New Amsterdam
Fox. Premieres March 4, at 9 p.m.
You’ll be relieved to know that although New York homicide detective John Amsterdam is immortal, he is not a vampire. Instead, he is a 400-year-old Dutch soldier who was gutted while protecting a Native American maiden from genocidal Europeans, after which indigenous shamans promised he will live forever, solving crimes and saving lives, at least until he finds his one true love. Having reviewed the pilot last fall, I was skeptical. But the resulting series features trick photography, murder, romance, and—much like the Fox Terminator series—more clever ideas and witty jokes, not to mention cool jazz, than the audience expects or deserves. I won’t reveal the father-son secret, but mention must be made of a Delmore Schwartz reference, as well as a taste for paradox: “To die is what makes life worth living.” Nikolaj Coster-Waldau plays the immortal cop who also makes furniture; Zuleikha Robinson is the partner who has doubts about him.