New Amsterdam series finale: Why didn’t Freema Agyeman return?

We imagine that there are a few questions out there about the New Amsterdam series finale but for this article, let’s tackle one in particular: Why didn’t we see Freema Agyeman back as Dr. Helen Sharpe? She was such a huge part of the show, let alone someone who cared deeply for Max for many years. Given that so much of the series finale was about honoring these characters, it felt wrong to not have her be a part of it — even if Helen was no longer at the hospital.

In a new statement to TVLine, showrunner David Schulner makes it clear that Freema was interested in coming back but, unfortunately, scheduling issues kept it from happening:

“[Freema] was totally up for returning for the season finale … It’s our one regret that her and Anupam Kher — his character [Dr. Kapoor] died, obviously, on the show — but we would have loved to honor those characters and actors as well in the finale, but we just couldn’t make it work.”

Both Schulner and fellow EP Peter Horton indicated further that they never wanted Freema to leave in the first place, but it was ultimately her choice to do so. We do think that some of the changes made throughout the final season have been polarizing with fans, especially since the “Sharpwin” relationship was the heart of the story for so long. We recognize the need to push forward without Helen if Agyeman wanted to move on, but we certainly think the series did not make it easy on itself.

If you do miss seeing Freema on TV, we know that she’s got some other things in the works — we do think she’ll be remembered by a lot of people for playing Helen, and understandably so given all of the heart and passion she brought to the part over time.

Related – Check out some more information now on New Amsterdam, including more of what happened in the series finale

Are you sad that Freema Agyeman did not appear in the New Amsterdam series finale?

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