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The Knick is an American period medical drama television series on Cinemax created by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler and directed by Steven Soderbergh. The series follows Dr. John W. Thackery (Clive Owen) and the staff at a fictionalized version of the Knickerbocker Hospital (the Knick) in New York City during the early twentieth century. Amiel and Begler wrote the majority of the episodes and are executive producers. Owen, Soderbergh, Gregory Jacobs, and Michael Sugar (Anonymous Content) were executive producers.
The 10-episode first season of The Knick premiered on Cinemax on August 8, 2014. Another season, also 10 episodes long, followed on October 16, 2015. In March 2017, Cinemax announced the series was canceled. In 2020, Soderbergh confirmed that a new season of The Knick was in development led by Barry Jenkins, and that Amiel and Begler have written a pilot episode. In 2023, Begler confirmed that a spin-off series was still in development, with the pilot set in 1919 Harlem.
Contents
Premise
In New York City in 1900, the Knickerbocker Hospital operates with inventive surgeons, nurses and staff who struggle against the limitations of medical understanding and practice to minimize morbidity and mortality. Dr. John Thackery (partially based on historical figure William Stewart Halsted), the new leader of the surgery staff, balances his cocaine and opium addictions against his ambition for medical discovery and his reputation among his peers. Dr. Algernon Edwards, a Harvard-educated Black American surgeon (probably based on the historical Daniel Hale Williams and Louis T. Wright) who trained in Paris, and is much more qualified than any other candidate, must fight for respect among the all-white hospital staff, as well as in the racially charged city. While struggling to remain financially solvent, the hospital attempts to attract a wealthy clientele, without sacrificing quality of care.
