by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Welcome to Cross-Platform Partners! In honor of a new movie release, I have selected a TV show to watch to pair with the movie. Think of it as a way to get hyped for the new movie, a preview of things to come, a means to tide you over if the movie won’t be released where you live for a little while, or a change of pace if you’ve run out of related movies or sequels.
February has become a decent month for box office returns. When looking at the slate of movies, I saw potential in a few different movies. As much as I wanted to find something to pair with Cocaine Bear, it was just too hard to find a show to pair with it. I also made a commitment to do only one comic book show this year, which means Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was out too. In the end, I chose Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike’s Last Dance, and matched it up with a show that’s been on my radar for quite a while. Soderbergh is a director that I’m always willing to support, so this month’s selection is The Knick, the only jewel in the Cinemax original content crown.
I’ve always been interested in shows like The Knick. It’s a period piece that showcases how something was before technology. We’ve seen plenty of medical shows touting life-saving surgical techniques that help with diseases and injuries. I immediately knew in the pilot what we’d be dealing with: a surgery with minimal pain management, with someone hand-cranking a suction to get blood out of the way. It’s crazy to think that once upon a time, that was the cutting edge of medical technology, and even crazier that it was once significantly worse than that. As a period piece, the costumes, sets, and props are all outstanding. Props to the creative team for figuring out how to make The Knick look as authentic as possible. The Knickerbocker hospital looks amazing, from the beds, to the equipment, to the nurses’ and doctors’ uniforms.
The medical industry in the early 20th century had its fair share of innovations, but The Knick also showcases all the struggles doctors had during this timeframe. Challenges with funding, security, and supplies dominated the conversation, and The Knick still manages to show issues like questionable pain methods, people viewing surgery in less than sterile environments, people not paying for their procedures, and staffing issues. It must have been a nightmare to practice medicine during this time, and they don’t even have to deal with people suing a doctor for alleged malpractice. Scientific discovery plays a huge role in this show. It’s what drives Dr. John Thackery (Clive Owen) to be great. But when scientific discoveries include x-rays and using a vacuum to suction blood out, truly standing out must have been difficult.
I don’t understand why Owen isn’t a bigger star in Hollywood. He’s extremely talented, and has a diverse résumé of amazing performances. Owen is other-worldly in The Knick. He plays Dr. Thackery to perfection. He struggles with the weight of expectations that he places on himself to make medical discoveries. He’s constantly pushing himself, and he’s struggling with addiction. Owen has to play a lot of different roles: a man struggling with himself, crippled under the weight of potential notoriety for saving people, and a revered doctor who saves lives. I think this would have made him a star if it was on a more prominent network like HBO or Showtime.
What I did not expect with The Knick is that it’s also a show about racism in early 20th century New York, and the medical field. Dr. Algernon Edwards (André Holland) is a well-educated and talented surgeon who becomes Dr. Thackery’s deputy chief of surgery in the pilot. Thackery is unaware that Edwards is Black, and immediately rejects him. He represents the feelings of the majority of people during the time: the inability to look beyond someone’s skin color to see whether they’re capable of doing their job effectively. Dr. Edwards gets it from all angles. Dr. Thackery makes sure that Dr. Edwards doesn’t feel welcome, comfortable, or utilized. The patients are far worse to him, unfortunately. Most of them would rather die than be treated by a Black doctor who is highly qualified and just as talented as all the white doctors. There’s also a group of Chinese individuals in New York that are met with racism too. Dr. Edwards makes innovative discoveries, and is just as curious as Dr. Thackery when it comes to medical advancement. All he wants to do is help people, but he’s often met with resistance and contempt. The majority of the show deals with the hostility between the two doctors, even though they have similar visions about the possibilities medicine can have in the early 20th century.
The supporting cast is fantastic, anchored by Holland. The Knickerbocker hospital is funded by Captain August Robertson (Grainger Hines) and managed by Herman Barrow (Jeremy Bobb). Weighed down by his past vices and decisions, Barrow struggles to collect enough money for the hospital to keep it afloat, while also keeping all the doctor’s egos in check. I couldn’t stand either of them as characters, but I think that was part of the point, as they both represent the business side of medicine that conflicts directly with the vision of healing and helping people get better. The two supporting cast members that stand out the most are Nurse Lucy Elkins (Eve Hewson) and Dr. Bertie Chickering Jr. (Michael Angarano). Lucy has a strong relationship with Dr. Thackery, and is a great nurse who is constantly learning. Hewson holds her own well with Owen in a lot of scenes, which is not the easiest task. Angarano is great because he’s the next rising star at the hospital who also has his father’s legacy to preserve. Dr. Chickering’s story is interesting, as he has to deal with whether or not he should stay at the Knick, or find someone where he can truly advance himself professionally.
It’s not a stretch to say that The Knick is Cinemax’s best show. It’s also not a stretch to say it is one of the best medical shows, especially in the 21st century. The quality of the series is peak television. The story, the performances, the costumes, and set pieces are all amazing. It’s a shame that it only lasted two seasons, but again, had this been on another network, it might have thrived. Soderbergh’s fingerprints are all over it, and I’d put The Knick up there with his best works like Out of Sight, Ocean’s Eleven, and Traffic.
Although I don’t have high expectations of Magic Mike’s Last Dance, I’m hoping that it gets back to what the original movie was: a guy trying to make it, and hustling to make money to make his dreams come true. Magic Mike XXL lost that, and hopefully, with Soderbergh back in the director’s chair, the Magic Mike series will end on a high note.
You can read more from Mike Hilty, and follow him on Twitter, Letterboxd, and Serializd