Created by Jack Amiel, Michael Begler, and Gregory Jacobs, The Knick centers on the surgeons, nurses, and staff at Knickerbocker Hospital as they deal with high mortality rates and zero antibiotics. While Dr. John Thackery (Clive Owen) wrestles with an opiate addiction and ambitions to do great things in his profession, Dr. Algernon Edwards (Andre Holland) must fight for respect in an all-white hospital that’s been less than hospitable to him. In addition to Owen and Holland, The Knick stars Juliet Rylance (Sinister), Eve Hewson (This Must Be the Place), Michael Angarano (Will & Grace), Chris Sullivan (The Normal Heart), and Cara Seymour (An Education).

The series premiere of The Knick is set to air Friday, August 8th at 10:00 on Cinemax. You can check out a trailer for the series here, as well as spoilers for the first three episodes below.

FRIDAY, AUG. 8 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) – “Method and Madness”
In 1900, John W. Thackery (Clive Owen), a brilliant yet tortured doctor working at the Knickerbocker Hospital in New York, ascends to the role of chief surgeon after the unexpected departure of his mentor, J.M. Christiansen (Matt Frewer). Though Thackery wants Everett Gallinger (Eric Johnson), his own protégé, to take over the assistant chief position, Cornelia Robertson (Juliet Rylance), daughter of the hospital’s major benefactor, insists he hire Algernon Edwards (André Holland), a talented black doctor who trained in London and Paris. Edwards encounters enmity and resentment on his first day at the Knick, but his desire to remain prevails after joining Thackery, Gallinger, Dr. Bertram “Bertie” Chickering, Jr. (Michael Angarano) and Nurse Lucy Elkins (Eve Hewson) in the operating theater for a daring surgical procedure.
Other CINEMAX playdates: Aug. 8 (11:00 p.m., midnight, 2:30 a.m.), 9 (9:00 p.m., 12:05 a.m.), 10 (12:15 p.m.), 11 (8:00 p.m., 12:45 a.m.), 12 (10:00 p.m.), 13 (9:00 p.m.), 20 (8:00 p.m.), 27 (7:00 p.m.), 29 (8:00 p.m.) and 31 (2:30 p.m.)

FRIDAY, AUG. 15 (10:00-11:00 p.m.) – “Mr. Paris Shoes”
Already fuming over the hospital’s faulty new electrical system, Thackery tasks Herman Barrow (Jeremy Bobb), the Knick’s crooked superintendent, to deliver more cadavers so that he and his team can test out novel surgical procedures. With more patients dying, Edwards offers to share a procedure he learned in France, but is rebuffed by Thackery and Gallinger. Robertson addresses a typhoid-fever outbreak; Elkins is taken into Thackery’s confidence; Sister Harriet (Cara Seymour) breaks a taboo. Edwards finds an alternative way to perform his duties.
Other CINEMAX playdates: Aug. 15 (11:00 p.m., 1:15 a.m.), 16 (9:00 p.m., midnight), 17 (12:50 p.m.), 18 (8:00 p.m., 12:30 a.m.), 19 (10:00 p.m.), 20 (9:00 p.m.), 27 (8:00 p.m.), 29 (9:00 p.m.) and 31 (3:30 p.m.)

FRIDAY, AUG. 22 (10:00-11:00 p.m.) – “The Busy Flea”
Thackery weighs performing surgery on a former flame, and orders Gallinger and Chickering to experiment on pigs. Barrow goes to extremes in order to pay off a debt and recover a missing tooth. After a bad day at work, Edwards takes out his frustrations at a local bar. Robertson is relieved when her pleas about treating a patient with typhoid fever are finally heard.
Other CINEMAX playdates: Aug. 22 (11:00 p.m., 1:40 a.m.), 23 (9:00 p.m., 12:10 a.m.), 24 (2:40 p.m.), 25 (8:00 p.m., 1:40 a.m.), 26 (10:00 p.m.), 27 (8:50 p.m.), 29 (9:50 p.m.) and 31 (4:20 p.m.)

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Created by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler (Raising Helen), The Knick tells the story of Knickerbocker Hospital and its groundbreaking surgeons, nurses, and staff, all of whom navigate a medical field with high mortality rates and zero antibiotics.

Cable tends to stay away from medical and legal series unless there’s a twist in the formula that wouldn’t work on broadcast, so it should be interesting to see how The Knick will play with the form of a medical drama and individualize itself in a crowded genre. Owen’s performance and the distinct style of Soderbergh are two very good starts toward differentiating itself and drawing an audience to Cinemax, with the trailer an elegant and stylish showcase for what could be the network’s next big thing, but it’ll have to do more to stand out in a television landscape that has shown that star power (Michael J. Fox, Robin Williams, Debra Messing) isn’t the shortcut to success that it used to be.

In addition to Owen, The Knick stars the likes of Andre Holland (1600 Penn), Eve Hewson (Enough Said), Jeremy Bobb (Hostages), Juliet Rylance (Frances Ha), and Michael Angarano (Will & Grace).

The series premiere of The Knick is set for Friday, August 8th at 10:00 on Cinemax.

Will you be watching The Knick? Do you think a medical drama can work on a network like Cinemax? Are you surprised that someone like Owen would come to series television at this point in his career?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_xvw-_YJSo

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Though it currently doesn’t have any other cast members, or an announced list of roles that will be cast in the near future, The Knick will mark a departure from the typical mainstream Cinemax series, typically heavy on action (Hunted) and violence (Banshee, Strike Back). While Knickerbocker Hospital was forced to survive at a time of high medical mortality rates and little to zero antibiotics, it’ll be interesting to see how the network’s audiences react to what could be a drastic change in content. There’ll be some blood and gore, as is the nature of medical dramas and period pieces, but will audiences react well to not seeing the pain inflicted directly on screen?

This marks Owen’s first foray into scripted American television, though he’s no stranger to HBO (Cinemax’s parent network), having starred in last year’s Hemingway & Gelhorn, for which he was nominated for an Emmy. Aside from a string of television movies and a one-off appearance in the series finale of Extras, his last television appearance came in 1996’s Sharman, where he played the title character.

Soderbergh, who won an Oscar for Traffic, isn’t completely unfamiliar with television, either, having acted as producer for HBO’s K Street and Unscripted, both one-season wonders. Aside from his directorial work on K Street, the last time he was involved in television directing was Fallen Angels, a 30-minute crime series that he directed episodes of in 1993 and 1995.

Does The Knick sound like something that could be a great series? Are you excited to have Clive Owen on American television? Who do you think should join the cast?

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