pandemic episode plays out, but until then there are medical dramas similar to 'New Amsterdam' that will tackle or have already tackled the pandemic in their shows. Here the 5 series that you should watch to avoid missing 'New Amsterdam'.

There are spoilers for 'The Resident', 'Station 19', 'Grey’s Anatomy', 'Chicago Med' and 'The Good Doctor' ahead.

'The Resident'

'The Resident' (Fox)

Season 4 of 'The Resident' reportedly will tackle the coronavirus pandemic in the premiere episode. The Fox series will include the pandemic's outbreak into their storyline. Co-creator Amy Holden Jones told Us Weekly, “Our premiere deals with the early days of the outbreak, focusing on the effect on our hero doctors and nurses as they risk their lives daily. Long-term, sadly, the after-effects of COVID-19 will go on, even after we have a vaccine, and we’ll be there to show that, as well.” The series has a huge fan base. According to TV Line, the show has medical professionals, Dr Daniela Lamas and MD Eric Lu, who have co-written the pandemic-based premiere episode. The publication also revealed that the series has a nurse on-set who has been helping during the pandemic in New York and Texas. Fox has confirmed that due to delay in production, the series will be coming back next year.

'Station 19' and 'Grey’s Anatomy'

'Grey's Anatomy' (ABC)

The reason we are speaking about the above two series together is that they both share the same showrunner Krista Vernoff. Vernoff at the 'Quaranstreaming: Comfort TV That Keeps Us Going' the online panel said, "We're going to address this pandemic for sure. There's no way to be a long-running medical show and not do the medical story of our lifetimes." She had also revealed that the writers of 'Grey's Anatomy' are meeting with doctors that were on the frontlines who have shared their experiences. "The doctors come in and we're the first people they're talking to about these types of experiences they're having. They are literally shaking and trying not to cry, they're pale, and they're talking about it as war - a war that they were not trained for. I feel like our show has an opportunity and a responsibility to tell some of those stories."

According to The Seattle Times, Vernoff did debate on a "non-pandemic world" when it came to the fictional series. "Things are so dire right now and the social isolation has been so difficult, people are looking for an escape. I wanted to give them escapism. Ultimately, we found a way to do both.” We have no idea what the specific storyline will adhere to - real stories of Seattle and it's patients or just the pandemic in general - but it seems that we are all set for some extremely emotional episodes. The 'Station 19' and 'Grey's Anatomy' crossover event begins with the Season 4 premiere of 'Station 19' at 8 pm ET on Thursday, November 12, 2020, followed by two episodes of 'Grey's Anatomy' starting at 9 pm ET - both on ABC.

'Chicago Med'

'Chicago Med' (NBC)

According to reports, executive producers Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider revealed in an email, "There was no question that we would include the pandemic. The question was, what would be the balance between COVID and non-COVID stories. We wanted to show that regardless of the pandemic, other medical conditions have not gone away and still need to be treated." The synopsis of the Season 6 premiere reads, "In the season six premiere, the entire staff at Chicago Med adjusts to the new normal of the pandemic. Dr Choi, Dr Lanik, and April fight on the front lines. Dr Halstead and Hannah face a troubling reality. Dr Charles tries to clear the air with his daughter following recent developments."

'Chicago Med' Season 6 premieres at 8 pm on Wednesday, November 11, 2020, on NBC.

'The Good Doctor'

'The Good Doctor' (ABC)

The two-part series opener went headfirst into the pandemic storyline with the St Bonaventure Hospital staff on the frontlines of a deadly pandemic. The episode portrayed the real-life experiences coupled with the heroes that had actually gone through this in reality. Dr Lim (Christina Chang) deals with lack of Covid-19 test kits among other medical supplies needed, Dr Glassman (Richard Schiff) works from home because of his age and health concerns, protagonist autistic surgeon Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) deals with how he can help patients coming in. Dr Andrews sleeps in the garage so his family could be safe, while Dr Park (Will Yun Lee) moves with Shaun to protect his family. Dr Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) and nurse Deena Petringa (Karin Konoval) get exposed to the virus. It was an intense episode to say in the least.

According to The Seattle Times, the November 9th episode of the ABC series will tackle the pandemic on a deeper level. Actor Hill Harper, who plays the role of Dr Marcus Andrews, had moved to Seattle in the first season of the series. He did this so his four-year-old son could attend a foreign language immersion school. He commutes to Seattle, to still play his role as Andrews on the hit series. Speaking about the pandemic, he said, “My character has a wife and obviously I don’t want to risk infection for her so that starts to beg the question, how do you interact in your off-time when you know you are at extremely high risk of infection? We’ve heard multiple stories from doctors and nurses about the way they’ve had to live through the earlier, most dangerous parts of the pandemic and how they can’t live at home. In many ways, it’s a very isolating experience.”

'The Good Doctor' Season 4 released on November 2, 2020, and airs on Mondays at 10 pm on ABC. There are many shows, including some medical dramas, that either will feature or have already featured pandemic in their storyline. 'You', 'Brooklyn 99', 'This is Us', 'Shameless', 'NCIS: New Orleans', 'The Conners' and 'Superstore' are some of them.

RELATED TOPICS SHAMELESS GREY'S ANATOMY NEW AMSTERDAM NCIS
POPULAR ON MEAWW
MORE ON MEAWW