Fall TV season is fast-approaching with the return of New Amsterdam, and it's already clear that Season 4 is going to serve up even more complications than were already set up in the third season finale. And that's saying something! A new character is on the way, and the casting news indicates that her arrival could mean the loss of multiple characters in Season 4, following a third season that saw the departure of Anupam Kher's Vijay Kapoor, not to mention others like Ella and Cassian. Michelle Forbes is on board New Amsterdam as a doctor who could be a game-changer.
Michelle Forbes, who recently had a juicy role on ABC's Big Sky, will recur in Season 4 of New Amsterdam as Dr. Veronica Fuentes, who TVLine reports is a fixer who arrives at New Amsterdam to "reconstruct" the hospital as it is failing. Unafraid and steady in her goals, Dr. Fuentes will reportedly begin her time at the hospital by cleaning house of the "inept board" to try and reverse New Amsterdam's downward trend. Now, the board isn't exactly packed with major characters, with the exception of Debra Monk's Karen Brantley, but their en masse dismissal would undoubtedly mean some big changes to day-to-day life at New Amsterdam if that ultimately happens.
Considering the downward trend of the hospital might well be tied to the occasions of the board signing off on some of Max's more altruistic but impractical plans, I can imagine Dr. Fuentes' arrival as bad news for him as well, which would mean that any potential happy-go-lucky honeymoon period after making the jump into romance with Helen could be short-lived. Dr. Fuentes sounds like a very different character from Margaret Kleinsasser, who Michelle Forbes played on Big Sky during the second half of the ABC drama's first season. That character reportedly won't be back for Season 2, so New Amsterdam will keep Forbes in primetime!
Max isn't the only character who might not want any extra scrutiny from any newcomers in the third season, considering how Season 3 ended. Lauren Bloom evidently crossed some lines to make sure that Leyla would get a residency spot at New Amsterdam, seemingly with a bribe, although the episode didn't explicitly confirm what Bloom did. Reynolds found himself in a complicated new situation after getting a promotion and being set up for a strong working partnership with the Chair of General Surgery... who turned out to be Lyn's husband.
For his part, Iggy came to the conclusion that he would no longer see patients after his ordeal with Chance. And of course Helen and Max made big decisions about each other, although Helen still has some loose ends over in the U.K., and the new peace between Max and Georgia's parents regarding Luna might not last forever, considering the kind of luck he's had.
With Dr. Fuentes thrown into the mix, I can already imagine everything turning upside down for the doctors who were accustomed to the status quo that they reached after all the tumult of how the hospital had to deal with COVID. Michelle Forbes is only on board as a recurring cast member at this point, however, so it's probably safe to say that Dr. Fuentes won't be hovering over Max and Co. on a weekly basis after dismissing the board.
New Amsterdam will return to NBC for Season 4 on Tuesday, September 21 at 10 p.m. ET. If you want to revisit earlier seasons of the show during the remaining weeks before the fourth season premiere, you can find all three seasons so far streaming on Peacock! As for what else is coming to television in the not-too-distant future, our 2021 fall TV premiere schedule can point you in the right directions.
