History Series / NewAmsterdam2008

* TheAlcoholic: John was one in the past, but at the start of the series he'd been sober for 50+ years. He gives an honest count of 15,495 days of sobriety at an AA meeting in the pilot.

* TheAlcoholic: John was one in the past, but at the start of the series he'd been sober for 50+ years. He gives an accurate count of his days of sobriety at an AA meeting in the pilot.
* BlackGalOnWhiteGuyDrama: John had a relationship with Lily, a black woman in the 1940s, and ended up getting her pregnant with [[spoiler:Omar]], his latest child. Due to the racial segregation of the period, they tried to keep it a secret until her father took her back home, berating John for becoming involved with a woman he couldn't publicly provide for. After fighting in World War II, John returned to take care of her after their son was born.

** When Eva asks how Amsterdam knows how to read lips, he off-hand remarks "lost my hearing for a few months from a mortar shell while storming Normandy." She just rolls her eyes.

* MalignedMixedMarriage: John has a relationship with a black woman in the 1940s, but the racial segregation of the time makes it difficult for them to have anything other than a SecretRelationship. The woman's father gives John an earful when she becomes pregnant, expecting that he would not provide for the child. John defies his words and marries her anyway (New York State ''never'' passed anti-miscegenation laws, so the issue is clearly just social pressure).

* OffTheWagon: After John [[spoiler: dies of a heart attack, then [[WakingUpAtTheMorgue awakens to find himself with a toe tag]]]], he shows up at Omar's and pours himself a drink.

* BlessedWithSuck: John was mortally wounded saving the life of a Native American woman, who in return granted him eternal life and youth, which would only be undone once he finds his soulmate. He will know who she is by "feeling it in his heart." In the pilot John suffers a heart attack on a subway platform and dies, but he wakes up in the morgue. John is convinced this means his soulmate was on that platform, zeroing in on Sara, the doctor who tried to save him. Unfortunately, the series was cancelled before we found out whether it was Sara, or someone else on the platform, or perhaps someone he'd just met a few minutes ago, or if it even was the presence of "the one" that caused the heart attack.

* TheAlcoholic: John was one in the past, but at the start of the series he'd been sober for 50+ years.

* BlessedWithSuck: John saved the life of a Native American woman, who in return granted him eternal life and youth, which would only be undone once he finds his soulmate, who he will know by "feeling it in his heart". Unfortunately, this means he suffers a heart attack that would normally be fatal once he gets near her (that is, if Sara really is his soulmate - or someone else on the platform, or someone he'd just met…). Unfortunately the series was cancelled before we found out for sure.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Everyone thinks Amsterdam is one.

** When Eva asks how Amsterdam knows sign language, he off-hand remarks "lost my hearing for a few months from a mortar shell while storming Normandy." She just rolls her eyes.

** Amsterdam usually answers questions about his past honestly, but understandably, no one takes him seriously.
--> '''Eva:''' He has a really weird sense of humor.

* EternalSexualFreedom: {{Averted}} somewhat with the second episode during a flashback set in the early 1940s, where John fathers a baby out of wedlock with a black women named Lily. She gets fired when her employer sees her with a white man, and previously had to enter the hotel where they met through a service elevator. Her father becomes very upset with them both, and says they can never make it in the world (at this point, interracial marriage was illegal in most states, for one). The hotel staff react more reasonably than you would expect in real life in the 1940s, but they may not have known John and Lily were together (or it might not have been ''completely'' uncommon if a white man had an affair with a black woman). Lily herself breaks it off, knowing they'll be together in the long run. It turns out like this after she gets pregnant, and when they reunite in the black hospital after she has their baby, there are some very pointed looks. John also mentions that he's fathered many other children down the centuries as well (we meet one of them in a flashback, and his descendants).
* ExpansionPackPast: Amsterdam has been a history teacher, furniture maker, painter, battlefield medic, coachman, lawyer, comedian, and a soldier multiple times.

* ExpositionOfImmortality: The pilot episode has John take a photograph of Times Square and put it on a board near other photos of the square from past years, dating back since photography was invented. Other people are also surprised at his intimate knowledge of old things, such as knowing about a club that used to be a speakeasy in TheRoaringTwenties. He also goes to AA meetings and honestly tells them (in days) how long he's been sober (''over fifty years''). When somebody does the math and tries to catch him on that, he simply claims that he looks young for his age. Oh, and then there's the reveal that his friend Omar York (who is 65 years old) is really [[spoiler:his son]].

