The Knick

Cinemax launched a gritty historical drama in August 2014 that placed viewers inside the chaotic operating rooms of New York City's Knickerbocker Hospital. Created by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler, the series follows Dr. John Thackery, played by Clive Owen, a brilliant but troubled chief surgeon pushing the limits of early twentieth-century medicine while battling a severe cocaine addiction. The show ran for two seasons and twenty episodes before ending in December 2015. The cast features strong performances from André Holland as Dr. Algernon Edwards, one of the first African American surgeons to practice in the city, and Eve Hewson as Lucy Elkins, a nurse with her own ambitions. Juliet Rylance and Charles Aitken round out the ensemble as members of the hospital's wealthy board who fund the institution. Critics praised the raw violence of the surgical scenes and the unflinching look at racial segregation within the medical field. The series earned a solid rating of 7.85 out of 10 and established itself as a bold entry in the medical genre.[edit]