* WeHaveToGetTheBulletOut: An episode has John help an old colleague who is dying of lead poisoning from a bullet that was never extracted.
* WhodunnitToMe

* ProductDisplacement: The montage at the end of the first episode showed Times Square change over the years, but with all the branding replaced with generic products. Apparently, Mom's Homemade Pies could afford large billboard space during the 1940s.

* ReadingLips: Yet another skill that John has picked up over his ''long'' life.

* ExpositionOfImmortality: The pilot episode has John paint a picture of Times Square and put it on a board near other paintings of the square from past years, dating back hundreds of years ago. Other people are also surprised at his intimate knowledge of old things, such as knowing about a club that used to be a speakeasy in TheRoaringTwenties. He also goes to AA meetings and honestly tells them (in days) how long he's been sober (''over fifty years''). When somebody does the math and tries to catch him on that, he simply claims that he looks young for his age. Oh, and then there's the reveal that his friend Omar York (who is 65 years old) is really [[spoiler:his son]].

* ActuallyIAmHim: A variation. When Omar needs cash, Amsterdam is shown carving up an intricate piece of furniture. Omar sells it with the dealer gushing about how it feels to find a near-pristine piece by a famous designer of a century earlier. While not stated, the implication is Amsterdam ''was'' the designer and happy his work still appreciated.

* BlessedWithSuck: John saved the life of a Native American woman, who in return granted him eternal life and youth, which would only be undone once he finds his soulmate, who he will know by "feeling it in his heart". Unfortunately, this means he suffers a heart attack that would normally be fatal once he gets near her (that is, if Sara really is his soulmate). Unfortunately the series was cancelled before we found out for sure.

* CutShort: The series was cancelled after the eight episode, without resolving the plot. Though the only reason we got the show at all was due to the 2007 Writers' Strike.
* DefiledForever: The episode "Honor" has an Indian-American rape victim being [[HonorRelatedAbuse killed by her father]] because she's no longer a virgin. The flashbacks to the John's past also revealed that he had previously held the same notion that a woman who loses her virginity is defiled, until he discovered that she had in fact been raped.

He uses his 400 years of experience to [[TheyFightCrime solve crime]], all the while looking for his true love (who's the only one that can [[WhoWantsToLiveForever cure him of his immortality]]).

* MalignedMixedMarriage: John has a relationship with a black women in the 1940s, but the social values of the time make it difficult for them to have anything other than a SecretRelationship. The woman's father gives John an earful when she becomes pregnant, expecting that he would not provide for the child. John defies his words and marries her anyway (New York State ''never'' passed anti-miscegenation laws, so the issue is clearly just social pressure).
* MagicalNativeAmerican: John was made immortal by a Native American shaman after taking a bullet meant for her.

* CassandraTruth: Amsterdam usually answers questions about his past honestly, but understandably, no one takes him seriously.

* MassiveNumberedOffspring: John has 67 children for 400 years and has to keep a chart to avoid SurpriseIncest.

Not to be confused with the medical drama Series/NewAmsterdam2018.

* TheAgeless: John Amsterdam has physically been 35 years old since the 1600s. In the pilot he suddenly dies when it seems like he might have had an encounter with his true love, but he [[ResurrectiveImmortality resurrects]] and walks out of the morgue.

* BlackGalOnWhiteGuyDrama: There's an episode where the immortal John Amsterdam had a relationship with a black woman in the 1940s and impregnates her with his latest child. Due to the racial segregation of the period, they try to keep it a secret until her father takes her back home, berating John for becoming involved with a woman he couldn't publicly provide for. After fighting in World War II, John returns to take care of her after she's delivered their child.
* BlessedWithSuck: John saves the life of a Native American woman, who in return grants him eternal life and youth until he finds his soul mate, who he will know by feeling it in his heart. Unfortunately, this means he suffers a heart attack that would normally be fatal once he gets near her (that is if Sara really is his soul mate. Unfortunately the series was cancelled before we found out for sure).

* DefiledForever: The episode "Honor" has an Indian-American rape victim being [[HonorRelatedAbuse killed by her father]] because she's no longer a virgin. The flashbacks to the immortal's past also revealed that the protagonist had previously held the same notion that a woman who loses her virginity is defiled, until he discovered that she had in fact been raped.

* EternalSexualFreedom: {{Averted}} somewhat with the second episode during a flashback set in the early 1940s, where John fathers a baby out of wedlock with a black women named Lily. She gets fired when her employer sees her with a white man, and previously had to enter the hotel where they met through a service elevator. Her father becomes very upset with them both, and says they can never make it in the world (at this point interracial marriage was illegal in most states, for one). The hotel staff react more reasonably than you would expect in real life in the 1940s, but they may not have known John and Lily were together (or it might not have been ''completely'' uncommon if a white man had an affair with a black woman). Lily herself breaks it off, knowing they'll be together in the long run. It turns out like this after she gets pregnant, and when they reunite in the black hospital after she has their baby, there are some very pointed looks. John also mentions that he's fathered many other children down the centuries as well (we meet one of them in a flashback, and his descendants).

-->'''John''': ''The Army three times, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard; not the Air Force, don't like heights.''

* {{Flashback}}: The short-lived show has John do flashbacks occasionally, starting with the pilot, where he remembers how he was mortally wounded defending a MagicalNativeAmerican woman, who repaid him by making him immortal until he found his soul mate. Oftentimes, he remembers past lovers (each time, he thought she was "the one"), children, and dogs.

* HonorRelatedAbuse: The episode "Honor" has an Indian-American woman that was raped and then a victim of an honor killing.

* ImmortalProcreationClause: Totally {{averted}}; Amsterdam's had kids all over the place. Likely part of the above. After all, [[OutlivingOnesOffspring outliving any children sucks]]. Being cursed to outlive ALL your children...

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: John Amsterdam is an immortal man who has lived in the New York area since the 1600s. He's seen generations come and go, and most of his children and their subsequent children have all died in the interim. He's at the point where he's occasionally running into his great-grandchildren, and has to keep a chart of all his relatives to prevent becoming intimate with an unknowing blood relation. His latest son is physically in his 60s during the present day and has his own grandchildren.
* PapaWolf: One episode covers a case where John discovers a victim was one of his sons, to the point of personally finding the murderer himself.

* PurposeDrivenImmortality: The series had a similar premise to ''Forever'' (see Literature) with John Amsterdam, where he would live as long as necessary to find true love (he didn't have the "don't leave Manhattan" part). It led to some plagiarism accusations.

* ExpositionOfImmortality: The pilot episode has John paint a picture of Times Square and put it on a board near other paintings of the square from past years, dating back hundreds of years ago. Other people are also surprised at his intimate knowledge of old things, such as knowing about a club that used to be a speakeasy in TheRoaringTwenties. He also goes to AA meetings and honestly tells them (in days) how long he's been sober (''over fifty years''). When somebody does the math and tries to catch him on that, he simply claims that he looks young for his age. Oh, and then there's the reveal that his BlackBestFriend Omar York (who is 65 years old) is really [[spoiler:his son]].

* HonorRelatedAbuse: Episode Honor has an Indian-American woman that was raped and then a victim of on honor killing.

* LivingDistantAncestor: In one case Amsterdam investigates the murder of one of his descendants, while his most recent son has grandkids of his own.

* TheWarOnTerror: John took his current name and joined the NYPD because of 9/11.

* {{Fanservice}}: John's penchant for nude swims.

* HistoricalPersonPunchline: "Soldier's Heart". Walt the orderly turns out to be Creator/WaltWhitman.

* MagicalNegro: A bizarre twist and possible {{subversion}}: the protagonist's mentor who gives him sage advice and a beer whenever he needs to unwind and talk about his troubles, while a very stereotypical grizzled and kindly old black man, is also...the protagonist's son. Such are the vagaries of being an unaging immortal (the kind who can have kids but can't pass on the immortality).

* UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands: John's original home, back in the 17th century.

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: John Amsterdam is an immortal man who has lived in the New York area since the 1600s. He's seen generations come and go, and his children and their subsequent children have all died in the interim. He's at the point where he's occasionally running into his great-grandchildren, and has to keep a chart of all his relatives to prevent becoming intimate with an unknowing blood relation. His latest son is physically in his 60s during the present day and has his own grandchildren.

* SecretKeeper: Omar (and at least one other kid of John's) in regards to their father's immortality (not that anyone's likely to believe them anyway -- though now that DNA tests have come into existence...)